CONSIDER AN ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION

What this episode covers

I take on and tackle Tuesday, April 14, 2015 after recent bouts with severe depression and turn a bad day around. I spend the second half of this film in a cognitive behavioral therapy session where my psychologist and I primarily discuss F.A.B. The Fundamental Attribution Bias. It was a great session. I am glad how I was able to slow it down when it became overwhelming. We mainly discussed the F.A.B. The Fundamental Attribution Bias. It's where we assume our own negative traits are situational, and others' negative traits are part of their personality. It's probably somewhere in the middle for many of us.   Either way, whether it's because of the F.A.B., cognitive distortions, or delusions… we should consider alternative explanations frequently.  Our instinct is to follow the same paths, to the same conclusions. Considering alternative explanations can help us figure out what's going on logically, rather than habitually. My psychologist used the example of a man from that morning who was driving erratically in front of him.   My doctor thought, "What a jerk." It made him feel angry, then, when he saw a dog in his car; he considered that he was taking the dog to the vet. (He probably wasn't!  But he may have been upset over something else, and driving like a jerk.)   But considering this possibility made him feel better and as I may have astutely pointed out: prevented him from being a jerk, giving him the finger or something. It's been a lot to think about and so I have not shot any new footage since recording this film though some good opportunities came up. I have taken the liberty time to think about all of this stuff, and as we had continued without recording 2 days later. I finally decided to post this film, Consider an Alternative Explanation.—Jonathan Harnisch

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