Thinking Traps are patterns of thought which prevent us from seeing things as they really are. They are usually negative. These patterns of behaviour are more common when we are anxious or nervous and are often associated with our thinking when we experience big or difficult changes in our lives.
Things are black and white; good and bad; all or nothing; perfect or a failure.
Making things seem bigger or smaller than they actually are.
Taking the negative details and magnifying them while filtering out positive aspects.
Predicting the future.
Expecting disaster, anticipating and assuming the worst possible outcome.
Relying on your emotions rather than logic and facts.
Assuming you know what people are thinking or feeling and why they act the way they do. You think these assumptions are true and selectively seek evidence to prove they are true.
Beliefs about what should or can’t be done, often engrained since childhood.
Something happens once and you expect it to happen repeatedly.