When falling into Twisted Thinking, we should think about challenging this way of thinking. A few questions which can help us to re-evaluate our thinking include:

– Am I falling into a twisted way of thinking?
– Is there evidence for and against my thoughts?
– Is there another way to look at this?
– If it is true, what can I do?

When falling into Twisted Thinking, be sure to ask yourself: Is there evidence for and against my thoughts?

Take a step back and look at the facts. It is easier to focus on negatives when we are feeling low or anxious. Is there evidence for this thought? Remember when we looked at whether our thoughts are fact or opinion…

Is there another way of looking at this?

When we are affected by negative thinking, we often have a tunnel vision approach at looking at things in one way. Rather than looking at the thought as one defining fact, it may be more helpful to break down into a number of possible reasons.

Using the word perhaps can be helpful. For example, because I forgot to meet my friend I have decided that I am a bad person. Rather than seeing this as a defining fact, I could look at it like this:

– ‘Perhaps I am being too hard on myself.’
– ‘Perhaps I am a good person.’
– ‘Perhaps I am like everybody else who makes mistakes.’
– ‘Perhaps I have a lot of other things going on at the moment.’

If it is true, what can I do about it? If after re-evaluating all the evidence you feel your thinking is correct, there are a few things that you can do.

– Make positive changes
– Move forwards with what you have learnt from your mistakes

For example, I am a bad person because I forgot about meeting my friend.

– You may want to try and make it up to your friend.
– You may want to apologise.
– You may want to make more of an effort to be reliable.

Remember!

We are all human and we all make mistakes. 

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Chances are you may still be using Twisted Thinking to some degree. This isn’t about getting it right all the time. It’s about gradual improvement.