Cognitive distortions are negatively biased and often illogical thought patterns which are developed through life experiences. To “distort” means to “alter, misinterpret, or exaggerate” a sensory stimulus, idea, or situation. Humans learn through their experiences and often use mental shortcuts to easily and quickly solve problems, make plans, and navigate through social and work interactions. However, these mental shortcuts can create self-defeating attitudes and can negatively impact one’s relationships and one’s overall sense of self-worth. When certain cognitive distortions become dominant, you are susceptible to mental health instability and self-destructive behavioral patterns. Learning how to identify and to “own” self-doubting, irrational, fear-perpetuating, and unproductive thoughts is the first crucial step toward gaining control over such thought patterns.
DO YOU RECOGNIZE ANY OF THESE COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS?
All-or-Nothing Thinking: Seeing situations as either good or bad, with no gray areas. You view everything as “entirely good or entirely bad.” If you don’t do something perfectly, you’ve failed. An example is, “If I don’t get a perfect score on this test, I’m a failure.” Any extremist conclusion about yourself is a representation of “all-or-nothing” thinking.
Overgeneralization: Perceiving one mistake or setback as an indicator of how all future experiences will turn out for you. For example, “ I always forget to pay my bills and will always be a financial mess.” Involves using words like “always,” “never,” “everybody,” and “nobody.” Other examples are, “I will never be successful,” “I always do the wrong thing,” and “Everybody will betray me.”
Rumination: Ongoing attempts to figure out how to “do things better” or repetitive and self-defeating thoughts which support how you “were inadequate or inferior.”
Mind-Reading: Being sure that you know what people think about you or something you’ve done, and it’s typically something bad that you have done.
Fortune-Telling: Predicting that things will turn out badly.
Magnification: Exaggerating the significance of minor problems.
Minimization: Tendency to trivialize or discount your accomplishments.
“Should” Statements: Focusing on how things should be, leading to severe self-criticism and feelings of resentment toward others.
Personalization: Blaming yourself for negative events and downplaying the responsibility of others. Blaming yourself for events that are not your fault. This can lead to feelings of guilt, inadequacy, and self-blame.
Negative Filtering: Focusing only on your negative experiences and being prone to depressed moods, recurring anxiety, poor self-esteem, and persistent self-deprecating thoughts. Often coexists with unrealistically high expectations.
Emotional Reasoning: Assuming that your negative feelings reflect reality. An example is, “I made a mistake at work today and will probably get fired.”
Over-Comparative Thoughts: Measuring yourself against others and feeling constantly inferior, even though the comparison may be unrealistic.
Jumping to Conclusions. Assuming the worst possible outcome, not considering alternative explanations, and making interpretations that contradict the logical and objective evidence.
HOW CAN YOU GAIN CONTROL OVER YOUR COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS??
The Socratic Method is a central technique in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). because it helps individuals become more independent in managing their thoughts and emotions, making it a valuable tool for long-term mental health. It involves asking a series of open-ended, thought-provoking questions to help individuals explore and challenge their own thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions. The goal is to encourage critical thinking, self-reflection, and discovery of healthier or more balanced ways of thinking. The therapist helps the individual identify their automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that arise in response to situations. These thoughts often reflect irrational beliefs, distortions, or cognitive biases. The Socratic Method is about guiding them toward self-discovery and empowering them to critically examine their own beliefs. This method promotes awareness of cognitive distortions open-ended questions to help the individual examine their thoughts more closely. For example: “What evidence do you have that supports this thought?” “Is there another way to look at this situation?” Through these questions, the therapist helps the individual identify cognitive distortions. By asking probing questions, the therapist encourages the individual to explore alternative perspectives. This process helps clients see that their initial thoughts may not be accurate or reflective of the full picture. The goal is to shift from automatic negative thoughts to more balanced, rational, or adaptive thoughts. For example, instead of thinking, “I’m terrible at this,” a more balanced thought might be, “I’m still learning, and I can improve with practice.”
Cognitive Restructuring is a therapeutic technique used in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help individuals identify and change unhelpful or distorted thought patterns that contribute to emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors. The first goal is to help individuals become aware of their automatic, often negative, thought patterns. These thoughts may be distorted in ways such as catastrophizing, overgeneralizing, or engaging in all-or-nothing thinking. Once negative thoughts are identified, cognitive restructuring helps individuals evaluate the evidence for and against these thoughts. This involves questioning their accuracy, asking if they are based on facts, or if they are exaggerated or irrational. The ultimate goal of cognitive restructuring is to help individuals develop healthier thought patterns that become ingrained in their daily life, leading to lasting changes in behavior and emotional well-being. By addressing and restructuring harmful thought patterns, cognitive restructuring helps individuals create a more positive, balanced, and adaptive way of interpreting their experiences and responding to challenges. When individuals can reframe their thoughts in a more realistic way, their emotional reactions often become less intense and more manageable.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) The term “dialectical” means a synthesis or integration of opposites. The primary “dialectical” focus of DBT is between the seemingly opposite techniques of acceptance and change. DBT includes four skill modules: mindfulness and distress tolerance, which are acceptance-oriented and emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness, which are change-oriented. The first of the two acceptance-oriented skills is mindfulness, which is the practice of being fully present and aware of ALL of your emotions at any given moment. Mindfulness is considered a foundation for the other skills taught in DBT, because it moves you from unawareness of your emotions toward accepting and tolerating any of the powerful emotions which you may feel when triggered by an upsetting situation or memory. The second of the two acceptance-oriented skills is distress tolerance, which is the ability to tolerate painful emotions during difficult situations, not to change them. The first of the two change-oriented skills is emotional regulation, which is the process of decreasing vulnerability to painful emotions by reframing, not reacting to, these emotions. The second of the two change-oriented skills is interpersonal effectiveness, which is the ability to ask for what you want and to create and maintain boundaries with others.
