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Cognitive Distortions

Recognizing and challenging common patterns of biased thinking

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Cognitive Distortions

Recognizing and challenging common patterns of biased thinking

Cognitive Distortions

Recognizing and challenging common patterns of biased thinking

Thinking traps, also called cognitive distortions, are systematic errors in reasoning that distort how you interpret events, other people, and yourself. Everyone falls into these patterns from time to time, but when they become habitual they can fuel anxiety, depression, and interpersonal conflict. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) research demonstrates that learning to identify and challenge these patterns significantly reduces emotional distress (Beck & Beck, 2020; Clark & Beck, 2023).

Common Thinking Traps

All-or-Nothing Thinking: Viewing situations in only two categories instead of on a continuum. Things are either perfect or a total failure, with no middle ground.Example: I made one mistake on the project, so the whole thing is ruined.
Catastrophizing: Jumping to the worst possible outcome and treating it as the most likely scenario, without considering more realistic possibilities.Example: My partner didn't answer my text. Something terrible must have happened.
Overgeneralization: Drawing sweeping conclusions from a single event or a limited set of experiences, often using words like always, never, or every.Example: I didn't get this job, so I'll never find work.
Mind Reading: Assuming you know what others are thinking or feeling without checking, and usually assuming the worst.Example: My boss looked serious in the meeting. She must think I'm doing a terrible job.
Fortune Telling: Predicting that things will turn out badly and treating your prediction as an established fact.Example: There's no point applying because I won't get in.
Emotional Reasoning: Treating your feelings as proof of reality. Because you feel something strongly, you conclude it must be true.Example: I feel incompetent, so I must actually be incompetent.
Magnification and Minimization: Exaggerating the significance of negative events while shrinking the importance of positive ones.Example: The one critical comment matters more than the twenty positive reviews.
Personalization: Taking excessive responsibility for events that are outside your control, or assuming others' behavior is directed at you.Example: My friend canceled our plans. I must have done something to upset her.
Should Statements: Holding rigid rules about how you or others must behave, leading to guilt when you fall short and resentment when others do.Example: I should always be available when people need me.
Disqualifying the Positive: Dismissing positive experiences or accomplishments as irrelevant, lucky, or not counting for some reason.Example: They only said nice things because they were being polite.
Magical Thinking: Believing that your thoughts, wishes, or rituals can influence unrelated outcomes in the real world.Example: If I worry about it enough, I can prevent it from happening.

How to Challenge a Thinking Trap

  1. Pause and notice the thought. Write it down exactly as it occurs to you.
  2. Name the trap. Which pattern from the list above does it match?
  3. Examine the evidence. What facts support this thought? What facts contradict it?
  4. Generate an alternative. What is a more balanced or realistic way to interpret the situation?
  5. Rate the shift. How do you feel after considering the alternative perspective?

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