A cognitive distortion where you focus solely on the negative aspects of a situation, ignoring the positives and losing sight of the overall picture. This can lead to a skewed perspective, where a single negative detail overshadows all the good things.
Here are some examples of Negative Filtering, along with reframed versions:
Example 1: A person receives 10 compliments on their presentation, but one person criticizes their tone. They focus on the criticism and think, "I'm a terrible presenter."
Reframed: "I received 10 positive comments on my presentation, and one person had a suggestion for improvement. I'll take that feedback into consideration and keep working on my skills."
Example 2: A student gets 9 out of 10 questions correct on a test, but focuses on the one question they got wrong and thinks, "I'm so stupid, I'll never pass this class."
Reframed: "I got 9 out of 10 questions correct on the test, which is a great score. I'll review the one question I got wrong and make sure to understand the material better next time."
Example 3: A person has a great day at work, but their boss mentions one small mistake they made. They focus on the mistake and think, "I'm a failure, I'll never be able to do this job."
Reframed: "I had a great day at work, and my boss pointed out one area for improvement. I'll learn from that mistake and keep doing my best to excel in my role."
Example 4: A person goes on a vacation and has a wonderful time, but it rains one day. They focus on the rainy day and think, "This vacation was a disaster."
Reframed: "I had a great vacation, and yes, it rained one day. But I still had plenty of fun and made some amazing memories. The rain was just a small part of the trip."