Unhealthy thinking styles or ‘cognitive distortions’ are the ways in which our thoughts can become negative and often irrational. Our brains are constantly trying to make sense of what is happening around us and sometimes ‘takes short cuts’ which generate results which aren’t completely accurate. These thoughts can often happen automatically and can have a powerful effect on our moods. CBT is an excellent tool help us notice these thoughts, dispute them and replace with more positive ones instead. Examples of these unhealthy thinking styles or cognitive distortions are:
All or nothing thinking- ‘If I’m not perfect I have failed’
Over generalising- Seeing a pattern based on a single event, ‘Everything was rubbish’
Mental filter- Only noticing our failures not seeing our successes
Disqualifying the positive-‘That doesn’t count’
Jumping to conclusions- Mind-reading, imagining we know others thoughts’ or ‘Fortune telling’
Magnifying (catastrophising) or minimisation
Shoulds and Musts- Using critical words’ ‘I should’, ‘I must’ can make us feel guilty
Emotional reasoning- ‘I feel embarrassed I must be an idiot’
Labelling- assigning labels to ourselves, ‘I am stupid’
Personalisation- Blaming yourself or taking responsibility for something that wasn’t your fault
