Today’s Review Topic — Cognitive Distortions

Charlottesville

October 8, 2026

One of those days where my mind’s guardrails are not up. Too many things spinning me up — and then spinning me up some more.

At least now I understand what’s happening when I feel (think?) like this. So I Googled “cognitive distortions” and found these following helpful discussion:

Cognitive distortions are biased, irrational, or exaggerated internal mental shortcuts that cause people to perceive reality inaccurately, which can fuel anxiety, depression, and unnecessary stress.

Common Types of Cognitive Distortions

• All-or-Nothing (Black-and-White) Thinking: Seeing things in extreme, polar opposites (e.g., viewing yourself as a total failure if you do not do something perfectly).

• Overgeneralization: Drawing a broad, negative conclusion based on a single piece of evidence or a single event.

• Mental Filtering / Discounting the Positive: Focusing exclusively on negative details while ignoring or invalidating any positive experiences.

• Jumping to Conclusions: Deciding on a negative interpretation without actual evidence, which includes:

• Mind Reading: Assuming you know what others are thinking about you.

• Fortune-Telling: Predictively expecting that things will turn out badly.

• Catastrophizing (Magnification): Expecting the absolute worst-case scenario or blowing minor difficulties completely out of proportion.

• Emotional Reasoning: Believing that your negative emotions reflect objective reality (e.g., "I feel terrified, so the situation must be dangerous").

• "Should" Statements: Using rigid, demanding rules for how you or others ought to behave, leading to guilt or resentment.

• Personalization: Taking direct responsibility or blame for external events that are completely outside of your control.

• Labeling: Assigning a fixed, global label to yourself or others instead of looking at specific actions (e.g., saying "I am an idiot" instead of "I made a mistake").

How to Challenge and Change Distorted Thoughts

Practices from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) help break these patterns:

• Catch the Thought: Notice when an automatic negative thought pops up and identify trigger words like "always" or "never".

• Examine the Evidence: Look for concrete facts that either support or disprove the thought.

• Look for Shades of Grey: Move away from all-or-nothing extremes and find middle ground.

• Ask "What is the Alternative?": Consider other, more realistic explanations for a situation.

• Use the Double-Standard Test: Ask yourself if you would speak to a close friend the way you are speaking to yourself.