Cognitive Distortions at School
Cynthia gives a presentation to her classmates and receives many compliments, but also mild criticism from one of her peers. She obsesses about the criticism she received for days and ignores all the positive feedback.
Disqualifying the positive
Cynthia recognizes only the negative comments not the many positive compliments.
Jake became agitated and upset because he couldn't find his lucky jersey in preparation for the Football game. He told himself "If I am not wearing that jersey my team is going to lose the game."
Magical Thinking
Jake believes his actions influence an unrelated event
Nick was getting irritated after he missed the bus getting to his sister's graduation. He thought to himself "What a mess, my parents are going to think I'm irresponsible for being late or don't care about my sister."
Mind reading
You assume you know what people thinking without having evidence or proof of their thoughts
Where does anxiety live?
Mind and body
Nancy talked herself out trying out for the school play, believing she would messed up her lines. Messing up her lines would then make her an outcast for the rest of her time in school, and she would have no friends.
Catastrophizing
Seeing only the worst case scenario in any situation. This often leads to indecision, anxiety, fear, worry, and panic.
Shannon often tells herself that she is "an idiot" because she didn't understand the new slang word her friend used.
Overgeneralization
Anne has had a long day at school and when she got home, she raised her voice at her family for asking about her day when she walked in the door. She does not often yell at her family. She feels guilty and thought to herself: "I should always be able to control my anger"
"Should" Statements
True or false:
Experiences of anxiety depend on: genetics, brain chemistry, life events, personality
True
Jenna feels ashamed and embarrassed about failing several of her classes. She tells herself that since she feels like a failure, she "must really be a worthless loser".
Emotional reasoning
A way of judging yourself or your circumstances based on your emotions. You assume that your negative emotions reflect the way things really are.
Sam is feeling nervous about going to a birthday party. She tells herself "I shouldn't be feeling this way, this is stupid. I should just be excited for the party, not scared".
"Should" Statements
These statements are self-defeating ways we talk to ourselves that emphasize unattainable standards. Then, when we fall short of our own ideas, we fail in our own eyes, which can create panic and anxiety.
When Darlene comes home from school, her mom tells her they need to talk. Darlene immediately thinks that a family member is hurt, she'll be grounded forever, or that there's a life-threatening situation.
Catastrophizing
Seeing only the worst case scenario in any situation. This often leads to indecision, anxiety, fear, worry, and panic.
True or False:
Anxiety is always bad
False, a level of anxiety can be adaptive and healthy as it pushes us to get work done, complete tasks, and be on top of things.
Matt was awarded student of the month due to his volunteer work with the younger students. When his peers are complimenting his work, Matt responds by making self-deprecating comments like "It's really not that big of a deal, anyone could do what I did."
Magnification/Minimization
Matt minimizes his achievements/accomplishment
Anna blamed herself for her friends being mean/making fun of her, reasoning that if she hadn't messed up so much, it would have never happened.
Personalization
Anna blames herself for her friend's comments instead of realizing it's out of her control
Pam missed the bus to school this morning and as she was walking along the sidewalk, a car drove through a puddle and splashed her. Pam thinks, "This is all my fault for not waking up on time."
Personalization
Pam blames herself for the puddle even though it's not her fault and out of her control.
What is the type of therapy that uses the cognitive triangle?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Jamie decided that he wasn't going to ask his teacher for an assignment extension because he already knew that the answer was going to be "no", so why even try".
What type of jumping to conclusions is this?
Fortune telling
Bianca posted a selfie because she liked her new outfit. One of her followers commented saying that her outfit is trash. Bianca ends up deleting that picture and now wants to get rid of her whole wardrobe and buy new clothes.
Why would this be overgeneralization and not all or nothing thinking?
All-or-nothing thinking results in absolutes, this is overgeneralization because it's taking one clothing item and generalizing it to all clothing items. It would be all of nothing thinking if she mentioned "I'm never fashionable".
Derek asks his sister to play video games, she says no. Derek thinks "She never wants to hangout with me, she must hate me".
Which two cognitive distortions are present here?
All or Nothing Thinking (using absolutes i.e. never)
Mind Reading (interpreting the rejection without evidence).
What 4 reactions are a result of the body's fear response (amygdala)?
*Bonus points if you can describe they are played out with anxiousness
Fight: aggression
Flight: run away or avoid anxiety-provoking situations
Freeze: distract self and procrastination
Fawn: talk your way out of it