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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is sometimes called “black-or-white” or polarized thinking, meaning you think in the extremes. This extreme thinking pattern supports an overly rigid outlook on life. Because of this overly rigid outlook, you can’t see things in shades of grey or between the extremes.
You can choose to learn your internal dialogue and find freedom when you change it. Ah, the little voice in your head. You know the one. It likes to whisper mean and nasty things at you when you’re down. Heck, it’ll even whisper mean and nasty things at you when you’re up too, just for the fun of it.