Published on 12, July, 2020
Since joining this Community last year, I have seen many a mention of 'seeing things in black and white' and 'black and white thinking'.
I would like to be corrected if I am wrong, but my understanding of this is that it means a person will perceive something to be either this or that, but cannot possibly be both things at the same time. For example, that a person may believe one can feel sadness or happiness, but not both things at the same time.
Have I got this right?
I ask because I have always thought I had the ability to see the shades of grey. Admittedly, not all the time, but certainly sometimes. However, now I find myself wondering if I know myself as well as I thought I did.
If my understanding of what seeing things in black and white means is wrong, I would be grateful if it could be explained to me in simple terms.
I think it's more complicated if you think about sadness vs happiness because emotions are such a complicated and shifting thing.
It's more like either something is good or bad, right or wrong, dumb or sensible, with little room for things that aren't either on one side or the other of a clear dividing line.
Sorry T, I realise it was a poor example that I had used.
Anyway, thank you for your explanation. Although my example was poor, it would seem that I was generally on the right track in terms of my understanding of what it meant.