Chaplain's Corner

June 2005
 

“You will be secure, because there is hope;
You will look about you and take rest in safety.”

Job 11:18

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a support group for TBI folks at the Ballinger House. Charlie Morris led the group and as we shared areas of struggle, especially in the distorted ways we think and talk to ourselves. It was helpful to share with others some of the bad feelings which come from distorted thinking. Maybe some of the following apply to you or a loved one.

1. All or nothing thinking: You look at things in absolute, black and white categories.

2. Overgeneralization: You view a negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.

3. Mental filter: You dwell on the negatives and ignore the positives.

4. Discounting the positives: You insist that your accomplishments or positive qualities don’t count.

5. Jumping to conclusions: You conclude things are bad without any definite evidence.

   1. Mind Reading: You assume that people are reacting negatively to you.

   2. Fortune-telling: You predict that things will turn out badly.

6. Magnification or minimization: You blow things out of proportion or you shrink their importance.

7. Emotional reasoning: You reason from how you feel: “I feel like an idiot, so I must be one.”

8. “Should” statements: You criticize yourself or other people with “shoulds,” “shouldn’ts,” “musts,” “oughts.” And “have-tos.”

9. Labeling: Instead of saying, “I made a mistake,” you tell yourself, “I’m a jerk” or “a loser.”

10. Blame: You blame yourself for something you weren’t entirely responsible for, or you blame other people and overlook ways that you contributed to a problem.

 David Burns, MD, 1980

Most of us discovered that we engage in some of these patterns of distorted thinking regularly. When we are depressed, or feel insignificant and unworthy we are even more apt to fall into these bad ways of thinking.

I know this to be true for me, especially in recent months with increased shoulder pain, surgery and being out of work.

While changing the way we think about ourselves is a great practice, we need to know what God thinks about us. Beginning Wednesday June 15, from 1-2 pm, I will be leading a weekly Bible study at the Ballinger TBI Clubhouse.

Please come and learn with me as we experience the love of Jesus Christ transforming us with new hope.

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