10 Cognitive Distortions That Can Hinder Your Mind
By: Jazmine Martinez
Depression is a mind-boggling mental health issue. There are no brain scans that could diagnose, or show if a patient has it to begin with. With that, there are reoccurring symptoms and different types of depression. It’s a very fragile disorder that many have the unpleasantness of knowing. Many are either diagnosed by a professional carrying the symptoms of fatigue, apathy and other feelings. Either way, this is a simple list of cognitive distortions, which are patterns of thinking that hinders the well-being of the individual and their environment.
This is not a diagnosis or treatment; only a professional can give you that, which may be very helpful - if you have any suicidal or harmful thoughts, please seek help from a medical professional.
Cognitive distortions could allow one to realize certain ways that the brain could be tricking emotions into falling down a hole of despair, when it shouldn’t be that way to begin with.
Positive Psychology labels them to be, “Tendencies or patterns of thinking or believing; [...] That are false or inaccurate; [...] And have the potential to cause psychological damage.”
Tendencies to formulate unhealthy patterns of thinking can be scary and detrimental. However, the realization of these thought-processes could prevent the cognitive functioning of the brain, resulting in better feelings one step at a time.
1. All or Nothing / Black and White Thinking
A belief of being perfectly good at something, or not good at all. These people tend to elude from the grey in-betweens, being progress to somewhere they desire to be.
Reframing:
Healthline states that separating what you do from who you are could help with overcoming black and white thinking. At times, it is likely to create expectations with who you are now, eluding to who you want to be. Without even realizing it, you’ve jumped from plan A to Z.
Also try listing options.
Healthline says, “write down as many other options as you can imagine. If you’re having trouble getting started, try coming up with three alternatives at first.”
This technique will make you consciously aware of expanding your horizons of thinking.
As well as that, talk to others in order to get an outside perspective of the way you’re thinking about the issue. It is easier to see someone looking at your thought process from an outward perspective to get a different angle.
2. Overgeneralization & Labeling and Mislabeling
This can be labeled as negative thoughts directed inwardly and to their environment based off of one or two events.
Reframing:
Very Well Mind suggests to, “identify negative or unhelpful thoughts and replace them with positive and empowering ones.”
Simply by noticing train of thought could notice unhealthy ways of thinking. Paying attention to that is the first step into shifting this mindset into a happier one.
Focusing on one negative comment or thought, excluding all positive thoughts.
Reframing:
Although there may be mistakes to a project, or people may not like what you do, know that someone could benefit from it. Not only on a social aspect, but you yourself may have learned something you may have not realized about yourself. Notice the good things about a situation instead of realizing the negatives. Getting your cognitive functioning in this way of thinking could shift your mindset.
This can be labeled as finding some way to disregard or “disqualify” positive experiences.
5. Jumping to Conclusions : Mind-Reading
Negatively jumping to conclusions of what others are thinking.
6. Jumping to Conclusions: Fortune-Telling
Prediction is negative and thought is all-knowing.
Reframing:
Very Well Mind answers, "[...] take note when you are predicting that only the worse will happen. Balance this thought out by thinking about what would be the best outcome of any given situation."
With both "mind-reading" and "fortune-telling" there is an assumed negative narrative lingering in the mind. When you create ways to think outside of the negatives, realizing that there are better situations to occur than the ones you give yourself could help reframe.
7. Magnification (Catastrophizing) or Minimization
When a common mistake may be exaggerated, whereas, when a goal is accomplished may be lessened. This typically discredits the work and achievement of an individual, as well as blowing the mistakes out of proportion.
This is the notion of, “I feel it, therefore it must be true”
The focus on what you should, or must, do. This way of thinking could often lead to an underlying sense of guilt for not living up to the expectation one may set for themselves.
Positive Psychology states, “When we cling to our ‘should’ statements about others, we are generally disappointed by their failure to meet our expectations, leading to anger and resentment.”
10. Personalization
Taking blame for a situation even when it’s not personally anyone's fault. This could often be self-destructing to the individual, and the relationships surrounding.
Reframe:
Instead of taking blame for something, consider that it may be an issue that is out of a person's control. Personalization consists of creating things that seem emotionally personal to be just that, even when there may be outside factors in a situation. Allow yourself to seek the outside factors instead of solely taking the blame.
Takeaway
Cognitive distortions are within many people, even those that don’t suffer with anxiety or depression- so there is no shame in evaluating every once in a while. Situations may go further than the silly drawing examples provided above, as well as the reframing. However, collectively paying more attention to the pattens of brain functions, especially in moments of stress or despair, it could improve the overall happiness with baby steps. The first step to this is the realization of possibly falling into one of these.