10-21-2015, 10:24 PM
P.P.S.
A couple of things to watch out for as you navigate your way through the dark spot you find yourself in:
"Emotional reasoning" is the belief that feelings accurately represent reality; if I feel a certain way, it must be true. If I feel that the world is bleak and hopeless, then it must be because the world really is bleak and hopeless.
In actuality, it is helpful to question whether or not they accurately reflect reality; often they do not.
"Confirmation bias" is our unconscious, automatic tendency to seek out evidence that our beliefs are correct, and ignore evidence to the contrary.
Combine emotional reasoning with confirmation bias. The result is that when we feel down, we also believe that our bleak view of reality is correct, and will tend to focus on all the suffering and misery that supports our belief. It's a form of inertia, and unless we're able to interrupt this cycle, will make it difficult to get a clearer perspective on life.
A couple of things to watch out for as you navigate your way through the dark spot you find yourself in:
"Emotional reasoning" is the belief that feelings accurately represent reality; if I feel a certain way, it must be true. If I feel that the world is bleak and hopeless, then it must be because the world really is bleak and hopeless.
In actuality, it is helpful to question whether or not they accurately reflect reality; often they do not.
"Confirmation bias" is our unconscious, automatic tendency to seek out evidence that our beliefs are correct, and ignore evidence to the contrary.
Combine emotional reasoning with confirmation bias. The result is that when we feel down, we also believe that our bleak view of reality is correct, and will tend to focus on all the suffering and misery that supports our belief. It's a form of inertia, and unless we're able to interrupt this cycle, will make it difficult to get a clearer perspective on life.