What are cognitive distortions? It’s as the words suggest: distorted thinking. That’s just putting it simply.
In this article I’ll go a little deeper into what cognitive distortions are and whether or not it can be corrected. This article will also answer the following questions:
- Why do cognitive distortions happen?
- Where do cognitive distortions come from?
- Can cognitive distortions be corrected?
I also give 10 cognitive distortions that we may experience often and give examples with each.
What Are Cognitive Distortions?
Cognitive distortions are a negative way of thinking filled with bias. According to Sandra Silva Casabianca, cognitive distortions are exaggerated patterns of thought that’s not based on facts.
They are biased perspectives we have of ourselves and the world around us. However rational, they can unknowingly be reinforced over time. Once they become a regular feature of our day-to-day thoughts, it can be difficult to spot them.
This is why they are so damaging. You can’t change something if you no longer recognize it as being a “danger” to yourself.
We all do it. We think we’re not good enough or don’t have the right skills for the job even though history have shown us the opposite.
Related Article: Regulation of Emotions as Adults
Thoughts can have a major impact on our daily lives. If we continually believe negative things about ourselves and the world, it can take a toll on our mental health. That’s how powerful the mind is.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You can learn to recognize when your mind is playing tricks on you. You’ll be able to reframe your thoughts to have less of an impact on your overall mood and behavior.
Why do Cognitive Distortions Happen and Where Does it Come From?
Our brains are wired to alert us to things like danger, attracting a partner and search for solutions to problems. However, over time your brain may have developed unhelpful connections. This is what causes cognitive distortions.
Unfortunately, it’s quite easy to create these (faulty) connections in the brain. It’s easy to connect events or thoughts that happen around the same time although there exist no real ties between them.
Related Article: How do Emotions Affect Behavior? Free PDF Download Included
When something happens, we automatically have thoughts about it. These thoughts trigger emotions and behaviors. Over time these thoughts, behaviors and emotions become habit even when they are not entirely rational.
It’s easier to remember something when there is a strong emotion connected to it. Thus, whenever something similar happens those old emotions come back and we’re stuck in a loop with these negative thoughts.
Can Cognitive Distortions Be Corrected?
Yes! Cognitive distortions can be corrected, but with a lot of effort. They have a major role to play mental health disorders like anxiety, depression and eating disorders.
Luckily, Aaron Beck and David Burns, who are experts in cognitive distortions, have done the research and wrote books on the treatment of cognitive distortions.
Aaron Beck developed the basis for CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). He noticed that many of his patients that are struggling with depression also struggled with distorted thinking.
His hypothesis was: if he could change the way his patients are thinking, he could change their depressive symptoms. This is how CBT was born.
David Burns’ work is based on the research of Beck. He believed that distorted thinking can have potential negative impact on our daily lives. Therefore, he suggests there are ways to correct this thinking.
He wrote a best-selling book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, which sold over 5 million copies in the US alone. The book gives tips on treating depression by identifying, correcting and replacing distorted thought patterns.
Patterns of Cognitive Distortions
Below are 10 of the most common cognitive distortions that we may experience. Take a look and see which ones you recognize in yourself:
All-or-Nothing Thinking
Things are either black or white in your world. You have the inability to notice grey areas. Something is either perfect or a total failure in your eyes.
Example: Giving in to a single craving when you’re on a new diet made you stop it altogether since you’re a complete failure.
Personalization and Blame
This means holding yourself responsible for something that isn’t entirely in your control. This can lead to feelings of guilt, shame and inadequacy.
Example: A woman is beat by her husband most nights. She thinks that if only she’s a better wife he would not beat her.
However, blame is the inverse of personalization. This is placing the blame on others and their circumstances for their own problems. They often overlook how they may be contributing to the problem.
Example: A woman is having an affair. She blames the man’s wife for the man’s infidelity by being too uptight.
Overgeneralization
This one is relatively self-explanatory. A single negative event is seen as a never-ending pattern of defeat. This may lead to negative thoughts about the self of the environment based on one or two experiences.
Example: A child asks his parents if he may go out with friends. They say no and he in turn tell his friends that they “always say no” and “never let me go out.”
Labelling
This is an extreme form of all-or-nothing. It’s giving yourself a negative label based on a single experience.
Example: Getting a low score on a test or assignment and calling yourself “stupid” or “idiot”.
Labelling can also apply to others. This is when someone does something that just really does not sit well with you. You may feel like the problem is with the person’s character rather than their behavior or way of thinking. This makes you see them as totally bad.
The problem is that it makes your feel hostile and hopeless. It makes you feel like nothing is going to improve so why even try?
Mental Filter
Placing all your focus on single negative details up to the point where your view of reality has become dark.
Example: Getting a lot of positive feedback on an assignment you did with a single critique. You completely forget about all the positive feedback and instead focus all your energy on the single “negative” comment.
Should Statements
These are statements you make about yourself about what you “should” do, “ought” to do or “must” do. These can also be applied to others as a set of expectations that probably won’t be met.
You often end up feeling guilty about not living up to your “should haves” and disappointed by others failing to meet your expectations. This leads to anger and resentment.
Example: “I should not have made so many mistakes” or “He must obey his elders.”
Discounting the Positive
Positive experiences are rejected due to not believing that they “count”.
Example: You finally finish your final year and graduate with a degree despite all the challenges you had. You claim the experience “doesn’t count because anyone can get a degree.”
Emotional Reasoning
This means making the assumption that your negative emotions are a direct reflection of reality.
Example: “I feel inferior. This must mean that I’m an inadequate person.”
Jumping to Conclusions
This is your negative interpretations of something when there are no facts to support your claim. There are two sub-categories:
Mind reading: Without being sure, you just “know” that someone is reacting negatively to you.
Fortune telling: You can “predict” the future and it’s always bad.
Example: After training for 2 weeks, you’re still struggling to do a front split. You tell yourself “I’m never going to be able to do this, I might as well give up now.”
Binocular Trick
AKA Magnification. You either exaggerate your shortcomings or minimize the importance of your desirable qualities.
Example: you’re a calm, kind, smart and decisive person, however, you only focus on the fact that you can’t cook steaks well.
Conclusion
There you have it, now you have some idea of what cognitive distortions are and that it can be corrected.
I’ve also touched on 10 of the most common cognitive distortions that we may find in ourselves. I’d love to hear from you which ones you see in yourself. Please let me know in the comments section.
Please check out this article if you want to know how we can correct cognitive distortions in a healthy manner.
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