How are your cognitive distortions impacting you?
Cognitive distortions are thoughts that lead to an individual perceiving reality incorrectly. They cause faults in our thought process that lead us to make incorrect assumptions. How are yours impacting you? Read on to find out.
Imagine a lamp. On its own the light coming from the lamp is white. However, if you add a red filter to the lap, instead of seeing white light you’ll see red. This is how cognitive distortions work. Our beliefs, values, experiences and upbringing act as a filter and impact how we interpret the world.
It’s important to note that WE ALL EXPERIENCE COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS. It doesn’t mean there is something wrong with how you see the world, nor does it mean that you have a mental health issue; it’s simply how our brain processes the world. For some people their cognitive distortions have little impact. For others, they can lead to a negative thought process which can impact their life, relationships, confidence and work. This is why it’s important to get to know your cognitive distortions so you can understand how they might be impacting you, helping you create a more balanced reality.
There are different types of cognitive distortion to consider:
Black and white thinking — when you believe all or nothing to be true. E.g.: they didn’t show so they are completely unreliable, or, I didn’t finish that task so it was a complete waste of time.
Over generalisation — using words like always or never when it’s only happened once. E.g.: I’ll never get that promotion, or, she always does that.
Minimising or Magnifying (also known as Catastrophizing) — Seeing things as dramatically more or less important than they actually are. E.g.: Because my boss publicly thanked her, she’ll get the promotion not me (even though I had a great performance review and have just won an industry award), or, I forgot that email so my boss won’t trust me again, I won’t get that raise and my wife will leave me.
Should’s — Using “should,” “need to,” “must,” “ought to” to motivate yourself, then feeling guilty when you don’t follow through. E.g.: I should see my in-laws this weekend, or, I should have been more considerate.
Labelling — Attaching a negative label to yourself or others following a single event. E.g.: I didn’t stand up to my co-worker, I’m such a wimp, or, what an idiot, he couldn’t even see that coming!
Mind reading — when you make a negative assumption about how people see you without evidence or factual support. E.g.: they think I’m fat, or, they don’t like me, even though they don’t know you.
Fortune Telling — when you make a negative prediction about the future without evidence or factual support. E.g.: I won’t be able to sell my house so I’ll be stuck here, or, I won’t be able to find a job so there’s no point in trying.
Discounting the Positive — Not acknowledging the positive. E.g.: when complimented stating “anyone could have done it,” or, insisting that your positive actions, qualities or achievements don’t count.
Blame & Personalization — Blaming yourself when you weren’t entirely responsible or blaming other people and denying your role in the situation. E.g.: If I was younger I would have gotten the job, or, if she hadn’t yelled at me I wouldn’t have gotten angry and lost control of the car.
Emotional Reasoning — Assuming that a feeling is true without digging deeper to see if this is accurate. E.g.: I feel like an idiot so it must be true, or, I feel guilty so I must have done something wrong.
Mental filter — focusing only on the negative and allowing that to spoil our enjoyment and happiness. E.g.: it’s raining therefore the day is ruined, even though you’re still having fun with your friends, or, they walked out of the presentation therefore it must have been rubbish, even though I was congratulated about how good it was
Which of these sounds familiar to you?
I challenge you to identity your cognitive distortions and take one step that will help you reduce or manage their impact; reach out if you need some support.
