Let’s start by discussing a common type of toxic thinking that people do, which psychologists call the “negativity effect”.
In one’s life, one has positive experiences and negative experiences. Unfortunately, one’s mind can tend to give excessive importance to negative experiences while mostly ignoring positive experiences.
This increased focus on negative experiences can make one unnecessarily feel that things are worse than they really are.
Psychologists have named this way of thinking, where one’s mind exaggerates negative experiences, the “negativity effect”. It is quite important to avoid it as if it happens too often, it can lead to one having a low mood or even depression.
The example below shows how the negativity effect can be harmful.
Joe has an annual job review where his boss says he is a valued worker, performing exceedingly well in most aspects. The only thing the boss can find fault with is a minor issue where Joe needs to double-check the spelling when he writes reports, as there were a few errors in the last report he wrote. When Joe goes home he gets depressed as he only keeps thinking about the minor spelling issue, ignoring all the other good things the boss said.
It makes no sense to just focus on negative experiences. Rather, try to give importance to both positive and negative experiences in a balanced way, instead of only seeing the negative aspects.
