THINKING TRAPS
Stories the mind can tell - and questions that make room for a wider view
Our minds are always interpreting what is happening. They fill in gaps, predict danger, compare the present with the past and try to reach conclusions quickly. This can be useful, but when we are anxious, low, stressed, ashamed, exhausted or overwhelmed, our thinking can become narrow and repetitive. We may begin to treat one possible interpretation as if it were the whole truth.
I created this eight-page illustrated guide to make common thinking patterns easier to recognise without turning them into another reason to criticise yourself. The first page explains how thoughts, feelings and behaviour can influence one another and introduces a gentle process: catch the thought, name the possible pattern, check the evidence and widen the view.
The guide explores twelve familiar thinking traps, including jumping to conclusions, mind reading, filtering out the positive, magnification, catastrophising, personalisation, emotional reasoning, minimising, labelling, should statements, overgeneralising and all-or-nothing thinking. Each pattern has its own colourful symbolic illustration, a plain-language explanation, an example of what the mind might say and a question that encourages flexibility.
The final page offers a spacious reflection exercise. You can use it to explore one recent situation, record the first interpretation that appeared, notice the feelings and body sensations that followed, and consider whether a broader or kinder perspective is possible. The goal is not forced positivity. It is to think more fully, include information the first thought may have missed and respond with greater choice.
Please use this resource gently. Some painful thoughts are connected to real loss, discrimination, trauma or present danger, and practical support may be more appropriate than reframing. For some people, repeatedly checking thoughts can also become rumination or an OCD compulsion. You do not need to challenge every thought. Sometimes simply noticing that the mind is telling a familiar story is enough.
With warmth,
Maggie
Space to Breathe Therapy
Important note: This educational resource does not replace personalised psychological assessment or treatment. If thought challenging increases distress, rumination or self-criticism, pause and seek appropriate support.
