Name the Distortion
You look at things in absolute, black and white categories.
All or nothing thinking
You insist that your accomplishments or positive qualities "don't count."
Discounting the Positives
The dog keeps barking at people walking outside. You tell the dog "Stop. You're so annoying!"
Labeling
Instead of putting yourself down in a harsh, condemning way, talk to yourself in the same compassionate way you would talk to a friend with a similar problem.
The Double-Standard Method
You criticize yourself or other people with "shoulds", "shouldn'ts", "musts", "oughts", "have tos", etc.
Should Statements
You view a negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
Overgeneralization
You stay up until 1am studying for a big math test. The next morning, you take the test and find that you got a C-, and you tell yourself "I should have pulled an all-nighter and studied more. I have to do better!"
Should statement
Instead of assuming your negative thought is true, examine the proof that it's true and untrue.
Examine the Evidence
You blow things way out of proportion, or you shrink their importance inappropriately.
Magnification or Minimization
You overly identify with your shortcomings; or, you assign a description to another person based on their behavior
Labeling
You had to speak in front of the class. You were nervous, so your face turned red and your hands were shaking. You got through the speech and received compliments from several students and the teacher about how much they enjoyed your speech. One student said "But your face got really red!" You get an A on the speech, but spend the remainder of the day thinking of the one student's comment about your face.
Mental Filter -OR- Discounting the Positive
Look up the meaning of the words you are labeling yourself/others with and see if it is really true.
Define Terms
You dwell on the negatives and ignore the positives.
Mental filter
You blame yourself for something you weren't entirely responsible for; or, you blame others and overlook ways that your own attitudes/behaviors might contribute to a problem.
Personalization or Blame
Your parent tells you that you have to see a new therapist next week. You've seen therapists in the past, and did not enjoy your experiences. You say "Great, every therapist just wants to get into my business and never keeps my secrets!"
Overgeneralization
List the advantages and disadvantages of having that negative thought or behavior.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
You reason from how you feel. You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are.
Emotional Reasoning
Name the 2 parts of "Jumping to Conclusions"
1. You assume that people are reacting negatively to you when there's no definite evidence for this.
2. You predict or assume that things will turn out badly.
1. Mind-reading
2. Fortune-telling
Your partner broke up with you and did not give an explanation. You tell yourself "This shows what an awful person I am. If I had only done what they wanted, maybe they would have stayed with me."
Personalization/Blame
Instead of automatically assuming that you're in the wrong or blaming yourself entirely for a problem, think about the many factors that led up to that moment and what else may have contributed to the problem.
Re-attribution