Outsmart Your Stinking Thinking

Review What did we talk about in our last class? What happens to our brain when we experience threats? What happens in an amygdala hijack? What are some of the techniques we can use to regain our “lids”?

Assignment Check-In Refer to your assignment worksheet on emotions. Did you catch yourself in the middle of a hijack? What strategies were most helpful to you? New strategies? What surprised you?

Taking it Up A Notch Not just strong emotions we need to watch out for! Our thinking can get us into trouble

Beliefs About Ourselves The world What we can expect from the world What the world expects of us These thoughts can be about good things we want in our life But – we are so used to looking for threats - a lot of our thoughts can tend to be negative.

It’s a Habit! These thoughts aren’t real – they are just frequently used neural pathways in our brain.

Types of Stinking Thinking All or Nothing Over-generalization Mental Filter Discounting the positive Jumping to Conclusions Magnification Emotional Reasoning Should Statements Labeling Personalization

Practice Identifying ST Come up with an example for each of the 10 types of stinking thinking: All or Nothing Over-generalization Mental Filter Discounting the positive Jumping to Conclusions Magnification Emotional Reasoning Should Statements Labeling Personalization

Strategies for Shifting Your Stinking Thinking Name Your Emotion Practice a Growth Mindset Get a Reality Check Ask for a Re-do – restate your thought Support Your Friends

Apply Your Strategies Apply your strategies to your stinking thinking examples. Come up with a more empowering thought

Homework assignment Watch for stinking thinking Track your stinking thinking on this worksheet Note which category of stinking thinking you had Then, note which strategy you used to overcome your stinking thinking REMEMBER: Stinking thinking can seem real. Even if you think it’s true, if it sounds like one of these categories, assume it’s not true.