MindLift
CBT
Your brain takes shortcuts. Psychology calls them cognitive distortions.
1
One mistake becomes the end of everything. Mistakes happen daily and rarely lead to extreme consequences.
2
You decide what they think of you. You never actually ask.
3
If it isn't perfect, it failed. There is no middle setting.
4
"I feel like a fraud, so I must be one." The feeling gets treated as evidence.
5
Nine good comments, one critique. Guess which one you take home.
6
"They were just being nice." Anything good gets explained away.
7
"Always." "Never." "Everyone." One event becomes a permanent rule.
8
You did something badly, so you become the label. "I'm an idiot," not "that went badly."
9
Their bad mood becomes your fault. You take responsibility for things you did not cause.
These evolved as threat-detection shortcuts. In modern life, that speed creates distortion, not accuracy.
The way out
Not with something more positive — with something more balanced.