Battling Cognitive Distortions: What are They and How can We Fight Them?

We all experience times when our emotions take control of us. It seems like logic no longer applies, and our thinking becomes distorted. This phenomenon is called cognitive distortions, and it's something that we should all be aware of. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what cognitive distortions are, provide you with some examples of cognitive distorted thinking, explain how to fight against them, and how to react when an emotion takes over.

What are Cognitive Distortions?

Cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts and beliefs that lead to negative emotions. For example, if you make a mistake at work or fail in a task, you might start believing that you're not capable of doing anything right. This is a cognitive distortion because it's not based on reality; it's just your negative thought process taking over. Cognitive distortions can also be cognitive biases or other mental errors in thinking that lead us astray from the truth. They are patterns of thinking which distort reality and reflect a distorted view of ourselves and the world around us. We all experience these kinds of thoughts from time to time, but for some people, they become a habit and can affect their mental health negatively. There are many different types of cognitive distortions out there, but here are some common ones.

Woman overwhelmed by over thinking and catastrophizing a situation. Photo by Siora Photography.

Overgeneralization

Overgeneralization is when you draw conclusions about the future based on on one event or experience. For example, if you get rejected for a job, you may conclude that you will never get hired anywhere again. Or if you failed your last test, you might conclude “I always fail my tests” despite having passed previous tests in the past.

All-or-nothing thinking

All-or-nothing thinking is also known as black-and-white thinking. This is the belief that things must be perfect or they don't count at all; anything less than 100% is deemed a failure, leaving no middle ground to grow from. This kind of thinking leads us to being overly critical of ourselves and others because we expect perfection every time and become disappointed with anything less than perfect results.

Catastrophizing

Catastrophizing is when you automatically assume the worst case scenario will occur without any evidence that it will happen. For instance, if an alarm goes off in your house, instead of assuming it's just a false alarm, you might jump to the conclusion that there must be a fire even though no smoke or flames are present yet. Another example of this could be if the guy you’re dating hasn’t responded to your text message for a couple days and you assume he’s met someone new, is no longer interested and he’s now ghosting you.

Mind Reading

Mind reading is when you assume people know what you're thinking without actually telling them what's on your mind or believing that you know what someone else is thinking without asking them. This can lead to miscommunications because someone may have an entirely different interpretation of what you're saying than what was intended by the speaker.

Filtering

Filtering refers to focusing exclusively on the negative aspects of experiences, filtering out any positives that may be present. This can lead to distorted views and beliefs about yourself and others around you. For example, if you receive praise for your work but also constructive criticism, you may only focus on the criticism and ignore the praise altogether. Or if someone compliments your outfit but then adds that they don't like your shoes, instead of taking into account both pieces of feedback, filtering would cause us to focus only on the negative piece while disregarding the positive one completely.

Personalization

Personalization happens when we take responsibility for outcomes outside our control or blame ourselves for things that aren't our fault at all. This kind of thinking leads us to feeling like everything bad that happens is our fault even if it isn't within our power to change it or prevent it from happening in the first place. For example, if something bad happened to one of your children at school, like your daughter was being bullied but you didn’t know about it, and then find out afterwards, you might feel guilty or blame yourself for not protecting her or talking to her about bullying at school earlier on.

How to Fight Against Cognitive Distortions?

The best way to fight against cognitive distortions is to recognize when they're happening and then challenge the thought process behind it. There are several methods for doing this such as self-reflection, mindfulness practices, talk therapy with a professional counselor or therapist, and journaling your thoughts and feelings regularly. Additionally, it can help to practice reframing negative thoughts by looking at them from another perspective or taking an impartial stance towards them instead of getting caught up in irrational beliefs about yourself or others. Ask yourself questions like “Is this really true?” or “What evidence do I have for this belief?” These questions will help you evaluate whether or not your thought process is rational and accurate. Finally, it is important to remember that cognitive distortions do not always reflect reality; if something does not feel true for us deep down inside then chances are it isn’t!

A woman taking a moment to center herself through mindfulness meditation and prayer. Photo by Ben White.

How Should You React When Emotion Takes Over?

When an emotion takes over us it can be hard to see things clearly and logically; however, there are still ways to cope with these intense emotions in healthy ways without succumbing to cognitive distortions. First, take a few deep breaths as this will help reset your body and mind back into a calm state. Second, talk through your feelings with someone who can provide emotional support - this could be a friend, family member, coach, therapist or counselor. Finally, write down your thoughts in order to gain perspective on the situation. Sometimes seeing things written down helps put everything into perspective and allows us to stop ruminating on our negative thoughts.

A man taken over by an emotion due to cognitive distorted thinking. Photo by whoislimos.

Cognitive distortions can lead us down a dark path if we don't pay attention to them. Keeping track of how often these kinds of irrational thoughts occur can help us better understand how our minds work and how we think about certain situations and people. This awareness helps us recognize cognitive distortions when they happen so we can work through them and gain more clarity about ourselves and others around us. Whether these cognitive distortions arise due to stressors such as work or school deadlines, relationships with family members, or other life events, being aware of them can help keep irrational thoughts at bay - allowing more rational decision making processes to take over instead. Practicing self-care techniques such as mindfulness meditation and journaling can also be helpful in managing our emotions more effectively when they arise so that we can remain calm and rational during difficult times. With practice comes clarity - so let's get started! :)