What is Black And White Thinking From a Psychological Point of View?

Splitting or psychosis?

Black and white thinking or “all or nothing” thinking is a pattern of thought where we think in extremes in everything.

It is either the worst day ever or the best day ever.

It’s a very polarized way of thinking and negatively affects our ability to efficiently regulate our emotions. This is because everything and every feeling just seem to be very intense and impossible to navigate.

This can quickly lead to emotional fatigue and likely morph into anxiety and even depression. Furthermore, it can and will interrupt all relationships in one’s life. It may cause this person to become abrasive, defensive, overly sensitive, and difficult to talk to.

It may have people feel like they’re walking on eggshells and that they need to be careful with everything they say, out of fear that they will offend them or perhaps trigger them.

Do You Engage in Black and White Thinking?

Do you frequently use words like always, never, and see all types of inconveniences as devastating? It’s all about exaggeration.

Of course, we all have days we would describe as bad, but when we are engaging with all or nothing thinking, we can’t find one good thing and consider the entire day simply deflated with negativity. Not only is this perpetuating more negativity for the remainder of your day and for the days to follow, but it is not a fair representation of the fact that a little good can be found in every single day.

Why Do We Think This Way?

When we are thinking in extremes, our emotions become extreme. Though black and white thinking is dysfunctional, we may do it to help us feel that we are the victim of our circumstances. It helps us form excuses as to why there is no need to improve ourselves, change our behaviors, or alter our ways of thinking. It enables us to put the blame on them or others, and in a way, it can be comforting.

It helps us to put up walls in an effort to protect ourselves, thus hiding away from uncertain emotions that may lead to pain, such as vulnerability.

Without vulnerability, it is nearly impossible to deeply connect with others, regardless of the type of relationship it may be. How many people do you know that wear their heart on their sleeve on a regular basis? Do they engage in this type of thinking? Likely not.

Changing ourselves is never comfortable. And when we find ourselves feeling very comfortable in life, it’s time to take a step back and look at what can be improved. When we are comfortable, that means we aren’t doing something that will help us grow physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.

We are stagnant in our routine ways of thought and the way we live. No one said putting in that inner shadow work is easy. That’s what makes the payout all worthwhile.

If you live life through a lens of “woe is me and there’s nothing I can do about it,” then perhaps it’s time for you to take a fresh perspective on life and what it has to offer you.

How Do We Fix It?

1. Notice that you are thinking this way, especially when it is on a consistent basis. Most of us are unaware of our regular behaviors and how they affect us because they come naturally to us. Noticing that you want to improve yourself is the first step to personal evolution.
2. Challenge yourself when you catch yourself having these thoughts of, “Oh my God, this could not get any worse,” or “Why is this happening to me?” Instead, follow-up with a thought of “This is a little difficult, but I will get through it,” or “I know I can get through this rough time and it will help me grow. I’m okay.”

If you make this a goal and consistently stay on top of your thoughts, you’ll begin to realize how often you have been processing your thoughts through a dysfunctional lens.

It may take some time, but your patterns of thought will slowly begin to shift into less dysfunctional ones. It will be tricky, and it would be silly to think you can correct every single negative thought you have in a single day. It’s a process.

Law of Attraction and Living Our Reality

When viewing this idea through a law of attraction lens, it’s imperative to remember that our thoughts create things. If we are living a life where our circumstances seem to be getting the best of us, we must realize that we can only change ourselves, and have no business even trying to alter outside forces.

When we correct our internal dialogue to being as positive as possible and seeing the silver lining in our problems, we will successfully elude black and white thinking patterns.

3. Replace thoughts with a more realistic view. Sure, things may be rough right now. As often as you dwell on the negative, dwell on the positive too. Find the positive in everything, even if it seems like a shitty situation.

Try to view your problems as if you are analyzing someone else’s issues- a person that you have never met, know nothing about, and can clearly pluck out the pros and cons of a particular circumstance.

When we look at our problems purely from an objective point of view, it is far easier to recognize that it really isn’t all that bad and that it will get better.

Perception is Everything

When we start to shift our focus to realize that the things we perceive as devastating really aren’t all that bad, our entire reality shifts.

4. Increase emotional tolerance. If I have said this once, I have said it a million times. In order to truly embrace the richness of life, we must be willing and able to experience all feelings on the wide spectrum of emotions. This includes negative and icky ones.

All or Nothing Doesn’t Have to be Forever

If you operate within an all-or-nothing mindset but realize it is no longer serving you, try to make some small changes here and there in your day-to-day life. Nothing worth having comes easy and it will definitely be a journey with lots of ebbs and flows.

The mind is a powerful entity and your ego would prefer to be comfortable and stay in its old ways. Fight through the negativity and keep coming back to the best version of yourself. You got this.

Best,

🆂🆄🆉🍊

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