Cognitive Distortions
Making broad interpretations from a single or few events
Overgeneralization
Catastrophizing
leads people to dread or assume the worst when faced with the unknown
‘I feel terrified about going on airplanes, it must be very dangerous to fly.’
Emotional Reasoning
Mark was struggling with fatigue, low motivation, and a feelings of worthlessness, but when asked by his friend how he was doing, he responded "I'm doing fine, no problems, just chilling."
Minimization
What is a cognitive distortion
irrational thoughts that influence our emotions
The belief that one is responsible for events outside of their own control
Personalization
Magical Thinking
The belief that acts will influence unrelated situations
You receive many positive comments about your presentation to a group of associates at work, but one of them says something mildly critical. You obsess about his reaction for days and ignore all the positive feedback.
Disqualifying the Positive
Chad has a crush on this girl that he sees everyday at the coffee shop on his way to work. He decides that he won't speak to her or ask her out on a date because "She probably thinks I'm a freak. She would never date someone like me".
Mind Reading
T/F
Everyone Experiences Cognitive Distortions to some degree
TRUE
Exaggerating or minimizing the importance of events. One might believe their own achievements as unimportant, or that their mistakes are excessively important
Magnification/ Minimization
"Should" Statements
You tell yourself that things ought to be the way you hoped or expected them to be.
Miranda was told by her boyfriend, Josh, that he would be calling her at 3 PM after he gets off work. It is now almost 3:10 PM and he still never called. "It's been almost ten minutes! I bet he's cheating on me with that one co-worker of his!!"
Jumping to conclusions
Darlene came into work one morning and had a note on her desk to speak to her supervisor as soon as possible. She began to panic and think: "Is she mad at me? What does she want to talk to me about? I am sure I'm getting fired! Then I'll lose my house since I can't pay the bills!"
Catastrophizing
Why is it important to address cognitive distortions?
To challenge/ change our irrational ways of thinking
You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are
Emotional Reasoning
Mind Reading
When people assume they know what others are thinking
Bianca posted a selfie on Instagram because she liked her new outfit. One of her followers commented saying that her outfit is not in style. Bianca ends up deleting that picture and now wants to get rid of her whole wardrobe and buy new clothes since she is not fashionable at all.
All or Nothing Thinking
Reese has been struggling with acne her whole life. When it came time for Homecoming, she had a few new breakouts and wanted to stay home from the dance. When her mom tried to usher her to go, she said: "I can't go when I have this pizza face! These zits make me so hideous!"
Magnification
T/F
We know what causes cognitive distortions
FALSE
You see things in black and white categories If a situation falls short of perfect, you see it as a total failure.
All or nothing thinking
Disqualifying the Positive
Recognizing only the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring the positive
Cheryl has difficulty completing tasks at school and often tells herself "I really should be able to get this done, it's not that hard. There must be something wrong with me."
Jamie decided that he wasn't going to ask his boss for a raise because he already knew that the answer was going to be "no", so why even try?
Fortune Telling
Give ANY example of a cognitive distortion that has not been said
...