Jumping To Conclusions
A Cognitive Distortion Leading to Anxiety
Cognitive distortions have been described as distorted thoughts or twisted thinking by Cognitive Behavioural Therapists (CBT) and relate to how seemingly simple thoughts can leave one feeling twisted up inside, or anxious or depressed.
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and jumped to the wrong conclusion? I know I’ve done it and so have lots of other people. How does it make you feel when that happens? Or, perhaps that answer is best left unsaid.
Usually, when this ‘jumping to conclusions’ behaviour occurs, there is a certain level of anxiety already present and that feeling may trigger thoughts that spiral out of control.
There are two aspects of this particular cognitive distortion known as Jumping To Conclusions, and they are mind reading and fortune telling.
Mind Reading
Have you ever walked down the street and avoided looking at others because you have the thought “he doesn’t like me”, or “she thinks I am an idiot”, or “they are talking about me” when you see two people having a chat and looking in your direction?
This is a perfect example of Mind Reading, when you presume to know what is going through someone else’s mind because of the look on their face, their tone of voice, or hand gestures or the way he or she moves their body.
I would suggest that unless you are a bona fide psychic, that 99.9% of the time you cannot know what someone else is thinking, and more likely, they are totally absorbed in their own thoughts and couldn’t care less about you.
Mind reading may lead a person to feel anxious, or not good enough, or fearful of doing something wrong. It may also lead to feeling depressed or down as well.
I’m going to give you a very important piece of advice:
What other people think of me is none of my business.
Whoa! What do you mean? Why not? Of course it is, isn’t it?
No, no, no. What other people think of me is none of my business. It’s their business and nothing to do with me.
Fortune Telling
Fortune telling is similar to mind reading, yet slightly different. For example, when I have thoughts about the future and imagine the worst possible scenario, that’s fortune telling or using my crystal ball to predict a really negative outcome. When I was a Uni student, I had occasions when I imagined I would fail an exam and what the consequences would be, how bad that would be, and how I wouldn’t become a psychologist because I failed the exam.
The Almighty Power of Imagination
My thoughts were totally on what a failure I was, I saw myself struggling during the exam, I experienced how I would feel, and how terrible it would be. All this wild imagining caused me to feel anxious and actually impacted on my ability to study, making it harder to remember and recall information. I remember feeling frozen and paralysed, the more I imagined that terrible exam. It certainly didn’t help me to do well in my exams when my imagination rehearsed what would happen, and this triggered anxious feelings and then those thoughts continued on that negative cycle as I told myself how dumb I was and how I was stupid to even think I could do this, and on it went.
(Have you ever noticed that it’s nearly impossible to recall information when your mind is flooded with emotions? Let me tell you, it’s true.)
Mental Rehearsal
Imagine going to a party on Saturday night and telling yourself that there is no point going because you will be tongue-tied? You see it in your mind’s eye, you feel it, you think it, and of course when you go to the party, you stammer and stutter because you have already mentally rehearsed it all.
What would be the result if I used jumping to conclusions in a positive manner?
What could happen if I mentally rehearsed positive outcomes and created positive mental experiences instead of mind-reading negative outcomes?
Positive Mental Imagery
Imagine walking down the street thinking “he really likes my dress, I feel so good wearing it today”. Or, “she just smiled at me, she must think I look like a nice person”. Those thoughts allow you to feel good about yourself and to relax and calm down.
Or how about thinking of an up-coming exam and telling yourself that it’s easy, you know the material, you know the answers and your mind is bright and clear and quick to remember? Would that make a difference? Absolutely, because the more relaxed, confident and at ease you are, the easier it is to remember and recall information.
What if you imagined you were the life of the party on Saturday night? That everyone is hanging on your every word, that you could speak to people easily, ask them questions and help them to feel at ease, and in doing so, find yourself relaxing and having a fun time. NOW, wouldn’t that be different?
So, let go of worrying about what other people think because it’s none of your business anyway, and focus on your own thoughts being positive and uplifting and feel that powerful, confident energy flow through you as you mentally rehearse a winning attitude with winning behaviours.
If you are going to jump to conclusions, then why not do it positively? Breathe and imagine the best, and feel good now.
