Varies according to individuals'
knowledge, experience, culture, belief systems etc
Driven and reinforced by emotion
At
stressful times, we tend to be driven by our emotions and opinions, which
create a vicious cycle by fuelling each other. Our emotions strengthen our
opinions, which in turn, intensify our emotions.
This leads to impulsive acts and unhelpful
longer term consequences, which help to maintain the overall problem.
It can therefore be helpful to ask ourselves
whether what we’re thinking is FACT or OPINION.
·If
it’s a fact, then we can make choices about what we can or cannot do.
·If
it’s an opinion, then we can look at the facts – what we do know about
the situation.
Example
What words
might we use to describe this picture?
Fact
Opinion
Evidence-based
Clown
Painted face
Colourful
Circus performer
Smiling
Varies, personal view
Funny
Weird hair
Scary
Happy
Ugly
In the same way, individuals can have many varied opinions about
the same event or situation.
If someone we know walked past us without saying hello, we might think, “they
deliberately ignored me”, “she’s being snooty and rude”, “they didn’t want to
talk to me because they don’t like me” and so on.
This might lead us to feel upset, and react in
ways that are unhelpful.
The only fact is that the person
walked past, anything else is opinion – our own personal interpretation of the
event. The reality is that they just didn’t see us.
Realising that many thoughts are opinion rather
than fact makes it less likely that we’ll be distressed by them, and more able
to make wise and calm decisions about what the best action to take.
At
stressful times, we tend to be driven by our emotions and opinions, which
create a vicious cycle by fuelling each other. Our emotions strengthen our
opinions, which in turn, intensify our emotions.
