DISTORTED THINKING. 15 Styles of Distorted Thinking. 15 Common Cognitive Distortions. What’s a cognitive distortion and why do so many people have them?
Cognitive distortions are simply ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn’t really true. These inaccurate thoughts are usually used to reinforce negative thinking or emotions — telling ourselves things that sound rational and accurate, but really only serve to keep us feeling bad about ourselves. For instance, a person might tell themselves, “I always fail when I try to do something new; I therefore fail at everything I try.” This is an example of “black or white” (or polarized) thinking.
The person is only seeing things in absolutes — that if they fail at one thing, they must fail at all things. 15 styles of Distorted Thinking. 15 styles of Distorted Thinking Filtering: You take the negative details and magnify them while filtering out all positive aspects of a situation.
Polarized Thinking: Things are black or white, good or bad. You have to be perfect or you're a failure. There is no middle ground. Overgeneralization: You come to a general conclusion based on a single incident or piece of evidence.