Cognitive Distortions
Thoughts that convince us that our negative thinking and emotions are facts.
Common Cognitive Distortions (Source: Burns, 2012):
- All or Nothing Thinking
- Overgeneralization
- Mental Filter - dwell on single neg. item
- Discount the Positive
- Jumping to Conclusions
- Mind reading
- Fortune teller error
- Catastrophizing or Minimization
- Emotional Reasoning – I feel it, so it is a fact
- Should Statements
- Labeling and Mislabeling – Instead of focusing on an error, you personalize it –“I am so stupid.”
- Blame – see self as cause of an external event, which you were not responsible for or you blame other people and overlook ways that you contributed to a problem.