Caught in the Web of Distorted Truths: Navigating ADHD Brain Myths

WEBSITEJOIN FOCUSED: The community for Adults with ADHD with Kristen Carder of the i have adhd podcastConnect with me!TiktokFacebookIn this rebroadcast I go over: (scroll down for freebie)Cognitive distortions are internal mental filters or biases that increase our misery, fuel our anxiety, and make us feel bad about ourselves. Our brains are continually processing lots of information. Magnification and Minimization: Exaggerating or minimizing the importance of events. One might believe their own achievements are unimportant, or that their mistakes are excessively important.Catastrophizing: Seeing only the worst possible outcomes of a situation.Overgeneralization: Making broad interpretations from a single or few events. “I felt awkward during my job interview. I am always so awkward.”Magical Thinking: The belief that acts will influence unrelated situations. “I am a good person—bad things shouldn’t happen to me.”Personalization: The belief that one is responsible for events outside of their own control. “My mom is always upset. She would be fine if I did more to help her.”Jumping to Conclusions: Interpreting the meaning of a situation with little or no evidence.Mind Reading: Interpreting the thoughts and beliefs of others without adequate evidence. “She would not go on a date with me. She probably thinks I’m ugly.”Fortune Telling: The expectation that a situation will turn out badly without adequate evidence.Emotional Reasoning: The assumption that emotions reflect the way things really are. “I feel like a bad friend, therefore I must be a bad friend.”Disqualifying the Positive: Recognizing only the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring the positive. One might receive many compliments on an evaluation, but focus on the single piece of negative feedback. “Should” Statements: The belief that things should be a certain way. “I should always be friendly.” All-or-Nothing Thinking: Thinking in absolutes such as “always”, “never”, or “every”. “I never do a good enough job on anything.”I have something to tell you ADHDer, thoughts are just sentences in your brain, im going to repeat for emphasis, YOUR THOUGHTS ARE JUST SENTENCES IN YOUR BRAIN. YOU GET TO CHOOSE what thoughts you want to keep, and which ones you want to let pass on by.Here is how life works, psych 101 info-There is a situation- IE. my husband said words. Then from that comes a thought- IE. He thinks im stupid and worthless. That thought creates and emotion in your body- IE shame or guilt. Our emotions are fuel to our actions, so out of shame we may take action we dont believe in, does not align with our values or the person we want to be, IE. screaming, slamming doors, isolating etc. This in turn creates our results. Which  don't seem to be that great from my examples here.DID YOU KNOW that we can change our thoughts and emotions?BRAIN HACKThanks to my coach, Kristen Carder, and her focused program, I have learned how to manage my thoughts. I can change my emotions about things, by changing the way i think about it.I want you to think about it,If you have the thought “im never organized” do you think that thought would ever lead you to even try to become organized. Feel free to use the freebie i have attached to follow alongGet out ALL your thoughts on paper, keep asking your brain, what else? Then go through and find the most pervasive thought. Then find the emotion causing that thought.Write down the actions that you are taking out of that emotion.Then write the results, usually these results will align with the thought you are thinking in some way. The fact that I get to teach preschool kids how to process their emotions, and teach them their thoughts aren't always true is super empowering to me. If your results are negative, if you aren't happy with them, take a look at your thoughts and emotions. This MAJOR brain hack will change your life.FREE coaching call with mefree adhd 101 workbook - biggest free resource Get full access to carmen_authenticallyadhd at carmenauthenticallyadhd.substack.com/subscribe

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.