Common Schemas & Core Beliefs
What are schemas and core beliefs? Simply put, these are internal patterns and ways of thinking that influence our views of self, others, and the world. These often develop throughout childhood and early life, and are enhanced and modified as we grow older and go through significant life experiences (e.g., trauma). They are also strongly influenced by cultural beliefs and gender expectations. These internal frameworks can be helpful in providing us short-cuts to interpreting our environment. However, they can also be limiting to us when they are profoundly negative, overly cautious, or leave little room for challenging assumptions. If you are curious about what some of your own schemas and core beliefs may be, read and identify some of those listed below. Consider talking with your therapist about where these may stem from and how they regularly influence you:
Abandonment: you believe that people are going to leave and you’ll end up alone
Approval/Recognition-Seeking: you believe that approval is way more important than being “real” or authentic
Defectiveness/Shame: you believe that you are “damaged goods”
Dependence/Incompetence: you believe that you’re incompetent; you can’t make any good choices because you’ll do it wrong
Emotional Deprivation: you believe that your emotional needs with be neglected
Emotional Inhibition: you believe that you have to keep your emotions in check so you aren’t rejected
Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self: you believe that you aren’t a person separate from others
Entitlement/Grandiosity: you believe that you’re special and deserve things, even if it hurts others
Failure: you believe that you are destined to fail, if you haven’t already
Insufficient Self-Control/Discipline: you believe that you can’t control your behaviors or displays of emotions
Mistrust/Abuse: you believe that others are going to hurt or abuse you
Negativity/Pessimism: you believe that life is bad; even when it’s good, it’s going to be bad again in the future
Punitiveness: you believe that people should be harshly punished for mistakes
Self-Sacrifice: you believe that other’s needs, desires, etc. always come before yours
Social Isolation: you believe that you’re really different from everyone else
Subjugation: you believe that you’re being coerced into giving up control
Unrelenting Standards: you believe that you need to be the best…perfect all the time
Vulnerability: you believe that the world is really dangerous
So what tends to arise in response to these schemas??
Surrender: give into the schema or accept it as fact, may behave in self-destructive ways as a result
Avoidance: may go to great lengths to avoid triggering the schema through distracting behaviors (e.g., substance use) or avoiding entering relationships or situations that could set the schema off…may find difficulty getting close to others
Overcompensation: may try to “fight” the schema by deliberately behaving in ways that are counter to it (e.g., perfectionism)
