Mac Kenzie Dave 3

2022 07 19 | Dave MacKenzie | I Think, Therefore I Am

Our Dave MacKenzie, a school counsellor, gave us a great presentation about the interconnectedness of our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. All of us have thousands of thoughts daily, many of which are responses to our environment, are largely impossible to moderate, & are influenced by our feelings. Our feelings originate in our brain, but are often felt in our body, either positively or negatively, as a biological function. Our behaviours are responses or actions provoked by our situations – our strongest behaviours are typically to reduce risk or pain. A change in one thought, feeling or behaviour can prompt changes to the others. Dave described ten Unhelpful Thinking Patterns: 1) All or Nothing – things are rarely 100% good or bad; 2) Mental Filters – only valuing certain evidence; 3) Jumping to Conclusions; 4) Emotional Reasoning – because we feel a certain way, it must be true; 5) Labeling – assigning them to ourselves or others; 6) Overgeneralizing – seeing patterns based on a single event; 7) Disqualifying the Positive – or twisting the positive to a negative; 8) Magnification & Minimization – assuming the worst, or discounting significance of evidence; 9) Should-ing & Must-ing; and 10) Personalization – blaming yourself or taking too much or too little responsibility by blaming others. Noticing patterns are key to improving how we feel. We should avoid traps, and be curious, not judgemental.