Cognitive Distortions and How to Deal With Them

on

  This book I’m reading that I previously mentioned teaches you to address depressive episodes and develop healthier thinking patterns. That includes noticing your own cognitive distortions, which are just mistakes in your thinking - often catastrophizing events / imagining the worst-case scenario. The best way to notice those thinking patterns is to identify automatic thoughts - your own reaction to events and situations. Overcoming these negative automatic thoughts can be done in what is essentially two steps and is outlined below: 


  1. Record Automatic Thoughts

    1. Situation (Who/What/When/Where/Why)

    2. Automatic Thought

      1. What was going through my mind just before I began feeling depressed? What does that mean about me? What does this mean about me in the big picture (my life and future)? What am I afraid might happen? What is the worst thing that could happen if this is true? What does this suggest in terms of what the other person might think or feel about me? Or, what does this mean about the other person or people in general?

    3. How Much Do I Believe This Statement? (0-100%)

    4. Cognitive Errors (select those that apply)

      1. Fortune Telling

        1. Thinking that I “know” how a situation is going to turn out without any evidence

      2. Mind Reading

        1. Thinking that I “know” what someone else is thinking

      3. Catastrophizing

        1. Imagining the worst case scenario

      4. All or Nothing Thinking

        1. Seeing things as black and white, with no gray or middle ground; things are either wonderful or awful, with nothing in between; terms such as “always” or “never” are typical

      5. Mental Filter

        1. Focusing on negative details of an event or situation, without seeing the full picture

      6. Personalizing

        1. Blaming myself as the sole cause of the event or situation

      7. Jumping to Conclusions

        1. Reaching conclusions (generally negative) using only small amounts of evidence

      8. Overgeneralizing

        1. Taking isolated incidents and making broad generalizations; seeing a single negative situation as a pattern of failure

      9. Magnifying or Minimizing

        1. Making a big deal of the negatives and understating the positives

      10. Discounting the Positives

        1. Similar to minimizing: receiving a compliment or praise and discounting it

      11. Labeling

        1. Using negative self-talk, such as I am a loser or an idiot

      12. Should-Statements

        1. Using rigid rules or statements, such as “I should be able to do this,” rather than focusing on the actual situation

      13. Emotional Reasoning

        1. Using emotions as truth; for example: “I feel like a loser, therefore, I must be a loser”

    5. Emotions? Strength? (1-100)


  1. Modifying Your Thinking (Cognitive Restructuring) (0-100%)

    1. What is the objective evidence that my thought is true?

    2. What are some alternatives that might help explain the situation?

    3. If a friend were in this situation and had this thought, what would I tell him or her?

    4. What is the effect of this thought on my mood? Are there any benefits? Are there any costs?

    5. What’s the worst that could happen if this thought is true? What’s the best that could happen? What’s the most realistic outcome?

    6. How much do I believe this automatic thought now?

    7. Emotion, Strength

    8. Balanced or Healthier Thought



For example, first you would write down what happened (did you make a mistake at work? Not invited to a party? etc.) and then write down your automatic thoughts in reaction to that event (i.e.: feeling like a failure or a loser). Say you believe that statement about 70%, which cognitive distortion applies? What emotions does this make you feel? Shame? Loneliness? How strong are those emotions? Next is restructuring your thinking. Answer the questions above and then re-check in to see how much you believe your original automatic thought, what emotions still come up, and how strong they are. What is a healthier way of thinking of that same situation now? The goal is to look at things more objectively: automatic thoughts are not necessarily true, and emotions are not proof no matter how strong they feel.

I hope someone finds this information helpful! I will be making an effort to put this into practice the next time I feel myself spiraling down into a depressive episode or something major happens. 👻

Comments

Post a Comment