[How to Stop Dwelling] For those who get dragged down by one bad thing. How the brain enters 'worst-case mode' and how to break out of it.

🐕 "When one bad thing happens, I feel like the whole day is ruined, woof."

Hello, this is Yuru-Shiba from the Yuru-Shiba AI Lab.
This is sudden, but may I ask you something?
Have you ever had one bad thing happen in the morning and felt like the entire day was ruined?

When 'one thing' paints over everything

A text message reply was cold this morning.
It was just that.
"Maybe they're angry at me."
"Things aren't going well in my relationships lately."
"Come to think of it, work isn't going well either."
"I feel like everything is going wrong lately."
"I'm always like this."
Before I knew it, it wasn't about the text message anymore.
The small 'bad thing' from the morning gradually spreads to the whole day, to recent events, and to my entire life.
"When one bad thing happens, I get dragged down by everything."
This doesn't mean you are emotionally unstable or weak.

The brain's mechanism of 'generalization'

Let me talk a little bit about the brain.
The human brain has a function that tries to create a 'pattern' from a single event.
"This happened -> therefore, this is what it means."
It quickly assigns meaning. This is originally a survival function to quickly detect danger.
But the brains of highly sensitive people tend to make this 'meaning assignment' deep and broad.
They build a pattern from one bad thing that says, 'Everything hasn't been going well lately.'
Moreover, once you enter 'worst-case mode,' the brain starts collecting 'evidence of the worst.'
Things that are going well become invisible, and only things that are going poorly become visible.
'I feel like everything is going wrong' is not a fact, but a state where the 'worst-case filter' created by the brain is applied.

People who are prone to being 'dragged down by everything'

There is one more thing I want you to know.
Being 'dragged down by everything because of one bad thing' is common in people who have had the experience where 'one mistake led to a big result' in the past.
You were suddenly scolded for something small.
A minor failure was blamed for a long time.
A precious relationship was broken over something trivial.
When such experiences pile up, the brain learns that 'a small bad thing might be a sign of a big problem.'
Being sensitive to 'one thing' is because your brain is trying to 'detect it early.'
You aren't being dramatic. There is a reason your brain learned to be that way.

Signs that the 'worst-case filter' is on

When these thoughts start, it's a sign that the 'worst-case filter' is on.
"I feel like everything hasn't been going well lately."
"I'm always like this."
"It's going to be the same thing again anyway."
"Everything is going wrong today."
Be careful if words like 'everything,' 'always,' 'anyway,' and 'again' come up.
These are signs that 'generalization' has begun.

Having AI 'remove the filter'

Here is what I do. When I feel like the 'worst-case filter' is on, I throw it at Chappy.

Chappy replies like this.
🤖 Chappy's reply (reproduction):

'Finding just one thing'
This is quite effective.
When you are in a state of 'everything is bad,' it is impossible to 'make up for everything.' But if it's 'finding just one good thing,' you can do it.
The moment you find one, the 'everything is bad' starts to crumble.

Practice of returning 'everything' to 'one'

I will introduce a concrete way to deal with it when the 'worst-case filter' is on.

Stop when you discover 'everything, always, anyway':

The moment these words pop into your head, realize, 'Oh, the filter is on right now.' Just by realizing it, you can become a little more objective.

Return 'today's bad thing' to 'just an event of today':

Instead of thinking 'everything has been going wrong lately,' return to the simple fact that 'the reply to my message this morning was cold.' Do not expand the scope.

Ask an AI to help you find 'what went well today':

When it's hard to see for yourself, ask Chappy to 'help me find what went well today.' By having an external perspective find it for you, it becomes easier to remove the filter.

Don't blame yourself for being 'easily affected'

Finally, there is something I want to tell you.
The reason one bad thing pulls everything else down is because you take things deeply.
People who can just brush things off on the surface won't understand this feeling.
Because you take things deeply, one thing spreads to the whole.
That depth also means you can feel both joy and sadness more deeply than others.
However, when you realize the 'worst-case filter' is on, ask an AI to help you find 'just one good thing.'
With just that, today returns from being a 'day where everything went wrong' to a 'day where one bad thing happened.'

It wasn't 'all bad.'
It was just a 'day where one bad thing happened.'
You did your best today, too.
🐕 'Just returning everything to one thing makes the brain a little more at ease, woof.'

You can find all articles in this series in the [Archived Summary].

📝 This article is written by Yuru-Shiba AI Lab (Yuru-Shiba) based on insights gained through actual interactions with AI. It is not intended for specific medical or psychological diagnosis. If you continue to feel distressed, please consult a professional.