Our way of thinking and interpreting the world influences our emotions and, therefore, the way we feel. This is why it is vitally important to pay attention to our mental schemas and try to make them as positive and healthy as possible. However, not all the interpretations we make of reality are correct and sometimes we can have cognitive distortions.
In this Psychology-Online article: Cognitive distortions: what they are, types and exampleswe are going to explain to you in more detail what this topic consists of, as well as show you how you can change this type of irrational thoughts or cognitive distortions for more positive and rational ones.
What are the cognitive distortions
Cognitive distortions are all those misinterpretations of reality, which prevent us from experiencing the situations that occur to us objectively, perceiving them only in an irrational and negative way. These types of distortions cause us to relate to our environment in a dysfunctional way and encourage the appearance of negative feelings about ourselves, our environment or our future.
Most people usually present some cognitive distortion and it is important to know how to detect them in time to prevent them from causing damage to our daily lives and health, both mental and physical. Below we will mention the main types of cognitive distortionsaccompanied by examples:
perfectionism
This type of cognitive distortion or irrational thinking causes us to have a rigid and inflexible idea about ourselves and what we should be like to be able to act “correctly” and always do things well.
A clear example of perfectionism is when we believe that we cannot make any mistakes because otherwise we will not be worth as much as people. When we pretend to be children, friends or the perfect partner, when we even treat ourselves badly if we can’t get what we want or what we think we should have to achieve success.
The overgeneralization
This type of cognitive distortion refers to the tendency that some people have to believe that something that has happened to them on some occasion will continue to happen to them many more times.
An example of overgeneralization would be the case of people who had an accident in the past and do not want to get into a car again for fear that it could happen to them again. Another example of this type of cognitive distortion is that of people who have suffered infidelity in a relationship and believe that the other partners they have will also do the same to them.
Polarized thinking
This irrational thinking or cognitive distortion refers to those people who They perceive everything in an extremist way. Some examples of this would be thinking that some thing, person or situation is wonderful or thinking that it is the opposite, that is, horrible.
Feeling extremely happy or extremely sad, being a totally good or extremely bad person are also polarized thoughts. That is to say, in this type of thinking there is no middle ground, for the people who adopt it the world is black or white, there are no middle ground.
Mind reading
This type of cognitive distortion has to do with believe that we can know what others think. An example of mind reading could be when we speak in front of several people and we begin to think things like: “they are probably making fun of me”, “they are already bored with what I am saying”, “they think I am a fool”, etc. Another example would be believing that one or more people are envious of us or that another person dislikes us when we have not even treated them, etc.
The catastrophism
This type of cognitive distortion refers to the tendency of some people to expect the worst of any situation without having any real and objective reason for it. An example of this type of distortion is thinking that the future will always be hopeless.
It is, for example, being afraid of going on a trip because you believe that some accident is going to happen along the way or thinking that a small stomach pain could be a serious illness.
The negation
This distortion refers to the fact that deny problems, mistakes and difficulties. An example of this type of irrational thinking would be the fact that a person does not admit that an adverse and difficult situation is causing them pain, as well as denying that they care about a situation and downplaying its importance.
emotional reasoning
Emotional reasoning refers to think that things are just as I feel them or how they make me feel. For example, when I feel that I am an unworthy person I will have the belief that I really am, if I feel that I am a fool it is because I really am, if another person makes me feel bad it is because they are bad.
Global tags
This type of cognitive distortion refers to taking into account only one or two personality traits of someone and label it globally with that single trait. This can also be used for yourself. An example of this type of cognitive distortion would be not being good at languages and for this reason alone consider yourself an unintelligent person.
The negativity
This type of cognitive distortion refers to the fact that give too much importance to negative things and devalue the positive ones. Some examples of this would be thinking things like: “I’m sure it will be a bad day”, “I will never be able to get what I want”, “that person is not going to like me”, etc.
How to work on cognitive distortions
Cognitive distortions are learned, therefore, they can be changed. Cognitive restructuring techniques are usually used in which the psychologist helps to refute and reconstruct cognitive schemes.
Next, we will show you an exercise that will undoubtedly help you detect and eradicate the cognitive distortions that you experience so that, finally, you can learn to better manage your emotions.
1. Identify an emotion
Identify the emotion you are experiencing right now, whether it is sadness, anger, rage, etc. Find out what physical sensations accompany that emotion, whether it’s a headache, stomach pain, dizziness, or any other annoying sensation that may appear. Understand the relationship that exists between emotion (mind) and physical sensations (body).
2. Identify your thoughts
Be aware of the type of thoughts you are having at that moment and identify them. For example, it may be that at that moment you are thinking things like: “how bad I feel”, “how unfair life is”, “everything goes wrong for me”, “how scared I am to do that”, etc.
3. Identify if it is a cognitive distortion
Finally, analyze what you are thinking and feeling and reflect on whether you are having any cognitive distortion. If the answer is affirmative, identify which of them it is and analyze it objectively to change it.
For example, if you identify that you have used catastrophizing and you are afraid, for example, of going on a trip in case you have an accident, start thinking that there are few real possibilities of that happening, that you can always take the necessary measures to avoid it and That doesn’t mean you’re going to stop doing the things you like and live new experiences while traveling.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Labrador, FJ, & Mañoso, V. (2005). Change in cognitive distortions of pathological gamblers after treatment: comparison with a control group. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 5(1).
- Riso, W. (2009). Cognitive therapy. Barcelona, Spain, Editorial Paidós Ibérica.