Thought Distortion
Magnification and minimization
Exaggerating or minimizing the importance of events. You might
believe your own achievements are unimportant or that your mistakes are excessively important.
Jumping to conclusions:
Interpreting the meaning of a situation with little or no evidence.
“Should” statements:
The belief that things should be a certain way.
"If I hadn't hoped something bad would happen to him, he wouldn't have gotten into an accident."
“She wouldn’t go on a date with me. She probably thinks I’m ugly.”
Mind Reading
Catastrophizing:
Seeing only the worst possible outcomes of a situation.
Mind reading:
Interpreting the thoughts and beliefs of others without adequate evidence.
All-or-nothing thinking:
Thinking in absolutes such as “always,” “never,” or “every.”
"They didn’t say hi today—they must be mad at me."
Personalization
“I feel like a bad friend, therefore I must be a bad friend.”
Emotional Reasoning
Overgeneralization:
Making broad interpretations from a single or few events.
Fortune telling:
The expectation that a situation will turn out badly without adequate evidence.
Labeling
Defines themselves (or others) by a single mistake or behavior, instead of seeing it as one moment or action.
"I got a B- on this test. That means I'm terrible at math. I'm going to fail the class. If I fail math, I won’t get into a good college. Then I’ll never get a good job or be successful. My whole future is ruined."
Catastrophizing
"I should always be confident. I shouldn’t feel nervous like this—what's wrong with me?"
Should Statement
Magical thinking:
The belief that thoughts, actions, or emotions influence unrelated situations.
Emotional reasoning:
The assumption that emotions reflect the way things really are.
"They only said it was good to be nice. It’s not actually that great."
Disqualifying the positive
“I never do a good enough job on anything.”
All or Nothing Thinking
Personalization:
The belief that you are responsible for events outside of your control.
Disqualifying the positive
Recognizing only the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring the positive. You might receive many compliments on an evaluation, but focus on the single piece of negative feedback.
"Everyone saw that. They’re all going to think I’m so clumsy and weird. This is so embarrassing—I’ll never live it down."
Magnification
In this case, the teen is magnifying the importance of a small event, seeing it as much more serious or damaging than it really is.
“I felt awkward during my job interview. I am always so awkward.”
Overgeneralization