How to Detect If Your Brain Is Creating a False Version of Reality

Your brain is an expert narrator, but it's not always a reliable one. Often, it constructs a version of reality filtered through your beliefs, emotions, and past experiences. This means that what you see, interpret, or remember may not fully match what is actually happening.

This distortion of reality is more common than it seems and often occurs without you noticing. Your mind, seeking to protect you or simplify the complex, fills gaps with assumptions or exaggerates certain aspects based on your past experiences. Over time, these modified versions of reality influence your way of thinking, feeling, and acting, generating conflicts, misunderstandings, and emotional suffering.

How to Know If Your Mind Distorts Reality

Cognitive distortions are thought traps that make you see the world in a partial or erroneous way. Some signs that your brain might be creating a false version of reality are:

• Catastrophic Thinking: You always expect the worst outcome, even when it's unlikely. You live in constant alert for dangers that may not exist.
• Mind Reading: You believe you know what others think or feel without evidence, interpreting looks, silences, or words in your own way.
• Rigid Labels: You define yourself or others with extreme judgments like "I'm a failure" or "She's a bad person," without considering other nuances.
• Negative Filtering: You only see the bad in a situation, ignoring any positive aspects. For example, you receive 10 compliments and one criticism, but only remember the criticism.
• Overgeneralization: If something bad happens once, you believe it will always be that way: "Nothing ever goes right for me" or "Everyone betrays me."

These distortions make you suffer, damage your relationships, and prevent you from making healthy decisions.

How to Correct Your Vision and Get Closer to Reality

The first step is to question your thoughts. When you notice a negative or extreme idea, ask yourself: "Is this 100% true? What evidence do I have? Am I interpreting or is it a fact?" Learning to differentiate facts from opinions is key to seeing more clearly.

It also helps to seek other perspectives. Talking to trusted people or asking for opinions helps you step out of your own interpretive bubble. Sometimes, others see what you can't.

However, changing the way your brain interprets reality is not easy, especially if these distortions have been ingrained for years. That's where therapy becomes essential. With a psychologist, you can identify which distortions are affecting your life and learn techniques to dismantle them. Additionally, you can explore where these beliefs come from and how they have influenced your way of acting and relating.

If you feel that your mind is working against you, that your way of seeing the world is hurting you, or that you are trapped in negative thoughts, you don't have to face it alone. Together, we can help you see reality more clearly and regain control of your life.

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