Desiring to live a healthy Community life together, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity hold an annual health day addressing issues important to the Sisters. This summer Sister Anne Marie Lom facilitated a summary and application of cognitive behaviors that would improve communication and assist with normal conflict resolution. Information was given to assist an individual in personal transformation.
Cognitive Distortions and their implications for community living and for ministry were discussed. David D. Burns, M.D.’s concepts were commented on.
- All or nothing thinking (if I’m not perfect, I’m not at all effective)
- Overgeneralization (use of “always” and “never”)
- Mental filter (pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it)
- Discounting the positive (positives don’t count as much as negatives)
- Jumping to conclusions (interpreting things negatively when there are few or no facts to support that conclusion)
- Magnification/Minimization (exaggerating importance or shortcomings, make less of desirable qualities)
- Emotional reasoning (assume that your negative emotions reflect the way “things really are”)
- Should statements (addiction to an ideal, things “should” be a certain way)
- Labeling or Stereotyping (I am a loser, my child is dumb, my family is a mess)
- Personalization and blame (holding myself personally responsible for an event that isn’t entirely under my control…where did I/we go wrong?)
Sister Anne Marie, a trained Franciscan Spiritual Director and member of our Congregation’s General Administration, accepted questions and insights from the Sisters.