Anxiety is a normal human experience, one that can even be helpful or adaptive in the certain situations. Anxiety occurs when our minds believe there is a potential threat, something bad that might happen in the future to harm us.

When our minds believe we are in danger, they activate our sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system helps us respond to the danger. We experience a range of physiological and behavioural responses which allow us to take action and deal with the threat. Our heart and breath rates increase, blood flows to our major organs and muscles, our muscles are activated, and our attentional focus narrows, among others. This is the stress response, also called the fight-flight-freeze-appease response.

However, there are times when anxiety can be unhelpful. Sometimes our minds misinterpret situations, over-estimating the danger and under-estimating our ability to deal with the threat. In these situations, our anxiety is not protective. Instead, it is overwhelming and all-consuming, depletes us physically and emotionally, and prevents us from feeling like ourselves, being productive, and enjoying our lives.

If you have ever felt like this, you are not alone. In Australia, anxiety disorders are a common mental health issue, with a recent estimate that nearly one in three Australians (28%) will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.

Most psychological therapies treat anxiety by helping people identify when they have misinterpreted a situation as dangerous and consider more balanced, realistic ways of interpreting the situation. We tend to misinterpret situations in several main ways. These are often referred to as unhelpful thinking styles.

Common unhelpful thinking styles

Below are the most common unhelpful thinking styles people report when experiencing anxiety.

Catastrophising

Catastrophising is when we blow things out of proportion by imagining the worst possible outcomes of a situation. For example, you imagine that a minor mistake at work will lead you to lose your job and be unemployed indefinitely. Catastrophising can prevent you from considering all potential outcomes of a situation and limit your problem solving abilities.

Black and white thinking

This style involves viewing situations in all or nothing terms, with no middle ground, no shades of grey. You view the situation as all bad, “a disaster”, “a failure”. For example, you consider a 60% exam result as a “complete failure”, or a decision as having only a right or wrong choice. As a result, black and white thinking can lead to a cycle of unrealistic and unreasonable standards, and self-criticism.

Personalisation

Personalisation is when you blame yourself for a situation, even though you may not be responsible for, or in control of, the situation. You assume that everything is your fault and do not consider alternative explanations that do not involve you. For example, you might think that a friend has cancelled a catch up with you because you are unlikeable or unworthy. This style might lead you to become more anxious and also feel guilty, full of self-doubt, or lacking in confidence and self-worth.

Overgeneralisation

Overgeneralising is when you take one situation in the past or present and apply it to all future situations. For example, if your ex ended your relationship, you assume your next partner will also end your relationship. If you felt awkward in one social interaction, you decide you are an ‘awkward person’ and assume you will feel this way in all social situations. Overgeneralisation can lead to self-defeating patterns of behaviour.   

Emotion reasoning

This is when you use your emotions as evidence for what will happen in a given situation. For example, you feel a sense of dread, so you assume something bad is going to happen. You feel worried when you drop your child off on their first day of school, so you assume they will not cope. When we view our emotions as facts, a source of truth, we overestimate their accuracy and power. This can lead us feeling powerless and lacking a sense of agency.      

Mind-reading

Mind-reading is when you assume you know what someone else is thinking, even when there is no evidence to support your assumption. For example, you assume your partner didn’t offer you another drink because she thinks you are drunk. You assume your boss offered a project to a colleague because they don’t think you are capable of it. Mind-reading can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings in relationships, creating distance and dissatisfaction.  

Summary

There are many ways we misinterpret situations as threatening. These unhelpful thinking styles can not only cause us to feel anxious, but they can also affect our decision making, behaviour, relationships, sense of agency, and self-worth. To overcome anxiety, it is crucial we can identify our unhelpful thinking styles and find balanced and realistic ways of viewing situations.

To discover more about your thinking styles and ways of managing them effectively, check out the resources below or speak to a psychologist.

Further resources

The Centre for Clinical Interventions in Western Australia has a wide range of handouts and resources for people wanting to improve their mental health. This includes those aimed at identifying and challenging unhelpful thinking styles in a systematic and effective way.

There are several online cognitive behavioural therapy programs for people wanting to address their anxiety, all at little or no cost. These include: This Way Up by St Vincent Hospital Sydney and the University of NSW, MyCompass by the BlackDog Institute, and MindSpot by Macquarie University.

The Headstrong Psychology team are able to assess and diagnose anxiety disorders and offer a range of treatment options. Please get in touch with us on 0431 998 351.