Six Common Cognitive Distortions and How to Combat Them

Humans are storytelling creatures by nature - we like our world to work logically, and our brains synthesize stories that make sense of the past and predict the future. Our cognitive skills help us take in vast amounts of information from the environment and recognize important patterns, warnings, and more; however, these cognitive shortcuts don’t always work. That’s when a shortcut becomes a distortion, or an exaggerated thought pattern not based on facts that often leads us to think more negatively about ourselves, others, and the world. Cognitive distortions are very common in anxiety and depression, and correcting them is the focus of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, one of the most effective mental health therapies we know of. Read on to learn about common examples of cognitive distortions and how you can correct them. 

1.Overgeneralization

Overgeneralizing is when we take one incident from the past and apply over-apply it to all situations. Words like “always,” “never,” and “every/nobody” often show up in overgeneralized statements. Maybe you had a bad interaction with a coworker at a new job, and you think “everyone here hates me.” These types of statements can make us feel defeated and depressed, even if they’re not supported by the evidence. 

2. Mental Filters

Mental Filters, also called Tunnel Vision, is when we focus on one aspect of the situation and discount the full context, which often has more positive details to it. For example, you may worry for hours about one small mistake you made at work, when in reality, the mistake was one small negative in a day of mostly positives. Dwelling on the negative in situations can make us only remember the bad and lead to anxiety and self-doubt. 

3. Mind Reading 

Mind reading is when we assume what others are thinking. Maybe your family member is short with you on the phone, so you think they must be mad at you. In reality, there’s many different explanations for their behavior, most of them having nothing to do with you! It’s important to remember that everyone is the main character in their own stories and that things often have less to do with you than you think.

4. Future Telling

Future telling is when we think we know how an event will turn out. For example, you might think “If I ask them out on a date, they’ll just turn me down.” Anxiety often tries to convince us that the worst possible scenario will happen, and depression may tell us that nothing good can happen. Even if you have been successful in similar scenarios in the past, you might still expect failure.

5. Emotional Reasoning

Emotional reasoning is when we feel that something is true because we feel that it is, or when we make decisions based on emotional, not logical reasons. Everyone factors emotions into their decisions, and it’s not always an issue; however, basing our decisions on emotions can become a problem when we ignore logic. Someone with anxiety may decide to cancel a night out because they feel worried about going out and assume that the plans will be a disaster, for example.

6. “Should” and “Must Statements”

Should and Must statements are rules we have for our behavior and performance. Some of these are good, like “I shouldn’t drink the night before I have to get up early.” Some statements are harmful, though, like “I must get a perfect score” or “I should be doing better.” Should and Must statements often lead to having unrealistic expectations for ourselves and beating ourselves up when we don’t meet our own standards. 

As you can see, cognitive distortions commonly lead to negative thinking, self-doubt, anxiety, and depression. So how can you combat these distortions? Here’s some ideas:

1.Analyze the Evidence 

Many distortions have to do with ignoring the evidence. If you catch yourself using emotional reasoning or jumping to conclusions, it might help to write out the facts and perform a cost/benefit analysis before making a decision. 

2. Generate Alternatives 

If you find yourself Mind Reading or Fortune Telling, try writing out other possible explanations for someone’s behavior or alternative outcomes for the situation. Seeing the list of possibilities can help your brain understand that the worst is not guaranteed to be true or happen.

3. Replace Absolutes

If you’re overgeneralizing, try replacing words like “always” and “never” with “sometimes.” For example, “sometimes I mess things up.” This can help make your self-talk more realistic and less negative.

4. Identify the Distortion

Sometimes, just being able to catch yourself and say “I’m overgeneralizing” or “I’m trying to read their mind” is enough to stop the thought pattern.

References

Guy-Evans, O. (2023, November 9). 13 cognitive distortions identified in CBT. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-distortions-in-cbt.html