Dr. David Burns I think coined the phrase "all or none thinking". It refers to making things or situations black or white. Looking at the world in an either - or, type situation. The world is all grey, very little of it is actually black or white. All or none thinking is a cognitive distortion that is of partictular danger in drug rehab. Statement like I can never quit usings drugs, or I always relapse and go back to alcohol, are typical statements of this type.
The true danger of cognitive distortions is that they invariably lead to poor decisions. "I can never quit drugs, so I might as well quit this stupid drug rehab anyway!" See what I mean, all of none thinking is very self defeating. All or none thinking can even be applied to the drug rehab itself. The program is either great or it is a total waste of time. Most drug rehabs, if not all drug rehabs fall in between these two extremes, at least at some time during your stay.
The reall way out of all or none thinking is to ask yourself, "I think I might be exagerating a bit, so what % of the time, REALISTICALLY does this REALLY happen?" Even if your answer is 90%, that still means 10% of the time it does NOT. This also means you can aske an amazing and powerful new question. "What would I have to do to get is so 80 or 70% of the time this does not happen?" Once you get to 70% you can start to go to 50%. All of nothing thinking keeps you locked in inaction. Inaction in an addiction is dangerous.
Make moving past all of none thinking one of your goals in drug rehab. If you are thinking about leaving a drug and alcohol rehab program early it is all or none thinking at work. Ask some better questions, and your chances of moving past addiction go way past, " All or None ".
