Cognitive distortions are irrational or exaggerated ways of thinking that frequently affect people withanxietyordepression.
The article describes 12 different types of cognitive distortions and how they present themselves.
It also offers coping tips and advice on when to see a healthcare provider.
Rawpixel / Getty Images
Rawpixel / Getty Images
What Are Cognitive Distortions?
Cognitive distortions are thoughts that cause you to perceive reality inaccurately.
They are symptoms characterized by irrational or exaggerated thinking patterns that reinforce negative beliefs and emotions.
In doing so, they perpetuate or worsen anxiety or depression.
Cognition is the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through your thoughts, experiences, and senses.
In essence, you become trapped in an unhealthy mental state.
Knowing the difference can help you identify and change problematic ways of thinking.
Polarized Thinking
Polarized thinking is when you see everything in absolutes.
People who overgeneralize make very broad conclusions from a single incident and expect it to happen again and again.
The negative thoughts may convince you to give up trying.
Catastrophizing
Catastrophizingis when you only see the worst outcome of a situation.
Personalization
Personalization is holding yourself responsible for an act or event that is beyond your control.
Personalization is about guilt and assigning blame to yourself or others.
Filtering
Filtering is the habit of discounting or dismissing anything positive.
All you take from the review is that your reports are sloppy and that you are failing.
People who mind-read fully expect that the outcome will be bad whatever they do.
This increases feelings of anxiety as they await for the proverbial ball to drop.
Rather than considering other possibilities, a mind reader jumps to the worst possible conclusion.
Emotional Reasoning
With emotional reasoning, the way you feel colors how you feel about yourself.
It is driven by the belief that “If I feel this way, it must be true.”
Emotional reasoning allows you to turn negative feelings about an incident into a statement about yourself or others.
It turns feelings into facts despite evidence to the contrary.
Once assigned, the labels are slow to change.
“Should” places undue pressure or expectations on yourself and others.
It also allows you to criticize others, often without any understanding of their circumstance.
The same statements can reversed and used to criticise yourself.
Both situations set a person up for failure.
When they don’t yield to pressure, you feel betrayed.
If they do, you are unable to grasp their unhappiness.
Coping With Cognitive Distortion
Cognitive distortions are common manifestations of anxiety and depression.
Until these distortions are identified, challenged, and changed, depression or anxiety may persist.
Certain therapies can be used to collaboratively address problematic thinking patterns.
Chief among these iscognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
They can become more ingrained over time.
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Brief interventions and brief therapies for substance abuse.
