Common Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive Distortions are irrational ways of thinking that can negatively influence our perception of ourselves, others, and the world. They often reinforce negative emotions and contribute to patterns of anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges by skewing our interpretation of events. Recognizing these distortions can be a first step toward managing them and developing healthier, more balanced thought patterns.
Examples:
Catastrophizing: Sarah feels a slight pain in her chest and immediately believes she’s having a heart attack. She starts panicking, convinced she’ll end up in the hospital, even though it’s likely just mild heartburn.
Mind Reading: Tom notices his coworker didn’t say “hi” to him in the morning. He assumes she must be upset with him and spends the whole day feeling guilty, though she was simply preoccupied.
Negative Focus: Anna receives feedback on her project, with many compliments and one minor criticism. She fixates on the criticism, thinking it means she’s terrible at her job and ignores all the positive feedback.
Control Fallacy: Mike believes that if he doesn’t remind his friends constantly about their plans, they’ll cancel on him. He feels he must manage every detail to avoid disappointment, which makes him feel overly responsible.
Personalization: Lisa’s boss seems stressed and distracted in a meeting. Lisa assumes it’s because she did something wrong, even though her boss is dealing with a separate issue entirely.
Owing the Truth: Jim strongly believes that everyone should speak only the truth, no matter the situation. When he finds out his friend withheld information to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, Jim becomes upset, feeling his friend betrayed his core values.
“Should” Thinking: Molly thinks, “I should always be cheerful and positive,” even when she’s exhausted. When she feels down, she criticizes herself, thinking she’s a failure for not meeting her own high standards.
Emotional Reasoning: John feels anxious about a presentation and concludes, “I feel nervous, so I must not be prepared.” His emotions make him doubt his ability, despite having practiced and prepared well.
Overgeneralization: After a date that didn’t go well, Jane tells herself, “I’m terrible at dating, and I’ll never find a good relationship,” projecting this one experience onto her entire future.
Labeling: Mark missed an important meeting and thinks, “I’m such a failure.” He assigns a negative label to himself based on one event rather than recognizing it as a simple mistake.
Just World Thinking: Nina hears that a friend got robbed and thinks, “She must have done something careless to have this happen.” She believes bad things happen only to those who deserve it, which gives her a false sense of security.
Fortune Telling: Before a job interview, Alex convinces himself he won’t get the job and that it’s pointless to try. He decides not to prepare, assuming he knows the outcome beforehand.