What are Cognitive Distortions in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
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Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of therapy that addresses the client’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It draws from the belief that all three of these factors influence one another.
One goal of CBT is to help clients address “cognitive distortions,” which are irrational thought patterns that may cause the client to feel stuck. Below are the seven cognitive distortions addressed in CBT.
1. All or Nothing Thinking
All or nothing thinking, or black and white thinking, causes people to see the world in binary categories, often to an extreme extent. Examples include thoughts such as:
Good people can never make mistakes or be incorrect. If they do, then they are bad.
A choice is either right or wrong, and never “mostly right” or “good enough.” If neither choice is perfect, then I must refuse to choose either one.
If I can’t do something perfectly, it’s not worth doing at all.
If I am not the best at something, then I am bad at it.
This type of thinking is common among neurodivergent people, including those with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and borderline personality disorder (BPD), among others.
2. Catastrophizing
Catastrophizing causes people to assume the worst of a given situation, whether or not that situation is inherently negative. Some common examples include:
My boss wants to speak to me. She must want to fire me.
My friend is taking a long time to text me. It must be because they’re angry with me.
My partner is late. Something terrible has probably happened to them.
Catastrophizing is very common among those with anxiety disorders, but virtually every person experiences it to some degree as a result of the negativity bias, or the human brain’s tendency to emphasize the negative over the positive.
3. Overgeneralizing
Overgeneralizing is a type of thinking that applies the “rules” from one circumstance to all similar circumstances. It is highly present in biases against particular groups of people, such as when one person’s wrongdoings are used to discredit that person’s race, gender, sexuality, or religion as a whole.
Overgeneralizing may appear in less overt scenarios as well. For example, a person may dislike an actor’s performance in a television show and then conclude that they will dislike any show in which this actor appears.
In many cases, overgeneralizing occurs due to the way that humans process fear-based memories. When an experience sparks fear, that person’s nervous system may read all similar experiences as “dangerous,” even when there is no inherent danger.
4. Minimizing
In many ways, minimizing is the opposite of overgeneralizing. While overgeneralizing magnifies a small circumstance, minimizing discounts the importance of something significant.
For instance, a person who wins an award may dismiss their accomplishment as “no big deal.”
A person may also minimize the effects of their own actions, or the actions of another person, if those actions have caused harm. This form of minimization may allow them to avoid discomfort, while simultaneously causing further harm to the person who was hurt.
5. “Should” or “Shouldn’t” Thinking
The “should” cognitive distortion overemphasizes the way a situation “ought” to be while ignoring the reality of a situation. In doing so, a person who uses this type of thinking may delay solutions.
One example of “should” thinking occurs when a person continues seeing somebody who causes them distress, such as an adult child repeatedly visiting an emotionally unavailable parent. Rather than prioritizing their own mental health by limiting contact, they may keep returning to this parent’s house because parents should be there for their children.
The goal of counteracting “should” thinking is not to ignore one’s morals or convictions, and it is not to react passively. Rather, the goal is to acknowledge that while there is a way that things should be, we must still respond to the way that things are.
Indeed, parents should be emotionally available for their children, but a parent who is not emotionally available is unlikely to change, especially when their child has become an adult. By responding to this reality, the adult child can protect their own wellbeing.
6. Ignoring the Positive
Ignoring the positive often coincides with catastrophizing. As people magnify negative situations, they often ignore positive ones, resulting in an unbalanced view of life.
Much like catastrophizing, ignoring the positive often occurs as a result of the negativity bias.
7. Jumping to Conclusions
Jumping to conclusions occurs when a person reaches a conclusion based on limited evidence. There are several ways in which a person may jump to conclusions. These include mind reading and fortune telling.
Mind Reading
Mind reading is when somebody assumes another person’s thoughts, intentions, or reasoning. For example, one driver may cut off another person in traffic because they are trying to reach a loved one in distress. The driver who was cut off, however, may assume that the first driver was being selfish and spiteful.
Fortune Telling
With fortune telling, a person predicts the outcome of a situation based on little to no information. These predictions are often negative, and they may be paired with catastrophizing or other cognitive distortions.
8. Emotional Reasoning
Emotional reasoning occurs when a person makes decisions based on emotions alone. They may decide that a person, place, or scenario is a certain way because of their emotions.
For example, a student who feels overwhelmed by their homework may conclude that homework will always be overwhelming, and they should therefore stop trying to understand the material.
Addressing Cognitive Distortions
CBT teaches clients how to recognize their cognitive distortions so that they may address them and combat them. Therapists may help their clients develop several strategies for doing so.
CBT is not ideal for every client, but many people do benefit from these techniques. You might consider CBT if you prefer a practical approach to therapy.
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Sources:
American Psychological Association — What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Harvard Health Publishing — How to Recognize and Tame Your Cognitive Distortions
Learning and Motivation — Negativity Bias: An Evolutionary Hypothesis and an Empirical Programme
UTHealth Houston — Definitions and Examples of 15 Cognitive Distortions