20 cognitive distortions and how they affect our lives

Worldview is not determined by circumstances. We ourselves choose our attitude to everything that happens around us. What is the difference between someone who remains optimistic despite many adversities and someone who is angry at the whole world for pinching his finger? It’s all about different patterns of thinking.

In psychology, the term “cognitive distortion” is used, which means an illogical, preconceived conclusion or belief that distorts the perception of reality, usually in a negative way. The phenomenon is quite common, but if you do not know what it is expressed in, it is not easy to recognize it. In most cases, this is the result of automatic thoughts. They are so natural that a person does not even realize that he can change them. It is not surprising that many take a fleeting assessment for an indisputable truth.

Cognitive distortions cause serious damage to mental health and often lead to stress, depression and anxiety. If action is not taken in time, automatic thoughts become fixed as patterns and can adversely affect behavior and decision-making logic.

Anyone who wants to maintain a healthy psyche will do well to understand how cognitive distortions work and how they affect our worldview.

1. Black and white thinking

A person with dichotomous thinking perceives the world from the position of “either / or”, there is no third way. Good or bad, right or wrong, all or nothing. He does not admit that between black and white one can almost always find at least a few shades of gray. Anyone who sees people and events from only two sides refuses to accept intermediate (and most often the most objective) assessments.

2. Personalization

People with this type of thinking tend to overestimate their importance and take a lot on their own account. Other people’s behavior is usually seen as a consequence of their own actions or deeds. As a result, those who are prone to personalization take responsibility for external circumstances, although nothing really depended on them.

3. Hypertrophied sense of duty

Attitudes in the spirit of “should”, “must”, “should” are almost always associated with cognitive distortions. For example: “I had to come to the meeting early”, “I have to lose weight to become more attractive.” Such thoughts cause feelings of shame or guilt. We treat others no less categorically and say something like: “he should have called yesterday”, “she is forever indebted to me for this help.”

People with such beliefs are often upset, offended and angry at those who did not justify their hopes. But with all our desire, we are not able to influence someone else’s behavior, and it is definitely not worth thinking that someone “should” do something.

4. Catastrophe

It is a habit to perceive any small trouble as an inevitable disaster. Let’s say a person fails one exam and immediately imagines that he won’t finish the course at all. Or the exam is still ahead, and he “knows” in advance that he will certainly fail, because he always expects the worst – so to speak, “advance” catastrophization.

5.Exaggeration

With such a cognitive distortion, everything that happens is inflated to a colossal scale. The case resembles a catastrophe, but not so severe. It is best described by the saying “make an elephant out of a fly.”

6. Understatement

Those who tend to exaggerate easily downplay the importance of pleasant events. Two opposite distortions often end up in the same bundle. People think something like this: “Yes, I was promoted, but just a little bit – it means that they don’t appreciate me at work.”

7. Telepathy

People with this mindset attribute psychic abilities to themselves and believe they can read others like an open book. They are confident that they know what the interlocutor is thinking, although guesses are rarely true.

8. Clairvoyance

So-called “clairvoyants” try to predict the future, usually in a black light. For example, without any reason they say that everything will end badly. Before a concert or a movie show, they usually say: “We don’t have to go anywhere, I have a presentiment that the tickets will run out in front of our noses.”

9. Generalization

The tendency to generalize means the habit of drawing conclusions from one or two cases and denying that life is too complicated for hasty conclusions. If a friend does not come to a meeting, this does not mean that he is not able to fulfill the promise at all. In the vocabulary of a person prone to make such a cognitive error, the words “always”, “never”, “always”, “every time” are often found.

10. Depreciation

This is an extreme form of “all or nothing” thinking, which manifests itself in a tendency to devalue any achievements, events, experiences (including one’s own) and to see everything as negative. A person with such stereotypes usually neglects compliments and praise.

11. Selective perception

Cognitive bias, similar to the previous one, is expressed in the habit of filtering any information and choosing the “appropriate” statement. For example, a person reads his/her school testimonial or employer’s recommendation, excludes all the good ones and fixates on a single critical remark.

12. Labeling

A more rigid kind of generalization means that a person evaluates himself and others on the basis of a single case. It is easier for him to automatically label himself as a loser than to recognize someone’s right to make a mistake.

13. The habit of blaming

The other side of personalization. Instead of blaming yourself for mistakes, it is more convenient to shift the blame to others or an unforeseen situation.

14. Emotional conditioning

This is the name of the erroneous sensory perception of reality. If I’m scared, then there’s a real threat. If I think I’m stupid, then I am. Such thinking can indicate serious mental disorders – including pointing to obsessive-compulsive disorder. For example, a person feels dirty even though they have showered twice in the last hour.

15. The illusion of being right

Turns a private point of view into an indisputable fact and allows you to disregard the opinions and feelings of others. This makes it very difficult to create and maintain healthy relationships.

16. Self-attribution

It is expressed in the tendency to attribute exclusively positive qualities to oneself and to deny one’s involvement in any unpleasant or undesirable events. A person with this mindset refuses to admit his shortcomings and is absolutely confident in his own infallibility.

17. Waiting for a “divine reward”

It manifests itself in the delusion that higher powers will sooner or later appreciate our sacrifices. Under its influence, people neglect their interests and needs in the hope that someday they will be rewarded for their dedication. And since this never happens, they are overcome by anger and resentment.

18. The illusion of change

It consists in the belief that others must change in order for us to be happy. This is the mindset of an egomaniac who insists that others fit into his schedule, or demands that a partner not wear their favorite T-shirt because they don’t like it.

19. Faith in justice

The phenomenon is expressed in the idea of ​​a just world in which everyone gets what they deserve, although in reality this rarely happens. An example of this mindset trap is blaming yourself for cheating on your partner.

20. Illusion of control

Someone who thinks that everything in the world is controllable is pissed off by someone else’s behavior – for the simple reason that it cannot be influenced in any way. A person obsessed with the desire to control everything may blame the boss for the poor performance of the company, although the real problem may lie elsewhere.

HOW TO FIX THOUGHT PATTERNS AND COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS

Most likely, you have discovered at least one of these cognitive distortions. Perhaps you or someone you know has fallen into similar traps more than once. The good news is that we are not bound to them forever.

Patterned thinking lends itself to change: this process is called cognitive restructuring. Its essence is that we can influence our own emotions and actions by correcting our automatic thoughts. Many popular forms of therapy are based on this concept, including cognitive behavioral therapy and rational emotive behavior therapy.

If you have identified one or more cognitive distortions in yourself and feel that they are causing anxiety, depression, or other psychological problems, be sure to see a therapist. An experienced specialist will help transform negative attitudes into more constructive and inspiring beliefs.