Distortion 2. Mind Reading
Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. In our learning about cognitive distortions series, today we will tackle ‘Mind reading’. If you have not taken part in the catastrophizing post, please do so here
Mind reading like the name suggests is when we assume we know what someone else is thinking and are convinced that it is the case and there is no real verification/fact checking of it. It is important to acknowledge that this is not all bad, at some level mind reading can help us read a situation like when your friend smiles, you know they liked your joke. Similarly, if someone’s jaw drops we can tell they are surprised. But these ‘assumptions’ are based on something more concrete like a physical action and are not negative. It becomes a problem when we have nothing to base our assumptions on and they are negative in nature.
Examples of Mind reading:
- I failed this test, my teacher must think I am so stupid
- I was late to my friend’s birthday. He must think I don’t care for him enough to show up on time
- I was supposed to get the callback yesterday from my job application, but the interviewer must have failed me.
- My partner has been quieter than usual, he must have gotten fed up with me.
To help us reframe this distortion, we will use the same techniques as the last post! These techniques can help you reframe all sorts of distortions and repeatedly practicing with them can help us get in the habit of using these models.
📢Points of Action:
- Find out your personal hit rate (how accurate your negative assumptions are), don’t just assume, look into your past and get an accurate percentage. (You can skip this if you recall this from our last post)
- Counter your mind-reading thoughts with counter-positive thoughts based on logic/facts/experience.
⭐After practicing this with at least one thought. Tell us about your experience with this exercise.
⭐ When was the last time you engaged in mind reading and what actually ended up happening?
Examples
- I thought my friend was mad at me but it turns out he was just having a rough day
- I thought my teacher hated me but I misread her firm approach as personal dislike. It turns out her firm approach helped me get a better grade.
Further Reading/Recommended Resources
How to stop worrying and start living chapter 4