Discover what mind filters are, their types, how they shape our perception, and tips to manage them. A detailed guide designed for students to improve their mental clarity and personal growth.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Mind Filters
Mind filters are cognitive processes through which the brain manages and interprets the vast amount of sensory information it encounters. These filters determine what information we consciously notice, how we interpret it, and what meanings we assign to it. They shape our perception of reality and influence our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Understanding mind filters helps you become aware of how your mental lens can either limit or expand your perspective on life.

Types of Mind Filters
- Deletion: Our brain naturally deletes some sensory data to focus on relevant information, but this can make us miss important details.
- Distortion: Changing or misinterpreting sensory information to fit existing beliefs or expectations, which can lead to misunderstandings or creativity.
- Generalization: Drawing broad conclusions from specific experiences, helping with learning but also potentially creating limiting beliefs.
- Meta-Programs: Deeply ingrained mental habits influencing how we sort and respond to information, e.g., moving toward goals or avoiding problems.
- Beliefs and Values: These act as filters by shaping what we accept as true or important, influencing behavior and mindset.
- Attitudes: Predispositions influencing how we respond to events or people, coloring our experiences positively or negatively.
- Language: The way we use language frames our perception and emotional responses.
- Memories: Past experiences highlight or obscure current realities.
- Emotions and State: Current emotional mood affects perception and reactions.
- Perceptual Positions: The perspective from which we view an event—ours, another’s, or an observer’s—shapes understanding.
Common Mind Filters in Negative Thinking
One well-known negative mind filter is mental filtering or selective abstraction, where a person focuses solely on negative aspects of a situation while ignoring positives. For example, a student might dwell on one bad grade despite having overall good performance. This pattern can deepen feelings of anxiety, depression, or self-doubt, reinforcing a skewed, negative view of reality. Mental filtering is often reinforced by personality traits like perfectionism or past traumatic experiences, and it creates cognitive distortions that impact mental health.
Impact of Mind Filters on Students
Students frequently experience mind filters that shape their academic self-image and social experiences. Examples include:
- Focusing only on criticism from teachers while ignoring praise.
- Generalizing one failure as a sign of lifelong inadequacy.
- Distorting feedback to fit their own negative beliefs.
Awareness of these filters allows students to critically evaluate thoughts rather than accepting distorted perceptions, supporting healthier self-esteem and motivation.

Tips to Manage and Reprogram Mind Filters
- Practice mindfulness: Being present helps recognize when filters are applying negative bias.
- Challenge negative thoughts: Question if focusing only on negatives is fair.
- Seek balanced perspectives: Actively look for positives and evidence countering negative beliefs.
- Use reframing techniques: Turn problems into challenges or opportunities for growth.
- Adopt flexible thinking: Be open to adjusting beliefs and mental habits.
- Build self-awareness: Track emotional states and reactions to understand their influence on perception.
By consciously addressing mind filters, students can improve mental clarity, reduce stress, and foster a healthier mindset for academic and personal growth.
Mind Filters: Deletion with real life example
Deletion as a mind filter refers to the brain’s automatic process of ignoring or excluding certain sensory information to avoid overwhelm and help focus on what seems important. This filtering happens unconsciously and is crucial for prioritizing relevant data, but sometimes it causes us to miss key details.
A real-life example of deletion is when someone is at an airport waiting for their flight, and the public announcements are made calling passengers to board. Most people hear the announcements clearly, but a person (or a couple) might completely miss it because their mind “deletes” that sound information—they simply do not register the call despite being physically present. This filter allowed them to focus on other things but resulted in missing the flight call altogether. Another common instance is when you say something to a partner or family member, but they have no recollection of hearing it because their mind deleted that input while they were distracted, such as looking at their phone.
In everyday life, deletion helps us manage information flow but can lead to misunderstandings if critical data is missed unconsciously. For students, recognizing deletion filters can improve communication and awareness by prompting mindfulness and active listening.
This concept ties closely to how the brain limits sensory overload by effacing background details that seem irrelevant at the moment, enabling sharper attention to selected stimuli.
Mind Filters:Five everyday examples of deletion in perception
Mind Filters:Here are five everyday examples of deletion in perception:
- Ignoring Background Noise: When having a conversation in a busy café, the brain deletes the background chatter and focuses only on the words of the person you’re talking to, effectively filtering out other sounds.
- Missing Details in a Text: While reading a textbook, a student might skip over important details unconsciously because their brain deletes those parts as irrelevant or boring, impacting their comprehension.
- Selective Hearing in Conversations: Sometimes during a discussion or argument, a person may only hear parts of what others say that confirm their views and delete opposing viewpoints, leading to misunderstandings.
- Overlooking Physical Sensations: When engaged in a task, like working on a computer, one might not notice mild hunger or discomfort because the brain deletes these sensations to maintain focus.
- Forgetting Errands or Instructions: After being given multiple tasks or directions, a person may delete some short-term information unintentionally and forget specific steps or items to remember.
These examples illustrate how deletion helps manage information overload but can also cause important inputs to be missed in daily life, influencing perceptions and actions
Mind Filters:Here is a table with 10 everyday examples of deletion in perception
| No. | Example Description | Real-Life Student Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ignoring background noise | Not hearing announcements in a noisy classroom |
| 2 | Missing details in reading | Skipping over vital content while skimming notes |
| 3 | Selective hearing in conversation | Hearing only parts of feedback in a group discussion |
| 4 | Overlooking physical sensations | Not noticing hunger or discomfort during study sessions |
| 5 | Forgetting errands or instructions | Leaving out tasks from a to-do list unintentionally |
| 6 | Overlooking positive feedback | Focusing on criticism only and deleting praise |
| 7 | Skipping steps in instructions | Missing steps in a lab experiment or homework directions |
| 8 | Ignoring environmental reminders | Missing alarms or timers set for study breaks |
| 9 | Selective reading | Ignoring “less interesting” chapters or sections in textbooks |
| 10 | Forgetting to respond | Not replying to classmates’ messages in group chats |
How can students reduce deletion bias
Students can reduce deletion biases by adopting conscious strategies that enhance awareness and information processing, helping them capture more relevant details and avoid missing important input. Key approaches include:
- Practice mindfulness and active attention: Being present and fully engaged in tasks like listening to lectures or reading helps minimize the brain’s tendency to unconsciously delete information. Mindfulness meditation can train students to notice details better.
- Take comprehensive notes: Writing down key points during class or study sessions forces attention to details that might otherwise be deleted by the mind, reinforcing retention and understanding.
- Ask clarifying questions: When unsure or confused, students should seek clarification to ensure no vital information was skipped or missed.
- Break tasks into smaller segments: Managing information in chunks prevents cognitive overload, reducing the brain’s impulse to delete details seen as nonessential in overwhelming situations.
- Review and reflect regularly: Revisiting notes and material after learning helps recover any information that might have been deleted unconsciously, filling gaps and strengthening memory.
- Use multiple modalities: Combining reading, listening, and visual aids engages different senses, decreasing the chance of deleting key content through reliance on a single input type.
Mind Filters:By implementing these strategies, students can enhance concentration, improve comprehension, and reduce the impact of deletion biases on their academic performance and learning experience. This consciously reduces the mental filtering that leads to missed details and misperceptions.

Mind Filters:Distortion with real life example
Distortion as a mind filter refers to the process where the brain alters, changes, or misinterprets sensory information to fit existing beliefs, expectations, or emotions. This leads to a skewed perception of reality, often amplifying negatives or minimizing positives.
A real-life example of distortion is when a student receives mostly positive feedback on a project but focuses excessively on a single minor critique. Instead of seeing the feedback as balanced, the student magnifies the negative comment, believing the entire project was a failure. This magnification distorts the reality of their performance, causing unnecessary stress and lowered confidence.
Other types of distortion include emotional reasoning, where a person believes something is true simply because they feel it deeply, regardless of evidence; and mind reading, assuming to know what others think without real proof. These distortions shape how individuals interpret experiences, often leading to misunderstandings and emotional difficulties.
Mind Filters:Understanding distortion helps in recognizing when perceptions are biased or inaccurate, enabling conscious efforts to reframe thoughts more objectively and realistically
Mind Filters:Here are 10 real-life examples of cognitive distortions (distorted thinking) with explanations:
- All-or-Nothing Thinking
Believing things are either perfect or a total failure.
Example: “If I don’t get an A on this test, I’m a complete failure.” - Overgeneralization
Drawing broad conclusions based on a single event.
Example: “I failed this exam; I will never be good at school.” - Mental Filtering
Focusing only on the negative details and ignoring the positives.
Example: Dwelling on one criticism from teachers while ignoring their praise. - Disqualifying the Positive
Rejecting positive experiences by insisting they don’t count.
Example: “I only passed because the test was easy.” - Jumping to Conclusions – Mind Reading
Assuming you know what others are thinking without evidence.
Example: “They didn’t say hi; they must dislike me.” - Jumping to Conclusions – Fortune Telling
Predicting negative outcomes without proof.
Example: “I’m going to fail the interview, so I won’t prepare.” - Catastrophizing (Magnification)
Expecting the worst possible outcome.
Example: “If I make a mistake in class, everyone will think I’m stupid.” - Emotional Reasoning
Believing that feelings reflect reality.
Example: “I feel anxious, so something bad must be happening.” - Labeling and Mislabeling
Assigning negative labels to yourself or others.
Example: “I made a mistake, so I’m an idiot.” - Personalization
Taking responsibility for events outside your control.
Example: “The group project failed because of me.”
Mind Filters:Recognizing these distortions can help you challenge biased thinking and develop a more balanced, realistic perspective in everyday situations.

Mind Filters:How can I identify cognitive distortions in daily thoughts
To identify cognitive distortions in daily thoughts, follow these practical steps:
- Keep a Thought Diary
Write down negative or upsetting thoughts exactly as they occur, noting the situation and emotions involved. This helps capture automatic thoughts for review. - Look for Common Distortion Patterns
Check if your thoughts fit common distortion types such as all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, mental filtering, catastrophizing, mind reading, or “should” statements. - Ask Evidence-Based Questions
Challenge each thought by asking: What evidence supports this thought? What evidence contradicts it? Could there be another explanation? - Identify Emotional Reasoning
Notice if you are treating feelings as facts — for example, “I feel like a failure, so I must be one.” Recognizing this emotional reasoning is key. - Track Recurring Themes
Group thoughts by themes like “always,” “never,” or personal criticism, and observe if these negative thoughts repeat frequently. - Practice Opposite Thinking
For distorted thoughts, actively think of three or more opposing examples or positive situations to broaden perspective. - Avoid Mind Reading and Jumping to Conclusions
Check if you are assuming what others think or predicting negative outcomes without evidence. - Consider the Impact of Stress
Be aware that high stress or anxiety levels can amplify distorted thinking patterns.
Mind Filters:By consistently applying these steps, you can become more aware of cognitive distortions in your daily thought patterns and begin to challenge and change them towards healthier, more balanced thinking
Mind Filters:Simple prompts to challenge and reframe a distorted thought
Here are some simple prompts to challenge and reframe a distorted thought:
- What is the exact thought running through my mind? (Identify the thought clearly)
- What evidence supports this thought? What evidence contradicts it? (Evaluate facts)
- Could there be another way to look at this situation? (Consider alternative perspectives)
- What would I say to a friend if they had this thought? (Apply self-compassion)
- What are the effects of believing this thought on my feelings and actions? (Assess impact)
- What is a more balanced, realistic, and kind way to view this? (Create a reframe)
- If I believed this new thought, how would I feel or behave differently? (Visualize change)
Mind Filters:Example:
Distorted: “I always mess things up.”
Reframe: “Sometimes I make mistakes, but I also succeed and learn from them.”
Mind Filters:Using these prompts daily helps in catching distortions early and gradually developing healthier thinking patterns
One minute script to challenge a negative automatic thought
Mind Filters:Here is a simple one-minute script to challenge a negative automatic thought:
Step 1: Pause and notice the thought
“I just thought, ‘I am going to fail this exam.’ Let me slow down and check this feeling.”
Step 2: Write down the exact thought
“‘I am going to fail this exam.'”
Step 3: Question the thought
“What evidence do I have that I will definitely fail? Have I prepared? Have I passed other exams before? Is this thought based on fact or fear?”
Step 4: Consider alternative explanations
“Maybe I feel anxious now, but I have studied and can do well. Even if I don’t do perfectly, I can learn from mistakes.”
Step 5: Reframe into a balanced thought
“I am feeling nervous, but I have worked hard and can give my best effort. It’s okay if I don’t do perfectly because I will learn and improve.”
Step 6: Repeat the balanced thought with confidence
“I can handle this exam. One test does not define my abilities.”
Mind Filters:This quick script helps interrupt negative thinking, assess facts, and foster a more realistic and positive mindset in just one minute, making it a practical tool for daily use
Quick follow up questions to deepen the one minute script
Mind Filters:Here are quick follow-up questions to deepen the one-minute script for challenging a negative automatic thought:
- What emotions am I feeling right now? How strong are they on a scale of 1 to 10?
- Have I faced similar situations before? What was the outcome then?
- Am I focusing only on the worst-case scenario? What is a more likely or balanced outcome?
- Could I be exaggerating the negatives or ignoring positives? What are some positive facts?
- How would a trusted friend or mentor view this situation? What advice might they give?
- What actions can I take right now to improve the situation or prepare better?
- How will holding on to this negative thought help or hurt me in the long run?
- Am I using “always” or “never” in my thinking? Can I rephrase to be more specific and flexible?
- What can I learn from this experience, regardless of the outcome?
- How can I practice self-compassion when these thoughts arise?
Mind Filters:These questions encourage deeper reflection and balanced thinking beyond the initial challenge, helping shift perspective for clearer, more constructive mental habits.
Mind Filters:10 real-life examples of challenging and reframing negative automatic thoughts
- Thought: “I failed this exam; I must be stupid.”
Reframe: “I didn’t do well this time, but I’ve succeeded before and can learn from this to improve.” - Thought: “My manager criticized my work; I’m terrible at my job.”
Reframe: “There was one area to improve, but overall my work is valued and I can grow with feedback.” - Thought: “Nobody likes me.”
Reframe: “I haven’t connected with everyone, but I have friends who appreciate me.” - Thought: “I always mess things up.”
Reframe: “I sometimes make mistakes, but I also have many successes. Mistakes are learning opportunities.” - Thought: “I’m a burden because I need support.”
Reframe: “Everyone needs help sometimes, and asking for support is a sign of strength.” - Thought: “My colleague is making my job harder; they’re incompetent.”
Reframe: “People make mistakes, but we can support each other to improve outcomes.” - Thought: “If I try to speak up, I’ll embarrass myself.”
Reframe: “Speaking up is a chance to share my ideas and grow, and mistakes are part of learning.” - Thought: “I’m going to fail this project.”
Reframe: “I’m prepared and will do my best. Even challenges help me improve skills.” - Thought: “I don’t deserve this opportunity.”
Reframe: “I earned this chance through effort, and I’m capable of doing well.” - Thought: “I can’t handle stress; I’m weak.”
Reframe: “Stress is tough, but I’ve managed difficult things before and can develop coping skills.”
Mind Filters:These examples show how recognizing distorted thoughts and consciously reframing them leads to healthier, more balanced thinking that supports confidence and resilience
Mind Filters:How to over come distortion.
To overcome cognitive distortions, you can use these effective techniques:
- Identify and Recognize Distortions
Become aware of negative, distorted thinking patterns as they arise by tracking your thoughts through journaling or mindfulness. - Examine the Evidence
Challenge distorted thoughts by asking yourself: What facts support or contradict this thought? Is there another explanation? - Reframe Thoughts
Practice cognitive reframing by replacing irrational thoughts with balanced, realistic ones that reflect the full picture. - Practice Mindfulness
Use mindfulness meditation and grounding techniques to observe thoughts without judgment and reduce emotional reactivity. - Use Thought Records
Write down situations, automatic thoughts, emotions, and alternative rational responses to identify patterns and restructure thinking. - Practice Self-Compassion
Treat yourself kindly rather than harshly criticizing, acknowledging that everyone makes mistakes and learning is continuous. - Behavioral Experiments
Test the validity of your distorted beliefs through real-life experiences to gather evidence and update your thinking. - Seek Professional Help
Therapists trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can guide you in identifying and restructuring cognitive distortions effectively. - Engage in Positive Activities
Physical exercise and activities that boost self-esteem can improve mood and reduce the impact of negative thinking. - Build Support Networks
Talk with trusted friends, family, or support groups who can offer perspective and encouragement.
Mind Filters:Consistent use of these strategies helps reduce the influence of cognitive distortions, promotes clearer thinking, and supports mental well-being.
Mind Filters:Here are practical daily exercises to reduce cognitive distortions:
- Thought Journal: Every day, write down any negative thoughts you notice. Identify which cognitive distortion is present and challenge it with evidence and alternative perspectives.
- Mindful Observation: Spend 5-10 minutes daily practicing mindfulness meditation to observe your thoughts without judgment, helping reduce automatic negative responses.
- Gratitude Practice: List three positive things each day to counteract mental filtering and promote balanced thinking.
- Reframe Negative Thoughts: Choose one negative thought per day and consciously reframe it into a more balanced, realistic thought.
- Positive Affirmations: Use affirmations that counter common distortions (e.g., “I am capable,” “Mistakes help me learn”) repeated daily.
- Behavioral Experiments: Test distorted beliefs by engaging in small activities that challenge negative assumptions (e.g., speaking up in a meeting to challenge “I’ll embarrass myself”).
- Ask “What if?” Questions: Challenge catastrophic thinking by asking, “What if the worst happens? How would I cope?”
- Set Realistic Goals: Break larger goals into smaller achievable steps to combat all-or-nothing thinking.
- Self-Compassion Breaks: Pause during stress to acknowledge your feelings kindly and remind yourself that everyone struggles.
- Discussion and Feedback: Share distorted thoughts with trusted friends or mentors to gain objective input and reduce biased thinking.
These exercises foster awareness, challenge distortions, and create healthier thought patterns when practiced regularly.
Mind Filters:Generalization with example
Overgeneralization is a cognitive distortion where a person takes one negative event and applies it broadly across all similar future events, creating an inaccurate, overly negative perception.
Mind Filters:Example: A student scores poorly on one math test and concludes, “I am terrible at math and will always fail.” This assumes a single setback represents all math-related efforts, which is inaccurate.
Mind Filters:Other real-life examples include:
- After one failed date, thinking “I will never find love.”
- If one colleague acts unfriendly, believing “No one at work likes me.”
- Encountering one rude driver and concluding “All people in this city are rude.”
- Trying a hobby once and deciding “I’m just not creative.”
- Having a bad day and thinking “My whole life is a mess.”
This distortion leads to unwarranted pessimism and can severely limit motivation and confidence. Overcoming it involves recognizing the distortion, gathering evidence, and reframing to acknowledge exceptions and complexities in situations
Differentiate overgeneralization and hasty generalization with examples
Mind Filters:Overgeneralization and hasty generalization are related but distinct concepts:
Overgeneralization is a cognitive distortion where a person draws a broad negative conclusion about themselves or a situation based on one or few experiences. It is often emotionally driven and personal.
- Example: After failing one exam, a student thinks, “I always fail at everything.”
Hasty Generalization is a logical fallacy where a conclusion about a whole group or category is made based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence. It’s a rushed reasoning error often used in arguments and discussions.
- Example: Seeing two unfriendly people from a city and concluding, “Everyone from this city is rude.”
| Aspect | Overgeneralization | Hasty Generalization |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Cognitive/emotional distortion | Logical fallacy in reasoning |
| Basis | One or few personal experiences | Insufficient or biased sample data |
| Scope | Applies broadly to self or situations | Applies broadly to entire groups or categories |
| Example | “I fail once, so I’m a fail in life.” | “Two bad drivers seen, so all drivers are bad.” |
Mind Filters:Here are short examples comparing overgeneralization and hasty generalization in everyday situations:
- Overgeneralization:
“I failed one test, so I’m a failure in all subjects.” (Personal, emotional conclusion from own experience) - Hasty Generalization:
“I met two rude drivers today; all drivers in this city are rude.” (Generalizing a group from limited encounters) - Overgeneralization:
“My last two relationships ended badly, so I’m terrible at relationships.” - Hasty Generalization:
“I saw a few bad reviews online; this whole product must be poor quality.” - Overgeneralization:
“I got rejected once, so I’ll never succeed at job interviews.” - Hasty Generalization:
“One waiter was rude; this restaurant must have bad service.” - Overgeneralization:
“I’m bad at sports because I missed a goal in a game.” - Hasty Generalization:
“I had a few bad experiences traveling to a country; the entire place must be unsafe.” - Overgeneralization:
“I yelled at my friend once, so I’m a bad friend.” - Hasty Generalization:
“I read one negative news article about politicians; all politicians are corrupt.”
Overgeneralization arises from personal emotional experiences stretched broadly on self or life; hasty generalization is an erroneous reasoning leap about groups or categories based on insufficient data
Mind Filters:Daily 5 minute exercises to reduce overgeneralization
Mind Filters:Here are daily 5-minute exercises to reduce overgeneralization:
- Thought Tracking: Spend 5 minutes each day writing down any overgeneralized thoughts. Identify the specific instance and the broad conclusion made.
- Evidence Review: Take one overgeneralized thought and list concrete evidence that both supports and contradicts it, helping to see a more balanced view.
- Alternative Scenarios: Write three alternative explanations or outcomes that show the situation isn’t always the same or as bad as generalized.
- Positive Exceptions: Recall and note specific instances where things went differently or better than your generalization suggests to challenge the “always/never” mindset.
- Gratitude Reflection: End with listing three positive daily experiences or strengths to focus on varied realities rather than a single negative impression.
Mind Filters:Consistently practicing these steps helps break the habit of overgeneralization and promotes more nuanced thinking.
How to do evidence evaluation
Mind Filters:Evidence evaluation in cognitive therapy involves a few clear steps to critically assess the accuracy of your thoughts:
- Identify the Thought: Clearly define the automatic or distressing thought you want to evaluate.
- Gather Evidence For: List all concrete facts, observations, and examples that support the truth of this thought.
- Gather Evidence Against: List all facts, experiences, or reasons that contradict or challenge the thought’s accuracy.
- Assess the Evidence: Weigh the evidence objectively, prioritizing strong, factual, and unbiased information over feelings or assumptions.
- Make a Reasoned Judgment: Decide whether the thought is mostly accurate, partly true, or inaccurate based on the balanced evidence.
- Formulate a Balanced Thought: Develop a more realistic, nuanced thought that considers both sides of the evidence.
For example, if you think, “I always fail,” you would write down facts supporting and contradicting this belief (e.g., past successes), then reframe it to, “Sometimes I struggle, but I have succeeded before and can learn to improve.”
TMind Filters:o practice evidence evaluation in 5-minute exercises, you can follow this simple routine:
- Identify a Thought or Claim: Quickly write down one challenging thought or claim you want to evaluate.
- List Supporting Evidence (2 minutes): Write down specific facts, experiences, or observations that support this thought. Be objective.
- List Contradicting Evidence (2 minutes): Write down factual information, experiences, or alternative explanations that challenge or refute the thought.
- Summary Reflection (1 minute): Review both lists and write a short, balanced statement that reflects a more realistic view incorporating the evidence on both sides.
Mind Filters: example, if you think, “I always fail,” you might list successes (contradicting evidence) and failures (supporting evidence), then conclude, “I sometimes fail but also succeed often, so I can improve.”
Practicing this consistently enhances critical thinking and helps reduce cognitive distortions by basing conclusions on balanced evidence rather than emotions or bias.
Mind Filters:Here is a quick worksheet template to assess evidence for a single negative thought:
Negative Thought:
Write the specific negative thought you want to evaluate.
1. What is the evidence that supports this thought?
- List facts, observations, or experiences that make this thought true.
2. What is the evidence against this thought?
- List facts, experiences, or reasons that challenge or contradict it.
3. Is there an alternative, more balanced thought or explanation?
- Write a new, realistic perspective that considers all evidence.
4. How do I feel when I believe the negative thought?
- Note emotions linked to this thought.
5. How do I feel when I hold the balanced thought?
- Note emotions linked to the reframed thought.
Example:
Negative Thought: “I always mess up presentations.”
Evidence For: I stumbled over a few words last time.
Evidence Against: I received positive feedback and answered questions well.
Balanced Thought: “Sometimes I make minor errors, but overall I communicate effectively.”
Feelings – Negative Thought: Anxious, embarrassed
Feelings – Balanced Thought: Confident, calm
This worksheet helps quickly challenge and reframe negative, distorted thinking with evidence-based reflection.
One page worksheet to list evidence for and against a thought
Here is a one-page worksheet template to list evidence for and against a single thought:
Evidence Evaluation Worksheet
Thought:
Write the negative or automatic thought you want to evaluate.
Evidence Supporting the Thought
(List all facts, experiences, or observations that support this thought)
Evidence Against the Thought
(List all facts, experiences, or observations that challenge or contradict this thought)
Alternative, Balanced Thought
(Write a realistic and balanced thought that considers the evidence above)
How do you feel when you believe the original thought?
How do you feel when you hold the balanced thought?
This worksheet encourages balanced thinking by objectively examining supporting and contradicting evidence, helping to reframe distorted or negative thoughts effectivelY
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