Working as a therapist, I had the opportunity to create a group session on coping strategies. It struck me that there are at least 2 'thinking mistakes' I regularly engage in. They are: 1) overgeneralization and 2) mind reading.

Correcting these harmful ways of processing information helps me feel better, and in this blog I will share a great coping strategy for 'thinking mistakes.'

Overgeneralization is when you hear something negative and run with it. For example, before I received a contract for my first novel, I would send out query letters. If the book was rejected, sometimes I thought this novel will never get published. This all-or-nothing thinking made me feel anxious and stressed.

Mind reading is when you think you know what someone else is thinking. This type of negative thought creeps in when I want to ask a store manager if they'd like to carry my novel. I often assume if they don't call me back, they're not interested or they didn't like the story.

There are other 'thinking mistakes,' such as all-or-nothing thinking, disqualifying the positive, should statements, and more. Fortunately, there are positive thinking strategies we can learn to replace these negative ones.

The strategy I like best is called 'thought recording.' Basically one thinks or writes out the evidence for the negative thoughts and then thinks or writes out the evidence against it. Forced to think about alternatives makes me realize I can't possibly know what someone else is thinking, and in the case of 'overgeneralization,' one incident does not guarantee the same outcome every time.

On any given day, we are faced with a multitude of situations. How we think about something will affect our mood and behavior. If you find you overgeneralize, mind read, or process information in a way that causes stress, try 'thought recording.' It can help temper negative beliefs and let more comfortable feelings emerge.