Is it BPD or Complex PTSD?
BPD is a disorder of mood and relationship instability and looks similar to c-PTSD but there are some differences. Due to their similarities those with c-PTSD can be misdiagnosed with BPD.
Catastrophizing (A Cognitive Distortion)
Catastrophizing is assuming that the worst is going to happen. And causes people to jump to the worst possible conclusion, usually with very little information to go off of. And even going as far as exaggerating the difficulties that you are having.
Mind Reading (A Cognitive Distortion)
Mind reading assumes that we know what another person is going to say or do without having much to go on. This can be fine in small doses. For example, we know that certain nonverbal behavioral cues can indicate what a person is thinking. But when used too much without much evidence to go on can become problematic.
Overcoming Toxic Positivity – aka Disqualifying The Negative
Toxic positivity is the belief or assumption that no matter what is going on in a person’s life, they should maintain a positive attitude, manner, and mindset. Negative emotions such as anger, fear, sadness, or anything uncomfortable are viewed as not O.K. and need to be abandoned for a happy and more positive outlook.
50+ Best Therapeutic Journal Writing Prompts for Mental Health
The biggest difference in therapeutic journaling from just keeping a personal journal is therapeutic journaling focuses more on thoughts, feelings, and insights. The way we talk to ourselves influences our levels of happiness and success. But, unfortunately, it also influences our levels of unhappiness and lack of success.
Overcoming Disqualifying the Positive (A Cognitive Distortion)
You unreasonably tell yourself that positive things that you experience for some reason do not count and are dismissed. Perhaps they are dismissed because you tell yourself it was due to luck, the stars were aligned that day, or it was too easy and so should not count.
10 Fun and Simple Mindfulness Exercises – For a Happier You
10 fun and simple mindfulness exercises that you can incorporate into your life even when you don’t have a lot of time.
Overcoming the Mental Filter (A Cognitive Distortion)
This looks like the cup-half-full scenarios that we so often face. You only see the negatives in a person or situation. Mental filtering fixates on these particulars while denying or unable to acknowledge contradictory evidence.
Success Vs. Failure – Is there really a difference?
Most people who are successful reframe failure as a learning opportunity. And a way to discover what did not work as they move closer to discovering what will work in perhaps a different way.
Overcoming Overgeneralization (A Cognitive Distortion)
Making a broad conclusion based on a single negative event as “proof” of never-ending negativity or failure. For instance, believing after something bad happens once that it’ll just keep happening again and again. As a direct result, this pattern in your mind then becomes “proof” of never-ending defeat or failure.
