I'm Still Human: Understanding Depression With Kindness (Expanded Edition - 2021)

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Telepathy or
Mind Reading
Making assumptions about others’
thoughts and feelings.
e.g. She doesn’t like me; he thinks that
I’m fat; he’s cheating on me; they are
laughing at me; he’s not saying it but I
know…
Rigid in thinking & expecting everything
to be ideal.
10
Perfectionism or
Must-Should Thinking
e.g. Everyone must like me; I must
always make people happy; everything
should be under control; you should
listen to me; I must know the cause…why
like this/that…why, why, why?!
Adapted from the work of Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis & David Clarke.
Once you’re pretty good at ‘catching’ the negative thought patterns
(like having good computer anti-viral software), you can now learn
to change them. Before that, it’s important to relate to the thoughts
with a right attitude - kindness. Try to imagine dealing with them,
as though you’re pacifying a crying baby – be gentle. Or else, you’ll
end up hating yourself more, “Oh Shit! I have these stupid thoughts
again…I’m really horrible,” This perpetuates depression as thoughts
often become more ‘sticky’ (emotionally charged and increased in
number), when we relate to them with frustration.
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