Identify and challenge common cognitive distortions that can lead to irrational thinking and poor decision making.
Cognitive distortions are exaggerated or irrational thought patterns that can lead to negative emotions and poor decisions. By recognizing these patterns in your thinking, you can challenge them and develop more balanced perspectives.
Seeing things in black-and-white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.
always, never, completely, totally, perfect, ruined, disaster
After getting a B on a test: "I'm a complete failure at school."
What to Look for: Creates extreme judgments and eliminates the middle ground, leading to perfectionism and harsh self-criticism.
Rejecting positive experiences by insisting they "don't count" for some reason or another.
doesn't count, that's not important, they're just being nice, it was nothing
When receiving a compliment: "They're just being nice" or "Anyone could have done that."
What to Look for: Maintains a negative belief despite contradictory evidence, reinforcing negative self-image.
Assuming that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are: "I feel it, therefore it must be true."
I feel like, I feel so, therefore, must be, obviously
"I feel like a failure, so I must be a failure." "I feel overwhelmed, so this task must be impossible."
What to Look for: Confuses emotions with reality, leading to decisions based on feelings rather than facts.
Making negative interpretations even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion.
must be, definitely, certainly, knows that, thinks that, I know they
Mind reading: "He didn't say hi, he must hate me." Fortune telling: "I'll definitely fail the interview."
What to Look for: Creates anxiety and often leads to self-fulfilling prophecies through altered behavior based on false assumptions.
An extreme form of overgeneralization. Instead of describing an error, you attach a negative label to yourself or others.
I am a, he is a, she is a, they are, I'm such a
After a mistake: "I'm a loser" instead of "I made a mistake."
What to Look for: Creates a fixed, global identity based on temporary behaviors or situations, limiting growth and change.
Exaggerating the importance of problems and shortcomings, or minimizing the importance of desirable qualities.
terrible, huge, enormous, disaster, catastrophe, versus just, only, not that important
After a small mistake: "This is catastrophic!" After a major achievement: "It wasn't that big of a deal."
What to Look for: Creates disproportionate emotional responses and prevents accurate self-assessment.
Picking out a single negative detail and dwelling on it exclusively so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened.
focus on, can't stop thinking about, the worst part was
Focusing on the one critical comment in an otherwise positive performance review.
What to Look for: Prevents you from seeing the complete picture and appreciating positive aspects of situations.
Seeing a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
always, never, nobody, everybody, no one, everyone, everything
After one rejection: "I'll never find someone who loves me. I'll always be alone."
What to Look for: Creates a sense of helplessness and expectation of continued failure, often leading to giving up.
Seeing yourself as the cause of some negative external event which in fact you were not primarily responsible for.
my fault, because of me, if only I had, I should have prevented
"My child is struggling in school. I must be a terrible parent."
What to Look for: Creates excessive responsibility and guilt for things outside your control, leading to shame and anxiety.
Trying to motivate yourself with shoulds and shouldn'ts, as if you had to be whipped and punished before you could be expected to do anything.
should, shouldn't, must, have to, ought to, need to
"I should always be productive." "I shouldn't need help with this."
What to Look for: Creates feelings of guilt, frustration, and resentment toward yourself and others.