What's Up Docs? Doctors' Notes: All-or-Nothing Thinking
Nov 11, 2025
Kimberley Wilson, a Chartered psychologist and author, dives into the pitfalls of all-or-nothing thinking. She explains how this binary mindset manifests in therapy and its troubling role in our society and politics. Kimberley highlights the dangers of social media algorithms that amplify extreme viewpoints and shape generational differences in thought. She suggests evaluating online mental health claims, contrasting harmful actions with potential for change in individuals. The conversation is both insightful and necessary for understanding modern mental health.
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Words That Reveal Binary Thinking
- Black-and-white thinking shows up as extreme words like "always", "never", "can't" and "impossible".
- Kimberley Wilson says those words reveal a rigid mindset that exposes itself quickly in therapy.
Reframe Single Mistakes As Context
- Pull back your viewpoint when one slip ruins your whole progress.
- Kimberley Wilson advises seeing a single lapse as one moment among many rather than proof of total failure.
Extremes Undermine Stable Societies
- Extremes are unstable and damage the functioning middle ground of society.
- Kimberley Wilson argues that healthy systems need balance, not only one side or the other.