Be aware of the different types of negative thoughts. Negative thinking comes in many different forms. Being aware of these forms may help you to know when you are having a negative thought and work to counteract that thought. Not all negative thoughts will fit into a category, but there are some common types of negative thoughts that you may be dealing with.[6]
Filtering is when you ignore any positive aspects of a situation. For example, if you passed a very difficult course with a C+, you were hoping for an A, you might think to yourself “I am a mediocre student.”
Black and white thinking is when you refuse to see gray areas and make all or nothing judgments. For example, if you get a B- on a test when you were expecting an A, you might think to yourself, “I am a failure.”
Overgeneralization is when you assume that because something happens once it will always happen again. For example, if you get a B- on a test when you were hoping for an A, you might think to yourself, “I will always get B minuses on my tests.”
Jumping to Conclusions is when you assume you know how someone else thinks or feels. For example, if you get a B- on a test when you were hoping for an A, you might think to yourself, “The teacher thinks I am dumb.”
Catastrophizing is when you think the worst is going to happen all the time. For example, you might be catastrophizing if you think to yourself before each test you take, “I am going to get the lowest grade in the class!”
Personalization is when you believe you have had an effect on situations or events you have no control over. For example, if your boss yells at you all of the time, you might think to yourself, “It’s my fault that my boss yells at me all of the time.”
Control Fallacy is when you feel that you have no control or you have all the control. For example, you may think to yourself, “Nothing I do will help me to get an A on my math test.”
Fallacy of Fairness is believing things happen because life is not fair. For example, you might think to yourself, “I got a B- on my math test because life is not fair.”
Blaming is believing other people are responsible for your emotions. For example, you might think to yourself, “Susie is the reason why I am sad all of time.”
Emotional Reasoning is when you assume an initial feeling is true just because you had that feeling. For example, you might think to yourself, “I feel like I am a failure, therefore, I am a failure.”