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| Stress and Distorted
Thinking Uzma Mazhar Stress affects how people think. When individuals are very stressed, particularly if they become anxious or depressed, their ability to think clearly and objectively may be affected. People can easily feel less capable or weaker than they truly are, and think that their situation is much worse than it really is. These kinds of subtle distortions in thinking can be difficult to identify. When one has a thought such as "I just cannot do anything right" or "this is hopeless," he or she may take it for granted that the thought is true. This is not necessarily so because people's thoughts can be completely untrue. An exaggerated inaccurate thought such as "I'm totally worthless," may be believed because the feeling behind it is true; it reflects a true feeling of despair or hopelessness. It is too easy to accept distorted thinking that goes along with an emotion and act as if it is true. People sometimes deny that their thinking is affected by their feelings. Believing distorted or negative thoughts makes it more difficult to work effectively to address one's problems. If individuals really believe that everything is hopeless and that they will never do anything right, they are less capable of critically assessing their situation in order to improve it. If one is depressed and feels hopeless enough, sometimes it seems easier to throw up his/her hands in despair than to deal with the real problems. The only way to know if a thought is accurate is to look directly at the thought as it occurs and examine it. Also check: distorted thinking, better thinking and untwist your thinking |