Cognitive Distortions Part 1
"They read my text but haven't replied yet. They must be mad at me."
What is mind reading
Blowing something out of proportion to make it seem better or worse than it actually is
What is exaggerating
mindfully sitting with an urge instead of distracting yourself or engaging in a behavior
What is urge surfing
What is a core belief?
Long-standing, enduring beliefs about yourself, other people, or the world, often formed in early childhood.
Pick a type of cognitive distortion & give an example
EX: Self-blaming "It's all my fault that I have an ED"
Thinking in polar opposites, with no middle ground.
What is all-or-nothing thinking
Thinking "I'm a failure" when you have made a mistake
What is Labeling
A skill used to treat depression by scheduling and engaging in particular activities, even when we don't "feel" like it
What is behavioral activation
What is one ED behavior urge that cannot be surfed?
What is restriction
Show an example of a downward arrow to uncover a core belief
"everything is too much for me to handle">"I feel out of control">"I won't be able to take it">"I am helpless"
"I met my full meal plan, but it doesn't count because I only ate safe foods."
What is discounting the positive
Emotional reasoning. Thinking that because you feel something, it must be true
What is feelings are facts
A skill used to understand the connection between an event, beliefs, and behavior
What is ABCs of rational thinking
Define pleasant and mastery activities
Pleasant: something done purely for enjoyment
Mastery: something that gives you a sense of achievement or accomplishment
Name three pieces of evidence against the core belief: "I am unlovable."
1. my mom said she loves me
2. I have friends
3. I don't believe other people are unlovable, so why would I be?
Predicting that events will turn out badly
What is Forecasting/future-tripping
"It's all Celina's fault that I am restricting more. She made my meal plan too big."
What is blaming
A skill used to help us cope with problems or stressors that are eliciting a stress response
What is problem solving
Why is it dangerous to put all or most of your self-worth into one area of your life?
Because, if something were to go wrong in that area, we don't have other areas of our life to lean on for self-worth. This can also cause us to neglect other areas of our life (family, hobbies, etc) in the service of spending time on one specific area (like weight/shape size).
Identify one pleasant activity and one mastery activity that you can engage in this upcoming weekend (each member of your group)
EX:
pleasant - reading a book outside
mastery - crocheting a new item
"I never do anything right."
What is overgeneralization
Overestimating the likelihood of a negative outcome. The possibility of a catastrophe is confused with its probability
What is overestimating the threat/magnification
Name 2 of the 3 skills we can use to challenge cognitive distortions
What is: asking questions, gathering the evidence, or conducting a behavioral experiment
What are 3 specific things that might contribute to the experience of body image distress?
Emotions, surface triggers, and underlying triggers
Examples: feeling insecure, feeling full, being stressed
Gather evidence for and against the following: "I am never going to recover from my ED."
Identify a more balanced thought.
Balanced thought: "Recovery is difficult and is not always linear, but every day I can my choices that support my recovery."