Cognitive Distortions 1
Joan feels like a failure at dieting. Every time she eats something that isn't part of her diet , instead of acknowledging that she made a mistake and trying to move past it, she gives up and eats whatever junk food she wants for the rest of the day figuring she has already blown it.
All-or-nothing thinking
This type of thinking involves viewing things in absolute terms. Everything is black or white, everything or nothing.
Luke works as a model and is told all the time that he is attractive, but all he sees when he looks in the mirror is that his nose seems to big for his face. He tells himself "I not attractive at all, in fact because of my nose I'm ugly."
Magnification
Exaggerating the importance of shortcomings and problems while minimizing the importance of desirable qualities.
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
When you predict events will unfold in a particular way, often to avoid trying something difficult. The expectation that a situation will turn out badly without adequate evidence
Identify the Distortion
Writing down your negative thoughts so that you can see which of the cognitive distortions you're involved in. It helps you to think about the problem and see it in a more positive and realistic way.
The Survey Method
Ask people questions to find out if your thoughts and attitudes are realistic.
Ben becomes terribly upset when he notices that his tire is flat. He tells himself, "Just my luck! Bad things like this are always happening to me."
Overgeneralization
It happens when you make a rule after a single event or a series of coincidences. The words "always" or "never" frequently appear in the sentence.
Jenna feels ashamed and embarrassed about failing several of her college classes. She tells herself that since she feels like a failure, she "must really be a worthless loser that will never amount to anything."
Emotional reasoning is a way of judging yourself or your circumstances based on your emotions. You assume that your negative emotions reflect the way things really are.
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."
Downplaying the importance of events, achievements, or mental/physical symptoms.
Examine the Evidence
Instead of assuming that your negative thought is true you can do this... For example, if you feel that you never do anything right , you could list several things you have done successfully.
Define Terms
When you label yourself something like a loser or a fool, ask yourself What is the defintion of ______?
Cynthia gives a presentation to her colleagues at work and receives many compliments, but also mild criticism from one of her colleagues. She obsesses about the criticism she received for days and ignores all the positive feedback.
Mental filter
Is the opposite of overgeneralization, but with the same negative outcome. Instead of taking one small event and generalizing it inappropriately, the mental filter takes one small event and focuses on it exclusively, filtering out anything else.
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."
"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.
Nancy talked herself out taking her dream vacation to Fiji because she couldn't get the "what-if" thoughts out of her mind, like "What if the plane crashes?", "What if I drown while I am swimming?", and "What if I get robbed and I don't have any money?"
Catastrophizing
Seeing only the worst case scenario in any situation. This often leads to indecision, anxiety, fear, worry, and panic.
The Double-Standard Method
Instead of putting yourself down in a harsh or condemning way, talk to yourself in the same compassionate way you would talk to a friend with a similar problem.
The Semantic Method
Simply substitute language that is less colorful and emotionally loaded. This method is especially helpful for "should statements".
Joel was awarded employee of the month due to being the salesperson with the most customers that month. When his co-workers are complimenting his work ethic, Joel responds by making self-deprecating comments like "It's really not that big of a deal, anyone could do what I did."
Discounting the positive
Is a cognitive distortion that involves ignoring or invalidating good things that have happened to you.
Shannon often tells herself that she is "an idiot" when things don't work out the way she hopes or when she makes small mistakes. She struggles in relationships with her co-workers because "they are all a bunch of useless morons".
Labeling
A cognitive distortion that involves making a judgment about yourself or someone else as a person, rather than seeing the behavior as something the person did that doesn't define them as an individual.
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."
Fortune Telling
Predicting things will turn out badly
The Experimental Technique
Do an experiment to test the validity of your negative thought.
Re-attribution
Instead of automatically assuming you are "bad" and blaming yourself entirely for a problem, think about the many factors that may contributed to it. Focus on problem solving.
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
When you think someone is going to react in a particular way, or you believe someone is thinking things that they aren't.
Anna blamed herself for physical abuse by her significant other, reasoning that if she hadn't made them angry and messed up so much, it never would have happened (this is actually what her S.O. had told her at the time). Because she personalized the abuse, she often tried to please others to avoid them being angry with her, even if she was miserable.
Personalization and blame
A cognitive distortion whereby you entirely blame yourself, or someone else, for a situation that in reality involved many factors and was out of your control.
Nick was getting irritated while sitting in traffic on his way to work. He thought to himself "What a mess, obviously people need to learn how to drive."
Interpreting the meaning of a situation when there is little to no evidence. Interpreting things negatively when there are no facts to support that conclusion.
Thinking in Shades of Grey
Instead of thinking about your problems in all or nothing extremes, evaluate things on a scale of 1 to 100. When things don't work out as you hoped, think about the experience as a partial success rather than a complete failure. See what you can learn for the future.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
List advantages and disadvantages of the feeling/thought/action. You can also use this technique with self-defeating beliefs such as "I must always try to be perfect".