We all have irrational or unrealistic thoughts from time to time. Cognitive distortions are faulty patterns of thinking that can negatively impact our moods and behaviors. Being able to identify different types of distorted thinking can be the first step to addressing them. Here are some common cognitive distortions:
Black-and-White Thinking
This refers to thinking in absolutes - something is either all good or all bad. There is no middle ground or shades of gray. Examples would be thinking someone is either your friend or enemy, or that you are either a success or failure without allowing for complexity.
Filtering
This involves focusing exclusively on the negatives while filtering out any positive aspects. For instance, dismissing compliments and only paying attention to criticism is an example of filtering.
Overgeneralization
This is taking one instance or example and making broad generalizations. For example, if you have one bad date, overgeneralizing would be saying "I'm terrible at dating and will always be alone."
Jumping to Conclusions
This distortion involves making assumptions without evidence to support them. An example would be arbitrarily concluding that someone dislikes you without bothering to ask them.
Catastrophizing
This means envisioning the worst case scenario and treating it as inevitable. For instance, having an illness and automatically thinking it must be terminal when that may be highly unlikely.
Emotional Reasoning
This means believing something must be true because of how you feel, ignoring external evidence. For example, feeling worthless and automatically thinking you have no value as a person.
By identifying cognitive distortions when they arise, we can learn to reevaluate our thought patterns and react to situations more rationally. Developing awareness of distorted thinking is a powerful step in maintaining mental health and perspective.
