Cognitive Distortions – our temperament traps

"Your mind is the OG of VR."

Don’t be alarmed but there’s something you should know. Your mind lies to you. All. The. Time. It does it without you even realizing that things are not as they appear. These unhelpful and inaccurate thoughts, in psychological terms, are called Cognitive Distortions. They occur when the mind tries to convince us that our feelings are caused by outside circumstances, when in fact it’s the way our mind interprets those circumstances that affects how we feel.

What happens when you let negative thoughts occupy mind space too often? Their negative effects are compounded. You make emotional decisions based on twisted conclusions. You stress over irrational, hypothetical outcomes. You suffer from dark outlooks and unkind introspections. Keep that up long enough, and your mental health deteriorates.

It becomes a distortion cycle known as The Cognitive Triangle:

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the term Cognitive Distortions refers to distorted ways of thinking about ourselves and the world around us. They are negative thought patterns that are irrational and unhelpful, and seem to occur automatically, without our awareness. While we all may experience cognitive distortions at one time or another, when the severity and/or frequency become the norm, these negative thought patterns can contribute to the development of low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression, as well as unhealthy habits, and unhelpful beliefs about the world.

There are many different cognitive distortions. Learning to recognize when you are experiencing persistent illogical information processing biases that are contributing to a decrease in your overall wellbeing is the first step to healing them. It allows you to challenge and reframe these distortions.

Some of the most common types of cognitive distortions include:

1. Mental Filtering – this thinking style typically refers to a “tunnel vision” focus on the negative aspects of a situation and ignoring/blocking out the positive parts. Even the smallest negative detail can color the entire picture with a “glass half empty” mentality. Mental filters are an attentional bias that cause individuals to fixate on perceived mistakes or failures.
   

2. Discounting/Disqualifying – similar to mental filtering, discounting is when you ignore positive achievements or situations. Essentially, you decide that the good attributes or characteristics do not “count” or are unimportant. Discounting the positive reinforces the notion that you have no agency for creating positive results.
   

3. Polarization – also known as “Black and White” or “All or Nothing” thinking, is the tendency to perceive things in absolute terms. This thinking style leaves no room to consider the grey areas in between extremes. Polarized thinking causes a bias toward good/bad, wrong/right, either/or and forms an inflexibility to compromise.
   

4. Overgeneralization – similar to polarization, overgeneralization relates to making broad interpretations from a single or few events. One instance of the past or present gets imposed on all current or future situations with an always/never, everything/nothing mental vocabulary. It creates a bigoted approach to unique situations and circumstances.
   

5. Jumping to Conclusions – this type of thinking involves drawing conclusions without considering all of the evidence. It refers to reactive assumptions such as: “mind reading,” “emotional reasoning,” – wherein your view is based on the way you are feeling rather than facts, with “predictive thinking” of what will happen in the future. This cognitive distortion creates justifications for negative behaviors and debilitating anxiety.
   

6. Catastrophizing – similar to jumping to conclusions, whereby you assume the worst possible conclusion in every scenario, no matter how improbable. Small problems are blown completely out of proportion with assumptions based on very limited data or evidence. This mindset limits the ability to be realistic or remain in the present, as the entire focus is on possible future events.
   

7. Personalization – this thinking style involves blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong or could go wrong. It leads to the belief that you are responsible for even the occurrence of external events. Personalized thinking has a negative narcissistic component making it difficult to decipher when a situation is actually related to you.
   

8. Blaming – similar to personalization, blaming is another narcissistic mindset wherein others are made responsible for your experiences. It is sometimes referred to as “projection”, where shortcomings, mistakes or misfortunes are attributed to others in order to protect your ego. It is a stunted maturity that omits any personal responsibility.
   

9. Global Lens – also known as “labeling” wherein we label ourselves and others based on global statements and interpretations. The belief that your interpretation is the same interpretation that others have regardless of circumstance. It involves a default to “we” statements versus “I” statements and refers to assumptions of universal thinking.
   

10. Should/Must – this type of thinking is the tendency to set subjective ironclad rules for yourself and others without consideration of the specific circumstances. “Should” and “must” statements place pressure and demands on yourself/others. While they may not always be untrue or unhelpful, they can create unrealistic expectations.
    

11. Control Fallacies – refers to two opposing negative thought patterns where you either feel responsible for or in control of everything in your and other people’s lives, or you feel you have no control at all over anything in your life. It is rarely applied to positive scenarios, only negative, and creates similar misgivings to “personalization” or “blaming”.
    

12. Fallacy of Fairness – this cognitive distortion refers to measuring every behavior and situation on a scale of fairness. Finding that other people don’t assign the same value of fairness to the event automatically creates resentment. It distorts a realistic perspective of life and similar to “global lens” assumes sweeping accord.
    

If you recognize any common default(s), take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. All humans struggle with cognitive distortions to some extent. Our brain is hardwired to spot patterns and predict outcomes, it can’t help itself. Thankfully, you can. Recognizing these distortions is the first step to becoming able to replace them with more helpful, realistic thoughts. While it may be uncomfortable at first, there are DBT strategies to help you change these thought patterns.

To begin, it is recommended that you write down your negative thoughts for a period of time (30 days). Jot them down as they occur, put a note in your phone and compile a list daily. Nightly, reread them out loud. The simple act of vocalizing them is enlightening, as you begin to see how often and how impactful they become over time.

The next step is to begin to challenge them as they occur, known as Cognitive Reframing:

• Is there evidence that contradicts these negative thoughts?

• Are there more helpful ways of thinking of the situation?

• What are some other possible reasons this could have happened?

• What would you say to a friend who had this problem?

Similar to the DBT skill of “active adulting” known as Problem Solving, which includes thinking of alternatives, advising yourself as a friend, and being patient and present. With practice, you can learn to engage in positive self-talk and remind yourself that your initial conclusion is only one possible explanation.

Another helpful technique for changing negative thought patterns is the DBT skill known as WiseMind. This strategy involves finding a level between the rational (facts/logic) and the emotional (feelings/reactions), to reach a healthy equilibrium (balanced and mindful). Balanced thoughts usually begin with 'Even though....'

Turning problems or negative thoughts into opportunities for change or growth are the foundation of DBT. It is useful for people who are experiencing mental health issues, by improving overall mental wellbeing in addition to helping to form a more positive vision and outlook, and a more resilient perspective in the face of life’s challenges.

If you change your thoughts, you will naturally change your emotions and behaviors. Years of crooked thinking patterns intertwined with emotions and behavioral responses take time and effort to change, but the process is enlightening and the outcomes are rewarding.

I hope you will join me in removing the reality blinders from your eyes. Identifying and disputing these distortions is key to living in the present. Stay tuned for more!

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