Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive Distortions
Overgeneralization happens when you make a rule after a single event or a series of
coincidences.
The words "always" or "never" frequently appear in the sentence. Because you have
experience with one event playing out a certain way, you assume that all future
events will have the same outcome.
Overgeneralization has been associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
and other anxiety disorders.
Exposure of faulty logic. Establish criteria of which cases are similar to what degree.
SELECTIVE ABSTRACTION.
Disattribution technique.
an act or process of invalidating the attribution of something, for example of a work
of art to a particular artist
JUMPING TO CONCLUSION
There are two ways of jumping to conclusions:
Mind reading: When you think someone is going to react in a particular way, or you
believe someone is thinking things that they aren’t. This assumption may stem from one
instance of being correct that makes you believing you always know what others are
really thinking.
Fortune telling: When you predict events will unfold in a particular way, often to
avoid trying something difficult. For example -you’ll be famous without putting in the
hard work. Or you’ll always be a failure, so hard work is a waste of time.
Exposure of Faulty logic. Specify events that could influence outcomes other than past
events.
SELF-REFERENCE
I am the center of everyone’s attention especially the bad performance. Iam the cause
of misfortunes. You falsely believe that everything that someone says or does is a
direct reaction to you. Personalization can convince you that you are being targeted
or excluded. It can also cause you to compare yourself to others.
Establish criteria when patient is the focus of attention and also probable facts that
cause bad experience.
EMOTIONAL REASONING
Emotional reasoning is a way of judging yourself or your circumstances based on
your emotions. This type of reasoning assumes that because you are experiencing a
negative emotion, it must accurately reflect reality. If you feel experience feelings of
guilt, for example, emotional reasoning would lead you to conclude that you are a
bad person.
This distortion is common in people who have anxiety and depression, it is actually a
very common way of thinking that many people engage in.
Patient used emotional reasoning to conclude that she was a worthless person, which
in turn led to binge eating.
MENTAL FILTERS
A mental filter is the opposite of overgeneralization, but with the same negative
outcome.
Instead of taking one small event and generalizing it inappropriately, the mental filter
takes one small event and focuses on it exclusively, filtering out anything else.
Pt. focuses on all of the negative or hurtful things that their partner has said or done in
their relationship, but they filters all the kind and thoughtful things their partner does.
This thinking contributes to feelings of negativity about their partner and their
relationship.
When people believe they have no control over their circumstances, it can reduce
motivation and cultivate a sense of “learned helplessness”.
Journaling is one strategy that might help overcome mental filtering.
THANKS