Cognitive distortions are patterns of biased or irrational thinking that can lead to negative emotions, behaviors, and outcomes. They can cause people to perceive themselves, others and the world in a negative or distorted way.

These distortions involve automatic thoughts and beliefs that are not necessarily based on reality or evidence. Common cognitive distortions include:

1. All-or-nothing thinking: Seeing things in black and white terms and ignoring shades of gray. For example, “If I’m not perfect, I’m a failure.”

2. Overgeneralization: Making broad conclusions based on limited evidence. For example, “I always mess things up.”

3. Mental filtering: Focusing exclusively or dwelling on negative aspects of a situation and ignoring the positive. For example, “Even though I lost 10lbs, I still made a couple of mistakes.”

4. Discounting the positives- You insist that your accomplishments or positive qualities don’t count.

5. Jumping to conclusions: Making assumptions without evidence. For example, “She didn’t smile at me, so she must be mad at me.”

6. Emotional reasoning: Believing that your emotions reflect reality, even when they do not. For example, “I feel like a failure, so I must be one.”

7. Catastrophizing: Imagining the worst possible outcome in a situation. For example, “If I don’t get this promotion, my career is over.”

8. Personalization and blame: Assuming that everything is about you, even when it is not. For example, “He didn’t return my call, so he must not like me.”

9. Fortune telling- You arbitrarily predict things will turn out badly.

10. Mind reading– You regard the others’ response as negative to you but there is no exact evidence

These are just a few examples of cognitive distortions, and there are many more. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that helps people identify and challenge these distortions, replacing them with more accurate and balanced thoughts.