Cognitive distortions are examples of irrational thinking patterns that tend to emphasise negative biases. Research in 2017 suggests that individuals may develop cognitive distortions as a coping mechanism for adverse life events. If the adverse events are particularly prolonged and acute it increases the probability that one or more of these distortions will form. They are effectively short-term survival methods which are not rational or healthy in the long term.
How are they damaging to the individual?
These negative thoughts of cognitive distortion may diminish your motivation, damage your self-esteem and contribute to challenges such as:
● depression
● anxiety, fear and panic
● feelings of hopelessness
● poor self-efficacy
● addiction
● borderline personality disorder (BPD)
I will now look at a number of common cognitive distortions and ways of dealing with them. Please be aware that this list is not exhaustive and other distortions do exist.
Different cognitive distortions and how to overcome them
● All or Nothing Thinking – also referred to as “black or white” or “polarised” thinking – situations are always good or bad or success or failure. An example is fixating on errors instead of acknowledging the error and attempting to get past it.
A way to overcome this distortion is to recognize that success and moving forward are simply not all-or-nothing concepts. By tackling this distortion and replacing self-defeating thoughts, you are enabled to recognise your progress and your strengths.
● Overgeneralisation – this is where a rule is made after a single event or a series of coincidences. This entails using absolute words such as “never” and “always” in a sentence because your experience with one occurrence leads to the assumption that all similar events in the future will have that same outcome.
A way to combat this distortion is to focus on the use of reasonable and realistic language. As opposed to saying “That always happens!”, say “That happens sometimes, but I’ll attempt to do better next time round.”
● Mental Filters – this is where a small event is taken and focussed on exclusively while filtering out any other input.
If this distortion is present make a conscious effort to look for neutral or positive elements of a situation, shifting your focus away from the negative.
● Discounting the Positive – this involves disregarding or actively invalidating any positive or good things that happen to you.
It is important to focus on your particular personal strengths and skills and how they contributed to any particular outcome and actively rejecting any positive outcomes as being fortuitous.
● Jumping to Conclusions – this is found in 2 particular forms:
1. Mind reading – this is where you are convinced that another is going to act in a certain way or thinking things that they are not
2. Fortune telling – where you assume that events will take place in a certain way – this may arise from avoidance of attempting something considered to be difficult.
To deal with this particular distortion, step back and fully consider all of the facts before you make any decisions. Question yourself and challenge any first assumptions.
● Magnification – is the process exaggerating the relevance and importance of shortcomings and challenges while simultaneously discrediting the importance of your particular desirable qualities. This is effectively blowing your negative qualities out of true proportion while minimising your positive qualities.
It is essential here to be able to recognise these particular thoughts and to actively and intentionally replace them with more useful and realistic manners of thinking.
● Emotional Reasoning – this particular distortion is where you judge yourself or your circumstances founded exclusively on your emotions present at that point in time. This effectively makes the assumption, that if your emotion is of a negative nature this must be indicative of reality.
This distortion is a particularly common way of thinking that may be effectively tackled in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) by helping the individual to recognise the particular signs of emotional reasoning. This may lead to the recognition that emotional feelings are not facts.
● “Should” Statements – this distortion involves continually considering things that you think you “should” or “must” do. This can lead to worry, anxiety, feelings of guilt and failure. Through continually thinking that you “should” be doing (an ill-defined) something you have the sense that you are always failing.
If you recognize this cognitive distortion, focus on the practice of self-compassion. Try to replace “should” statements with more realistic ones, and practice accepting yourself for who you actually are as opposed to who you think might be.
● Labelling – this cognitive distortion involves making a judgment about yourself or someone else relating to a particular behaviour, rather than viewing the person as an individual not defined by that behaviour.
This may be dealt with by consciously challenging the veracity and accuracy of your assumptions. Actively seek evidence that counters your particular negative thoughts and consider the disparity between personal opinions and facts.
● Personalisation and Blame – this is where you entirely place the blame for a particular situation upon yourself or another, not recognising the fact that many causative factors were to blame, that were entirely beyond your control.
It is important to make a conscious effort to identify additional factors that may well, have played a major role in the particular situation. Strive to not blame yourself for any given situation, as the actions of others and/or external independent factors may well have been significant factors.
The first challenge is to recognise the distorted thought processes within yourself. It is then essential to actively change them, this being particularly challenging and uncomfortable at first. However, persistence is essential.
If the distortions are more severe and resulting in feelings of depression and anxiety you should consider the assistance of a professional therapist. The therapist will be able to use strategies such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to remove these distortions by replacing them with positive and realistic thoughts.