Ever catch yourself dismissing compliments or minimizing your wins? Someone tells you that you did an amazing job, and instead of feeling proud, you immediately think, "Well, anyone could have done that" or "They're just being nice." You book the audition, land the promotion, or have a genuinely good day—and your brain finds a way to explain it away.

In this episode, we're breaking down Disqualifying the Positive—the sneaky mental pattern that makes you reject good things before they can even land.

This cognitive distortion is like having a filter that only lets negative information through while dismissing anything positive. You end up with a completely skewed view of reality where you have tons of evidence that you're "not good enough," but somehow zero evidence that you are—even though that evidence exists. You're just not letting it count.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What Disqualifying the Positive is and how it distorts your reality
• How this pattern shows up in relationships, creative work, daily life, and self-perception
• Why your brain does this (hint: it's a protection mechanism that made sense once but doesn't serve you anymore)
• The mind-body connection: how your nervous system treats positive moments as danger
• The childhood roots—conditional love, dismissed accomplishments, and comparison culture
• Practical techniques to notice when you're doing it (the "Yeah, But" Test, the 3-Second Rule, and more)
• How to challenge the pattern and start letting good things actually land
• What to do when it feels hard or uncomfortable
• How to build long-term awareness so your future self can receive joy, love, and success

If you've ever felt like nothing good ever happens to you—not because it doesn't, but because you're not letting it register—this episode will help you start to shift that pattern.

Let’s Connect!

Website: www.adjustingpod.com

Social Media: @adjustingpod on Instagram | Facebook | Youtube | TikTok

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adjusting-podcast/id1748188929

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Lyu594jw5luH1rujNcTZZ?si=386a7e7728f5461b

Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7863b34c-b85c-4f67-8044-10dd08cfb660/adjusting-podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdjustingPodcast

Substack Channel: https://justingnelson.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

Guest/Topic submissions: adjustingpod@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Adjusting Podcast is NOT a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment.

Have you ever had an amazing day—got compliments, nailed a project, connected with friends—but all you can think about on the drive home is that one awkward thing you said? Or walked out of an electric audition only to spiral about whether you picked the right song?

Welcome to mental filtering: the cognitive distortion that zooms in on the negative and filters out everything else. In this episode, we're diving into why our brains love to replay what went wrong on a loop, how this pattern shows up in our relationships, creative work, jobs, and daily life—and most importantly, what we can actually do about it.

In this episode, we cover:

• What mental filtering is and how to recognize it in real time
• How this thinking pattern manifests in your body (hint: it's not just in your head)
• The connection between childhood trauma, rejection, and hypervigilance
• Practical tools to challenge the filter and see the full picture
• Real-world application for relationships, auditions, work, and everyday moments
• Why progress matters more than perfection

This isn't about toxic positivity or "good vibes only"—it's about being accurate, not just positive. It's about telling yourself the whole truth, not just the filtered version your brain wants you to believe.

If you're a creative, someone navigating mental health, or just tired of your brain hijacking your good days, this episode is for you.

Let’s Connect!

Website: www.adjustingpod.com

Social Media: @adjustingpod on Instagram | Facebook | Youtube | TikTok

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adjusting-podcast/id1748188929

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Lyu594jw5luH1rujNcTZZ?si=386a7e7728f5461b

Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7863b34c-b85c-4f67-8044-10dd08cfb660/adjusting-podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdjustingPodcast

Substack Channel: https://justingnelson.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

Guest/Topic submissions: adjustingpod@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Adjusting Podcast is NOT a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment.

Does your brain turn minor inconveniences into total life ruination? Welcome to catastrophizing, bestie.

This week we're diving into that special cognitive distortion where your mind becomes a disaster movie director. From creatives convinced one critique means career death, to daters planning breakup speeches after awkward pauses, to therapy beginners sure their therapist thinks they're hopeless - we're calling out those exact spirals with love and humor.

Learn why your cave-person brain thinks everything is dangerous, how catastrophizing shows up differently for different people, and 5 practical ways to shift from disaster thinking to peace for your future self.

Perfect for anyone starting their mental health journey, creatives navigating vulnerability, or daters trying not to lose their minds in the modern dating world.

Let’s Connect!

Website: www.adjustingpod.com

Social Media: @adjustingpod on Instagram | Facebook | Youtube | TikTok

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adjusting-podcast/id1748188929

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Lyu594jw5luH1rujNcTZZ?si=386a7e7728f5461b

Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7863b34c-b85c-4f67-8044-10dd08cfb660/adjusting-podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdjustingPodcast

Substack Channel: https://justingnelson.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

Guest/Topic submissions: adjustingpod@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Adjusting Podcast is NOT a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment.