Sometimes your mind runs wild, it happens to everyone. Your mind starts releasing thoughts that are irrational or exaggerated and you do not notice that these thoughts aren’t normal. These kinds of thoughts are cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are reinforced when we do not try and untwist our thoughts. We must recognize how our mind is working and find ways to settle our mind and put a positive outlook back into our perspective. These thoughts can be recurring or can come out of the blue.

David Burns M.D. released the Feeling Good Handbook in 1989 and suggested that there are 10 cognitive distortions that people experience in their everyday life.

1. All or Nothing Thinking

This type of thinking is where you see things in black or white. This means that you regard activities as either a success or failure; there is no in-between. This kind of thinking involves even the slightest bit of uncertainty is seen as a failure. For example, if you were in an interview and you were caught off guard by a question and you don’t believe your answer was good enough. A person who thinks this way would see the whole thing as a failure and waste of time due to the mind focusing on that one slight set back.

2. Overgeneralization

Overgeneralization occurs when past events that did not turn out well or failed affect how you see your future. For example, the boyfriend who may have broken up with you last year doesn’t mean that you will never find love again. Overgeneralization is when you believe that you cannot achieve anything again because of previous situations that relate. It can leave you feeling hopeless and lost. This type of thinking can cause major setbacks in life.

3. Mental Filter

This is a very common distortion of thinking in this digital world. Through millions of comments and likes it can be hard to not focus what people say about you. When the mental filter distortion comes into effect is when out of 20 positive comments there is one that is negative leading you to only focus on that negative. This focus can last for up to days you can even obsess over this reaction.

4. Discounting the Positive

Discounting the positive occurs when you achieve something no matter how big and you say it doesn’t count or it’s not a big deal. Anything that you achieve should be celebrated no matter how big or small. Not rewarding yourself takes the joy out of activities. It also makes you believe that you aren’t achieving anything. For example, passing a test should be celebrated and not judged if you could’ve done better or if your friend received a higher score.

5. Jumping to Conclusions

This one is pretty obvious, and you may have experienced it before. This is when you overthink and interpret things with no facts to support your thinking. It can be demonstrated in two ways.

Mind Reading: This kind of jumping to conclusions is when you think you know what others are thinking. This normally occurs when you believe others are thinking about you in a negative light or talking about you in general.

Fortune Telling: This occurs before the situation even happens. Your mind jumps to conclusions and guesses what is going to happen in the future thinking that is going to end badly.

6. Magnification

Magnification occurs when a person exaggerates the importance of a problem or a shortcoming. For example, it is not the end of the world to get 60% on a test worth 5%. It will not dramatically impact you or your mark, but this instance can be blown out of proportion at the moment. Another way this could be looked at is if you don’t get a job it does not mean you won’t get another one. It just means you have to keep trying.

7. Emotional Reasoning

This one is a hard spot to be in mentally. Emotional reasoning captures the emotion you feel reflect the way things are. You may personally think you’re overweight but in the eyes of others and doctors you aren’t. Your mind is telling you are, so you are believing it. Another big one is you may feel lonely and connect that you must be unloved and not cared for which again is certainly not the case.

8. Should Statements

Should statements occur when the situation did not go as expected or planned and you allow yourself to have guilt seep in. It should equate to not doing or wishing something would happen. These should statements could be turned into motivation but sometimes the only thing they do is make us feel worse about what we’re not doing.

• I should exercise more but I have to do ____.
• I should stretch at night but I’m too tired.
• I should try that but that requires a lot of time.

Reframing perspective and trying to understand why you should or the benefits of doing something will help make should statements more motivating and empowering then something you just say.

9. Labelling

Labeling is a form of all or nothing thinking but is more extreme to the point of downing yourself and you becoming your own enemy number one. I have been a victim of labelling on multiple occasions and it is an error that I try my best to change. Labelling for instance could be not believing you’re not living up to the standards of others and calling yourself a loser or stupid. It could be deciding to take a different path and labelling yourself a failure. Labelling is irrational and causes your self-esteem to drop and encourage more anxiety. Looking at your situation in a positive light and boosting yourself up with positive self-talk can help get you out of this slump.

10. Personalization and Blame

Personalization and blame are important things to recognize. Not every problem or situation that arises in your life is your fault. Blame is another important thing to realize you may do. When you send your child to school and they struggle in math don’t take that to heart. It does not mean you are a bad mother. It also may not mean that the teacher isn’t good.  Personalization and blame lead to feelings of guilt and shame. Blaming yourself always deters from solving the real issue or problem that has occurred. Also blaming others when they aren’t at fault can cause frustration and guilt.

These 10 cognitive distortions can play a big role in the lives of those who struggle with anxiety and depression. The cognitive distortions can overwhelm the mind of anyone who is facing a challenge or is not feeling confident in themselves. It is important to realize that these distortions exist so that in the future or the now we can help reverse and get out of these poor mental states and improve our mental health together! Stay tuned on the blog this week for some tricks to untwist your thinking which will help you overcome the cognitive distortions.

Also, if you are looking for more information and want to dive deeper into this topic you can pick up David D. Burns, M.D. book The Feeling Good Handbook available on amazon or at chapters!