Thought Distortion
Thought Distortion
Thought Distortion
Examples
Examples
100

Magnification and minimization

Exaggerating or minimizing the importance of events. You might

believe your own achievements are unimportant or that your mistakes are excessively important.

100

Jumping to conclusions:

Interpreting the meaning of a situation with little or no evidence.

100

“Should” statements:

The belief that things should be a certain way.

100

"If I hadn't hoped something bad would happen to him, he wouldn't have gotten into an accident."

Magical Thinking
100

“She wouldn’t go on a date with me. She probably thinks I’m ugly.”

Mind Reading

200

Catastrophizing:

Seeing only the worst possible outcomes of a situation.

200

Mind reading:

Interpreting the thoughts and beliefs of others without adequate evidence. 

200

All-or-nothing thinking:

Thinking in absolutes such as “always,” “never,” or “every.”

200

"They didn’t say hi today—they must be mad at me."

Personalization

200

“I feel like a bad friend, therefore I must be a bad friend.”

Emotional Reasoning

300

Overgeneralization:

Making broad interpretations from a single or few events. 

300

Fortune telling:

The expectation that a situation will turn out badly without adequate evidence.

300

Labeling

Defines themselves (or others) by a single mistake or behavior, instead of seeing it as one moment or action.

300

"I got a B- on this test. That means I'm terrible at math. I'm going to fail the class. If I fail math, I won’t get into a good college. Then I’ll never get a good job or be successful. My whole future is ruined."

Catastrophizing

300

"I should always be confident. I shouldn’t feel nervous like this—what's wrong with me?"

Should Statement


400

Magical thinking:

The belief that thoughts, actions, or emotions influence unrelated situations. 

400

Emotional reasoning:

The assumption that emotions reflect the way things really are.

400

"They only said it was good to be nice. It’s not actually that great."

Disqualifying the positive

400

“I never do a good enough job on anything.”

All or Nothing Thinking

500

Personalization:

The belief that you are responsible for events outside of your control. 

500

Disqualifying the positive

Recognizing only the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring the positive. You might receive many compliments on an evaluation, but focus on the single piece of negative feedback.

500

"Everyone saw that. They’re all going to think I’m so clumsy and weird. This is so embarrassing—I’ll never live it down."

Magnification

In this case, the teen is magnifying the importance of a small event, seeing it as much more serious or damaging than it really is.

500

“I felt awkward during my job interview. I am always so awkward.”

Overgeneralization