Cognitive Distortions Explained | Negative Thinking Examples For Teens and Kids

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Understanding this one thing might help you finally understand your anxiety and depression?

It’s called cognitive distortions, and it's a thought pattern that many people fall into without even realizing it.

Cognitive means to think, and distortion means to pull or twist out of shape.

There are eight common types of cognitive distortions, see if any of these connect with you.
All-or-Nothing Thinking (Black-and-White Thinking):
"If I don't get a perfect score on this exam ,I'm a total failure."
This distortion involves seeing things in extreme terms, with no middle ground or gray area.
Overgeneralization:
"I didn't get invited to this party. I'm always left out of everything."
Overgeneralization involves taking a single negative event and seeing it as a pattern of defeat or failure in all areas of life.
Discounting the Positive:
"Sure, I got an A on this project, but that was just luck. I'm not actually smart."
This distortion involves dismissing or downplaying positive experiences, achievements, or qualities.
Mind Reading:
"She didn't smile at me so She must think I'm annoying."
Mind reading involves assuming you know what others are thinking or feeling, usually in a negative way, without any evidence to support your assumption
Fortune Telling (Predicting the Future):
"I know I'm going to fail this interview. I always mess things up."
This distortion involves predicting negative outcomes without considering other possibilities or acknowledging past successes.
Magnification (Catastrophizing):
"If I don't get this job, so my entire life will be ruined."
Explanation: Magnification involves blowing things out of proportion, and making events a bigger deal than they actually are.
Emotional Reasoning:
"I feel stupid, so I must be stupid."
This distortion involves assuming that your emotions reflect objective reality, without considering alternative explanations or evidence.
Labeling:
"I made a mistake, so I'm a failure."
Labeling involves putting global, negative labels on oneself or others based on specific actions or outcomes.
If you are like most people, you have probably fallen into at least one of these cognitive distortions. And, the longer that thought pattern has been a part of your life the worse you feel and the harder it is to change your thinking.
Luckily there is a type of therapy specially designed to help address cognitive distortions.
If you find yourself falling into negative thought patterns then you need to know about cognitive behavioral therapy also known as CBT

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