A scriptwriter’s job is to create stories. We know that these stories are not always realistic and that they can sometimes be hard to believe. The same thing can happen with those little inner voices: stories that scroll through your head are not necessarily realistic. If you tell yourself that you suck at absolutely everything, do you really think that’s possible?
Is it realistic?
It is very possible that you want to answer yes, but think about your good deeds, the time you were proud of yourself or someone else congratulated you for something!
| Scriptwriter | Role | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| The Catastrophist | They love exaggerated stories. All their scenarios exaggerate the details that become huge mountains that only they can scale! | Everyone congratulated me on my oral presentation except my teacher. So, it wasn’t really good. |
| The Generalist | They tend to see only the negative in every situation. For them, something went badly once so of course it will go badly again the next time! | I failed that exam, so I’ll fail all the others. |
| The Black or White Thinker | Always at the extremes, there is nothing subtle in their stories. Everything is black or white; everything either goes really well or very badly! | The model I made for art class is not perfect so it sucks. |
| The Fortune Teller | They always predict the worst to happen without any evidence to back it up… | I’m sure I’ll fail my history exam; I have no chance of passing. |
| The Labeller | They create characters who feel responsible for things that have nothing to do with them. What’s more, their characters blame each other and call each other names for no reason! | My teacher is in a bad mood. What did I say now? I’m really tactless! |
| The Harsh One | They have high expectations of themselves. If one of their films was very successful, it was not thanks to them, but if another was a failure, it was totally their fault! | I got a good mark on my French exam, but it was too easy! I got a bad mark on my math exam; that’s normal, I’m stupid. |
References:
Association canadienne pour la santé mentale, Montréal. Ma vie, c’est cool d’en parler – Guide d’activités pédagogiques, 2013.
Gouvernement du Québec https://www.quebec.ca/en/health/advice-and-prevention/mental-health/anxiety-in-children/
