Cognitive Distortions

Much of our anxiety comes from distorted thinking. Here are ten common cognitive distortions.

 

1.        Jumping to Conclusions: Predicting something will go a certain way before it actually happens. There are two ways of doing this. One is by Mind Reading: Assuming that we know what someone is thinking or feeling. Example: You believe your husband thinks you look fat in the jeans you are wearing, even though he has given no indication of that. The second is Fortune Telling: Predicting things will turn out badly before anything happens. Example: Your wife is late so you assume she is having an affair.

2.      Shoulds: You believe people and situations should or shouldn’t be a certain way. This can include musts, and have-tos. Example: You should read your Bible for an hour every day.

3.      Catastrophizing: We think the worst-case scenario will occur. Example: The plane you are in hits turbulence. You assume the aircraft is going down and everyone will die.

4.      Overgeneralizing: We make a generalized conclusion based on one event. Example: I always hit every red light.

5.      Labeling: Applying labels to ourselves or others. Labeling can blind us to other qualities in ourselves and others. Example: If we or someone else makes a mistake, we might say, “I am such an idiot,” or “He is such a loser.”

6.      Personalizing: We hold ourselves responsible for things that may not have been our fault. This is common in children who are mistreated. Example: When children are treated poorly, they tend to assume they are to blame and therefore will see themselves as defective. Example for an adult: A woman is beaten by her boyfriend, and she blames herself for the abuse.

7.       Blaming: When the cognitive distortion of personalizing is reversed, we have blaming. We blame others in a situation we took part in creating. Example: George got fired because he was late ten times. Instead of taking responsibility for getting fired, he blames his boss for being a poor manager of his employees.

8.      Polarizing/All or Nothing: We see situations as either perfect or a complete failure. There is no middle ground. Example: A boy catches two fly balls, gets three hits and one strike out. He considers his game and himself a failure.

9.      Filtering: Only see the negative aspects of a situation while screening out the positive aspects. Example: After Sue’s yearly work review, she only focuses on the one critical comment her boss made, while ignoring all the compliments she received.

10.   Emotional Reasoning: Assuming how you feel is an accurate reflection of how things are. Example: If you are feeling anxious, you assume that something bad is going to happen

Andrea Ganahl