What Is An Example Of A Cognitive Distortion?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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It’s raining. She has hydroplaned and her car is upside down in a ditch . “ These are all prime examples of cognitive distortions: thought patterns that cause people to view reality in inaccurate — usually negative — ways.

What are my cognitive distortions?

Cognitive distortions are ways that our thought patterns can convince us that something is true or false . These are typically thoughts that occur automatically, and are usually used to reinforce negative thinking or emotions. Our automatic thoughts can feel rational and accurate, and most of all, they can feel factual.

What are the 10 cognitive distortions?

  1. Engaging in catastrophic thinking. You to expect the worst outcome in any situation. ...
  2. Discounting the positive. ...
  3. Emotional reasoning. ...
  4. Labeling/mislabeling. ...
  5. Mental filtering. ...
  6. Jumping to conclusions. ...
  7. Overgeneralization. ...
  8. Personalization.

Is perfectionism a cognitive distortion?

Cognitive Distortions

Clearly, perfectionism is a byproduct of dysfunctional thinking . Cognitive behavioral psychologists have characterized faulty, inaccurate thinking into several cognitive distortions or patterns of erroneous thoughts [1].

What are the nine cognitive distortions?

  • Emotional reasoning. ...
  • Catastrophizing. ...
  • Overgeneralizing. ...
  • Dichotomous (all or nothing) thinking. ...
  • Mind reading. ...
  • Labeling. ...
  • Negative filtering.

How do you fix cognitive distortions?

  1. Read yourself.
  2. Identify the type of distortion.
  3. Change roles.
  4. Examine the evidence.
  5. Sum of its parts.
  6. Skip generalizations.
  7. Avoid speculations.
  8. No more “shoulds”

What is distorted thinking?

Cognitive distortions are habitual ways of thinking that are often inaccurate and negatively biased . Cognitive distortions usually develop over time in response to adverse events. There are at least 10 common distorted thinking patterns that have been identified by researchers.

What are your cognitive skills?

Cognitive skills are the core skills your brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention . Working together, they take incoming information and move it into the bank of knowledge you use every day at school, at work, and in life.

What is cognitive anxiety?

COGNITIVE. Cognitive symptoms of anxiety include recurrent or obsessive thoughts , feelings of doom, morbid or fear-inducing thoughts or ideas, and confusion, or inability to concentrate.

How can I improve my cognitive thinking?

  1. Meditation. Share on Pinterest Gen Sadakane/EyeEm/Getty Images. ...
  2. Visualizing more. ...
  3. Playing games. ...
  4. Playing memory card games. ...
  5. Practicing crossword puzzles. ...
  6. Completing jigsaw puzzles. ...
  7. Playing sudoku. ...
  8. Playing chess.

What is perfectionism a symptom of?

What Causes Perfectionism? Many factors can contribute to whether perfectionism develops. A few include: Frequent fear of disapproval from others or feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Mental health issues like anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

How do you identify distorted thinking?

  1. All-or-Nothing Thinking;
  2. Overgeneralizing;
  3. Discounting the Positive;
  4. Jumping to Conclusions;
  5. Mind Reading;
  6. Fortune Telling;
  7. Magnification (Catastrophizing) and Minimizing;
  8. Emotional Reasoning;

What is all-or-nothing thinking?

All-or-nothing thinking often involves using absolute terms, such as never or ever . This type of faulty thinking can also include an inability to see the alternatives in a situation or solutions to a problem. For people with anxiety or depression, this often means only seeing the downside to any given situation.

How do you fix all-or-nothing thinking?

  1. Separate self-worth from performance. ...
  2. Use the word “and,” instead of “or.” ...
  3. Focus on your positive qualities. ...
  4. Consider all options. ...
  5. Explore these questions.

How do cognitive distortions cause emotional distress?

Cognitive distortions are the ways in which our mind convinces us of the truth of something that isn’t true. Cognitive distortions cause mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. By learning how to identify and refute inaccurate thinking, we can find more rational and balanced thinking.

What are the main causes of cognitive impairment?

Cognitive impairment can arise from virtually any poorly controlled chronic disease of the brain or the body’s organs, including hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease , hypothyroidism, diabetes, chronic obstructive lung disease, kidney disease, infections, severe pain ...

Maria LaPaige
Author
Maria LaPaige
Maria is a parenting expert and mother of three. She has written several books on parenting and child development, and has been featured in various parenting magazines. Maria's practical approach to family life has helped many parents navigate the ups and downs of raising children.