Cycle 10 - Video 2 - Smarter Than BPD Quiz

The 15 Styles of Distorted Thinking and the Importance of Mindfulness

• Being mindful is important for emotional regulation and living in the present moment.
• Mindfulness helps to reduce distorted thinking patterns that can negatively impact mental health.
• The 15 styles of distorted thinking include filtering, polarized thinking, overgeneralization, mind reading, catastrophizing, personalization, control fallacies, blaming, shoulds, emotional reasoning, fallacy of change, and more.
• These styles of thinking can lead to negative self-talk, anxiety, and depression.
• Mind reading is a common distorted thinking pattern for those with borderline personality disorder.
• Catastrophizing is common in those with anxiety and past traumatic experiences.
• Mindfulness can help individuals slow down their thought process and challenge distorted thinking patterns.
• Radical acceptance is a mindfulness concept that can help with perfectionism and the "shoulds" style of thinking.
• Emotional reasoning involves believing that feelings must be true automatically, which is not always the case.
• The fallacy of change is the belief that others will change to suit one's needs and desires.
• Mindfulness can help individuals distinguish between thoughts and feelings that are based on past experiences versus reality.
• Mindfulness can also help individuals let go of the need to control others and focus on accepting reality as it is.

Common Distorted Thinking Styles and Basic Mindfulness Skills

• Distorted thinking styles can lead to negative thought patterns and behaviors.
• Global labeling is when one or two qualities are generalized into a negative global judgment.
• Being right is when a person is continually on trial to prove that their opinions and actions are correct.
• Mindfulness teaches us to ask whether it's better to be right or effective in a situation.
• Heaven's reward fallacy is when a person expects all their sacrifice and self-denial to pay off as if someone is keeping score.
• Effective communication of expectations can help avoid misunderstandings and unfulfilled expectations.
• Mindless exercise is a way to assess where one is with mindfulness and identify areas for improvement.
• Most people get distracted or zone out and spend most of their daily lives being unmindful or running on autopilot.
• Common ways of being unmindful include not remembering the roads taken while driving, not paying attention during conversations or while reading, and forgetting tasks or actions taken.
• Mindfulness is a skill that requires practice to avoid getting lost, anxious, and frustrated when situations don't happen as expected.
• Mindfulness can help individuals become more present in their lives and avoid negative thought patterns and behaviors.
• Mindfulness skills can improve communication, relationships, and overall well-being.