Panic Disorder Coping Mental Filters and Panic Disorder Conquer Your Negative Thinking and Perceptions by Reframing By Katharina Star, PhD Katharina Star, PhD Facebook LinkedIn Katharina Star, PhD, is an expert on anxiety and panic disorder. Dr. Star is a professional counselor, and she is trained in creative art therapies and mindfulness. Learn about our editorial process Updated on November 18, 2020 Medically reviewed Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Steven Gans, MD Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Mental filter is a term used to describe one type of cognitive distortion, or faulty thought pattern, that can often lead to higher levels of anxiety and depression. When thinking through a mental filter, a person is focusing only on the negative aspects of a situation and filtering out all of the positive ones. People with this form of negative thinking often see their glass as being half empty rather than half full in any situation. People diagnosed with panic disorder frequently use a mental filter to sift out all of the pleasant and fulfilling parts of their lives, while bringing more attention to their inadequacies and dissatisfaction. They may center on their feelings of loneliness and avoidance behaviors, failing to notice ways in which they have actually learned to cope with panic disorder. Anxiety levels will continue to rise as positivity continues to be filtered out, while the self-defeating thoughts are intensified. Cognitive Distortions of Magnification and Minimization Below are a few examples of using this type of negative thinking pattern. As you think about these examples, see if you recognize your own way of thinking in these situations. If you do find yourself in these stories, learn how to change your mental filters, reframing them to allow in more positive thoughts and ideas. Examples greenaperture / Getty Images Edmond - Edmond is an expert in his field and was asked to present a one-day workshop at a local college. During his presentation, he notices that a student walks out and never returns. After class, many students come up to him to thank him for his valuable presentation. However, Edmond drives home feeling angry at the one student who left. Edmond also keeps anxiously self-doubting his own work, wondering if the student would have stayed if his lecture had been more interesting. Amy - Amy has long struggled with major depressive disorder and anxiety. Through psychotherapy, she has started to learn how to forgive those who have hurt her in her past. By forgiving her mother, Amy had developed a closer relationship with her and had even started to trust her more. One day Amy opened up to her mother about her diagnosis of depression. Her mother responded less compassionately than Amy had expected. She became infuriated and determined that she never should have forgiven her mother in the first place. Although her mother apologized for the misunderstanding, Amy refused to talk to her and now feels that therapy was a waste of time. Reframing Examples Edmond - Edmond is so upset about the student who left that he cannot even acknowledge and absorb the compliments he received. He could reframe his situation by focusing more on all of the positive feedback that came from other students. Instead of filtering in self-defeating thoughts. Edmond can choose to focus on the good in the situation. He can recognize that it is possible that not everyone enjoyed his lecture, but that many students benefited from it. He may even be able to realize that in any lecture situation there are bound to be some people who are not appreciative, and give himself a pat on the back that, statistically, he had an excellent response to his lecture. Amy - Amy is failing to see the positive aspects of her relationship with her mother—by only focusing on the negative. Amy worked up the courage and strength to forgive her mother and develop a relationship with her again. However, she is upset that her mother didn’t respond to her the way she wanted her to. If Amy recognizes this mental filter, she may be able to see things in a more balanced way. Amy can then recognize that her mother may not act the way she wants her to, but that this does not mean that Amy’s gains through therapy were useless. Cognitive Distortions: Magnification and Minimization How to Reframe Negative Thoughts Having given these examples of using reframing to deal with mental filters, it's important to quickly define what we mean by reframing. Reframing is a technique for changing your way of experiencing something. A situation does not change, but the way in which you perceive the situation changes. Most situations in our lives can be looked at in more than one way. An example may be a young woman going through chemotherapy for breast cancer, a treatment which causes loss of all hair on the body. You could look at this situation in one way and become totally depressed about losing your beautiful hair. Or instead, you could look at it in another way. You won't have to shave your legs for six months! This example is more extreme than many (yes, it's pushing it) but serves as a reminder that sometimes with reframing you will need to "fake it till you make it." You may need to focus hard on your reframed thought for it to outweigh your negative thought, but studies tell us this actually works. After finishing this article and considering the ways in which both Edmond and Amy used reframing to address this type of cognitive distortion, you may wish to review some of the ways in which you can use reframing to lessen stress, including looking for what you can change, and finding humor. It is possible to change your perception of a situation, and use reframing to overcome the faulty thought pattern produced by mental filters. Cognitive Distortions of Magnification and Minimization Bottom Line Only seeing the downside of a situation can be a crippling cognitive distortion for people with anxiety disorders. We have a choice to take notice of only the negative or to also see the silver lining in any given situation. In order to conquer this form of negative thinking, make an effort to match every negative thought about a situation with a positive one. After you've finished doing this, you may even wish to try finding silver linings in those situations in which there are truly many negatives. 2 Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Rnic K, Dozois DJ, Martin RA. Cognitive distortions, humor styles, and depression. Eur J Psychol. 2016;12(3):348–362. doi:10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1118 Larsson A, Hooper N, Osborne LA, Bennett P, Mchugh L. Using brief cognitive restructuring and cognitive defusion techniques to cope With negative thoughts. Behav Modif. 2016;40(3):452-82. doi:10.1177/0145445515621488 Additional Reading Caouette JD, Guyer AE. Cognitive distortions mediate depression and affective response to social acceptance and rejection. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2016;190:792-799. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2015.11.015 By Katharina Star, PhD Katharina Star, PhD, is an expert on anxiety and panic disorder. Dr. Star is a professional counselor, and she is trained in creative art therapies and mindfulness. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Speak to a Therapist for Panic Disorder Advertiser Disclosure × The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Verywell Mind receives compensation.