The Many Ways Distorted Thinking Affects Your Life Every Day

Emotions are a big part of how you experience your life. They shape the way you see the world, make decisions, and react to the ups and downs of life. But what can happen is that emotions take charge and trick you into thinking things that aren’t true. If you let them, they can twist your thoughts, making situations seem worse than they are. This is called distorted thinking, and it probably happens to you more than you’d think.

Distorted emotions are like a filter, and through it, everything seems darker and more difficult than it really is. You can have a small argument with a friend, and then an emotional response will make you think, “They don’t care about me,” even when there’s no proof. These kinds of thoughts feel real at the moment, but they’re not the truth; they’re just emotions blurring reality.

With some awareness of how your brain may conjure up this wrong way of thinking, it’s possible to spot these patterns, and then you can change them.

Why do you have emotions?

Emotions come from a part of your brain called the amygdala. It’s the one that helps you respond to things around you. These emotional responses are part of what keeps you safe and balanced.

The amygdala normally processes feelings like fear and anger, where chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin create sensations of either happiness or sadness. These emotions are the brain’s way of helping us respond quickly to the world around us. This is the way your brain knows, for example, that fear signals danger, and joy means something good is around.

Through it all, the brain is supposed to remain in charge of your thoughts by rationalizing and balancing your reactions with what is real.

Everyone experiences emotional highs and lows, but for some, managing emotions is a bit more difficult. Stress, past experiences, or even genetics make your emotions feel more intense than they need to be. For instance, if you’ve faced rejection earlier in life, you may automatically start to expect the same thing to keep happening and assume that people don’t care about you now, even if there’s no reason to think that.

Other things that confuse emotions with facts are physical stresses like not sleeping well, having a medical illness, or simply having too many responsibilities. When you feel like you have too much on your plate in your daily life, this can also make it harder to handle your emotions in a calm way.

Distorted thinking happens all the time and in small ways that we might not even notice.

Common Ways Emotions Distort Our Thinking

• After a tough day at work, you might think, “I’m just terrible at my job” because of one mistake or a really hard task. Your emotions will be the ones blowing things out of proportion and stopping you from seeing the bigger picture.
• If a friend cancels plans, with twisted emotions, you may immediately start thinking, “They just didn’t want to be around me,” even though there could be many reasons for the change in plans.
• Just before speaking in front of others, your emotions would make you believe, “Everyone is going to hate my presentation just because it’s me doing the presenting,” even when there’s no real reason to think that.
• If simply seeing others’ pictures or accomplishments online stirs up feelings that you’re inadequate all the time, like, “I’m not doing enough with my life,” even though you’re on your own path.
• When you make a mistake as a parent, you automatically put yourself down by thinking, “I’m a terrible parent.” In reality, everyone makes mistakes, and it’s all part of learning and growing.
• When you can’t meet your financial goals and you think, “I’ll never get my finances together,” even if this is just a temporary setback. Your emotions will block you from thinking of practical solutions.

In all of these examples, you see that it’s emotions that make things feel worse than they are, clouding your judgment and making you have that distorted thinking.

How Distorted Thinking Affects Your Life

Sadly, distorted thinking doesn’t just stay in your mind, it also affects how you act and interact with others. Once you see how emotions are shaping the way you think, you will find out you are holding back on many things. When you start doubting yourself, pulling away from others, or avoiding opportunities because of fear or uncertainty, over time, this changes the quality of your life and the lives of others around you.

In relationships, for instance, distorted thinking only causes unnecessary strain and drama. The moment you tell yourself, “This person doesn’t care about me,” you may distance yourself from someone who probably truly values you. This hurts your connection with others, all because of thoughts based on emotion instead of facts.

In a work or school setting, negative thoughts could keep you from speaking up or trying out something new. That means you can’t reach your full potential and, what’s worse, the more you allow this kind of irrational thinking to take control, the harder it becomes to break free from those patterns.

Breaking free from distorted thinking is something that will take some time and effort, but there are some helpful, easy steps you can take to practice getting your mind back to reality.

Simple Ways to Challenge Distorted Thinking

Give your emotions names When you’re feeling something strong, name it. Say to yourself, “I feel frustrated,” or “I feel anxious.” This helps you separate your emotions from your thoughts so you can see things more clearly.

Change your space If you’re in a place that makes your emotions feel too strong, stepping into another room or taking a quick walk is a great way to reset your mind. A fresh environment will give you a new perspective.

It helps to cool down Sometimes, something as simple as splashing cold water on your face or using a cold compress is a good way to calm down intense emotions. You can quickly get back to thinking clearly again and breaking through the emotional haze in the present moment.

Keep an emotions journal Every day, try to write down any moments when you felt your emotions were distorting your thoughts. Looking back at such moments will give you a fresh look at what was truly happening, which you can remember when it happens again.

Talk yourself out of tough moments Saying out loud, “I’m feeling upset because…” helps you rationalize your emotions and keeps them from running the show. You’ll give yourself a chance to figure out what’s going on inside without letting it control you.

Use positive reminders Keep a list of your strengths or any positive things others tell you about yourself. Reading these small reminders is a way to subconsciously balance out negative thoughts during tough moments.

Always ask for the facts Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed by emotions, ask yourself, “What are the facts in this situation? What am I feeling that isn’t true?” This helps separate your emotions from the reality of the situation.

If you try to make such steps a habit, before long, you’ll start to notice your emotional responses lessening their hold on your thoughts.

It’s normal for you to doubt yourself from time to time, but once such thoughts start to affect your relationships, work, or overall well-being, it might be time to get a professional opinion about what’s going on with you. Therapy is a safe space for you to sift through your emotions and find a way to stay ahead of them.

If you feel like you have been trying but you are stuck in a cycle of terrible, negative thoughts about yourself, you’re in the right place. There are trained professionals listed here who can help you sort through these feelings.

Contact us today to learn more.