Name That Distortion
“I made one mistake today, so my entire recovery is ruined.”
All-or-nothing thinking.
“I feel guilty after eating, so I must have done something wrong.”
Emotional reasoning. Feelings are valid, but they are not facts.
“I can’t handle feeling uncomfortable.”
Possible answer: “Discomfort is difficult, but I have tolerated uncomfortable feelings before.”
“My worth depends on how I look.”
Conditional self-worth / over-identification with appearance.
A friend says: “I know everyone is upset with me. Nobody has talked to me today.”
“What evidence do you have that everyone is upset? Could there be another explanation?”
“Everyone at the treatment center thinks I’m difficult.”
Mind reading.
“My therapist seemed distracted today. She must be disappointed in me.”
Mind reading. An assumption is being treated as fact.
“If I ask for help, people will think I’m weak and a burden.”
Possible answer: “Asking for support is a skill, not a weakness. Every human being needs support, and that can look different for everyone."
“If I can’t do recovery perfectly, there’s no point trying.”
All-or-nothing thinking / perfectionism.
Someone says: “I had a bad day, so I might as well give up on the rest of the week.”
“Does one difficult day determine how the rest of your week has to go?”
“If I don’t get this right, everything is going to fall apart.”
Catastrophizing.
“I had one uncomfortable experience during recovery, so recovery must be impossible for me.”
Overgeneralization.
“I had a setback, so all my progress is gone.”
Possible answer: “A setback doesn’t erase the work I’ve already done. Recovery isn’t linear.”
“I can’t enjoy myself at an event because I’m too focused on what I might eat.”
Mental filtering / attentional narrowing.
Someone says: “I’m the only person here who isn’t getting better.”
"Are you comparing your internal experience with everyone else’s external presentation?”
“I had a difficult meal today, which means I’m never going to recover.”
Overgeneralization.
“I received positive feedback from five people, but one person criticized me. That one criticism is all I can think about.”
Mental filtering. Focusing exclusively on negative information.
“I need to feel completely confident before I can participate in something.”
Possible answer: “I can participate while feeling uncertain. Confidence doesn’t have to come first.”
“I have to earn rest, enjoyable experiences, or kindness toward myself.”
Conditional self-worth and rigid rules.
Someone says: “I can’t do anything right. I always mess things up.”
“Is that really true every single time? Can you identify an example that contradicts that belief?”
“I should be further along in recovery by now. I shouldn’t still be struggling.”
Should statements.
“I’ve been making progress, but it doesn’t count because I still have bad days.”
Disqualifying the positive.
“If I stop relying on my eating disorder behaviors, I won’t know who I am anymore.”
Possible answer: “My eating disorder is part of my experience, but it doesn’t define my identity. I can discover other parts of myself and redefine myself.”
“I don’t deserve to participate in life until I reach a certain stage of recovery.”
Conditional self-worth, disqualifying the present, and all-or-nothing thinking.
Someone says: “My eating disorder tells me that recovery means losing control, and I don’t think I can handle that.”
“What does recovery actually mean to you? Is your eating disorder giving you an accurate picture of what recovery could look like?”