Type 1
This is when we see things in black and white categories. There is no grey area.
What is "all-or-nothing" thinking?
This is when we anticipate that things will turn out badly and act as if they already turned out that way.
What is fortune telling?
“I should’ve quit drinking months ago” is this type of cognitive distortion.
What is "should" statements?
"I will never be happy."
"I may be unhappy now but that will pass."
"I have been happy before and I will be happy again."
What is jumping to conclusions?
This is when we see a single negative event as a part of a never-ending streak of failure. We use words like "always," "never," or "every."
What is overgeneralization?
This is when we see ourselves as the cause of events that we are not responsible for.
What is personalization?
"You and a friend start your recovery journey together and your friend relapses. You take the blame for your friend’s relapse despite having no control over them" is this type of cognitive distortion.
What is personalization?
"I should give my friend money because they asked."
"I wish I could loan them money but I cannot afford it."
"I want to give my friend money because it makes me feel good and I have some to spare."
These are well-learned ways of thinking about situations that are instantaneous and reflect our underlying beliefs about the world.
What are automatic thoughts?
This is when we blow a situation out of proportion.
This is an extreme example of turning positive events into negative ones.
What is disqualifying the positive?
"They don’t care that I’m four months sober, they’re only congratulating me to be nice" is this type of cognitive distortion.
What is disqualifying the positive?
"He didn't say hi to me this morning so he must be mad at me for something I did."
"There are many reasons he did not say hi to me. It's probably nothing personal."
"I will check in with him later and make sure everything's okay."
If we can control the way we ______, we can control the way we _____.
What is if we can control the way we THINK, we can control the way we ACT.
This is when we conclude that someone is acting negatively towards us without checking it out or seeking other evidence.
What is mind-reading?
This is when we believe that acts will influence unrelated situations.
"You want to quit drinking, but you tell yourself sobriety isn’t possible, so you never attempt to recover" is this type of cognitive distortion.
What is fortune-telling?
"I never do anything right."
"I made a mistake."
"I forgot to do that. I will find a way to fix it."
These are the ABCs of anger and can be applied to cognitive distortions.
What is antecedent, behavior, and consequence?
This is when we use emotions to assume how things are.
What is emotional reasoning?
This is when we apply unfair/simplistic definitions that or probably wrong or incomplete to our selves and others. *not on the handout*
What is labeling?
"You have no problem stopping after one beer, so you think alcoholism isn’t real" is this type of cognitive distortion.
"I will never beat this addiction."
"I have been able to be clean some time in the past."
"I have made progress."
This is the best way to disrupt an irrational thought?
What is look for contradictory evidence?