Black and white thinking, aka “all or nothing”, polar and dichotomous This is one of the most common cognitive errors to which any person is susceptible. Sometimes it is situational, sometimes it characterizes the style of thinking, and sometimes it is so ingrained that it becomes a symptom of disorders. Indulging in BW thinking, you need to evaluate situations from only two positions, see only two possible outcomes for situations, categorically and harshly judge yourself and others, and so on. Examples “He didn’t agree with me, that means he’s stupid” “He doesn’t suit me.” answers, it means he stopped loving me” “I’ll do it perfectly right away or I’ll never try again” “If I don’t succeed, then I’m a failure” “One day my life is bright, the next it’s passing by” In all these examples, only two are visible sides of the medal. However, life is much more diverse than just two versions of something. This thinking error leads to emotional rollercoasters, daily disappointments, and prevents you from seeing a variety of solutions. Learning to notice To begin to notice this distortion in your thoughts, begin to follow the marker words of black and white thinking every time: Everything, nothing, always, constantly, never, everything, no one, nowhere, everywhere, not once... Having noticed somewhere a limitation of only 2 options, come up with various shades and create a continuum. What is a cognitive continuum? For example, assign percentages or points of 1 and 10 to the two extreme options. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by Judith Beck tells the story of a student who is worried about her academic performance. At the same time, the polarity of “the best student” becomes unattainable, as soon as she gets a bad grade. However, if you move away from such a dichotomous perception, you will notice that you can be a different student - not necessarily “terrible” or “the best.” By working through intermediate options, it is possible to build a new system of attitude towards situations. Which allows you to better tolerate stress, not begin to consider yourself a worthless student after some events, avoid devaluing your other achievements and learn better self-regulation. Subscribe, this is the first post in a series about cognitive distortions!) Thank you!