What is Cognitive Distortion?
Cognitive Distortion, also known as automatic negative thoughts (ANTs), are plaguing negative thoughts can be a very problematic issue, particularly for those suffering depression, bipolar, anxiety or angry outbursts. When these negative thoughts, or "cognitive distortions" are identified and brought into your conscious thinking, they lose power over you. Finding ways to recognize and react to these thinking patterns is a very important step in treatment.
Cognitive Distortion: Filtering
People take the detrimental details and exaggerate them whilst filtering out all positive components of a situation. As an example, a person may pick out a single, unpleasant detail and dwell on it exclusively so that their vision of reality becomes darkened or altered.
Cognitive Distortion: All or Nothing Thinking
Matters are either "black-or-white." Something is either good or terrible, correct or incorrect, all or nothing. Black-and-white thinking fails to acknowledge that there is almost always shades of gray that exist in between black and white. By seeing only two attainable viewpoints or outcomes, a person ignores the middle-- and perhaps more reasonable-- ground. You place people or situations in "either/or" categories, with no shades of gray or allowing for the complexity of most people and scenarios. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a complete failure.
All or Nothing Phrases
- You always ...
- I never
- Every single time!
- Can't.
- Nothing.
Pay attention to your phrases the next time you are arguing with a loved one. Or theirs. I bet you will hear more than a few of these phrases sprinkled all over.
Cognitive Distortion: Blaming
We hold other individuals liable for our pain, or take the other track and find fault with ourselves for every concern. For example, "Quit making me feel bad about myself!" Nobody can "make" us feel any specific way-- only we have control over our own emotional states and emotional opinions.
Cognitive Distortion: Personalization
Thinking that everything folks do or state is some type of response to us. We also compare ourselves to others attempting to establish who is smarter, better looking, etc. A person sees themselves as the source of some unhealthy external event that they were not responsible for. This form of thinking also causes a person to blame himself or herself for outside instances outside the person's control.
Cognitive Distortion: Catastrophizing
This develops when a particular person sees any unpleasant situation as the worst possible end result. A person who is catastrophizing might fail an assessment and immediately think he or she has probably failed the whole course. A person may not have even taken the exam yet and already believe he or she will fail-- assuming the worst, or preemptively catastrophizing.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at Pathways Real Life Recovery in Utah.
Thoughts can be deemed fairly straightforward concepts or assertions that guide our self-talk. For people enduring depression, for example, these thoughts usually run towards negative, discouraging themes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) involves keeping an eye on these automatic negative thoughts, or cognitions, and coming up with much healthier alternatives. That is, ultimately changing them or replacing them with more accurate, positive, uplifting, and/or calming thoughts.
