Mental Filter - Dwelling on one negative thought, and losing sight of the whole picture
Discounting the Positive - Positive qualities or experiences don't matter to you. Only the negative.
Fortune Telling - Making predictions of future catastrophic life events (no matter how likely or unlikely they may be).
...and one of my favorites: "All or nothing thinking." I do this. Viewing things as black or white, amazing or horrible, instead of on a continuum or spectrum. College will be amazing and I'll be obsessed with it. College will suck and I'll want to leave after the first day. I never thought of a gray area, that my college years would be filled with both happy and not-so-happy moments.
It feels nice to have names for these things. My class agreed that we are all very anxious and guilty of the above thoughts. Recognizing maladaptive thoughts is the first step in overcoming them and focusing on the positive.
Try it!
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