Resource · ~8 min read
Cognitive distortions.
In short
Cognitive distortions are common thinking traps: habitual ways the mind bends a situation so it looks worse than it is. Examples include all-or-nothing thinking, mind-reading, catastrophizing and “should” statements. Everyone has them; they matter when they drive anxiety or low mood. In CBT you learn to spot the trap in a specific thought and answer it with a fairer, more accurate one.
Rose Markotic · Anxiety Skills Coach
Rose’s path here runs through more than a decade of clinical training and practice — graduate training at Santa Clara University and years inside Dr. David Burns’ TEAM-CBT group at Stanford, the home of the measurement-driven framework.
What are cognitive distortions?
The idea comes from the psychiatrist Aaron Beck, who noticed in the 1960s that people with anxiety and low mood tended to make the same kinds of thinking errors. Dr. David Burns later popularised a list of ten in his book Feeling Good. The names below follow that list; the examples and questions are written for everyday use.
Distortions aren’t a sign that something is wrong with you. They’re shortcuts the mind takes, especially under stress. The skill is noticing them in the moment.
The 10 cognitive distortions, with examples
1. All-or-nothing thinking
Example: "The presentation had one mistake, so it was a disaster." Ask: what would a fair score out of ten be? Most things live in the middle. Related: perfectionism.
2. Overgeneralisation
Example: "I wasn't invited, I'm always left out." Ask: is it really always, or did it happen this time? Look for the times it didn't happen.
3. Mental filter
Example: ten kind comments and one critical one, and you only remember the critical one. Ask: what else happened that I'm filtering out?
4. Discounting the positive
Example: "They only said that to be nice." Ask: if a friend got the same compliment, would I tell them it didn't count?
5. Jumping to conclusions
Mind-reading ("she thinks I'm boring") and fortune-telling ("it's going to go badly"). Ask: what's my evidence, and what else could explain it?
6. Magnification
Blowing a problem up, or shrinking your strengths, until the worst case feels certain. Ask: what's the most likely outcome, and how would I cope? Related: catastrophizing.
7. Emotional reasoning
Example: "I feel like a fraud, so I must be one." Ask: is the feeling evidence, or just a feeling? Related: imposter syndrome.
8. Should statements
Example: "I should be coping better by now." Ask: whose rule is this, and what would a fairer version sound like? Try "I'd like to" instead of "I should".
9. Labelling
Example: "I'm an idiot" instead of "I made a mistake". Ask: can I describe what happened instead of calling myself a name?
10. Blame
Putting all the fault on yourself, or all of it on someone else. Ask: if I shared responsibility out fairly between everyone and everything involved, how big would my slice be? Related: guilt.
Go deeper on the ones that catch you most: catastrophizing, perfectionism, imposter syndrome and guilt.
How do you challenge a cognitive distortion?
Write the upsetting thought down exactly as it sounds in your head. Name the traps in it; most thoughts contain two or three. Then write a response that is both kinder and true, and check how much you now believe the original thought. A response only works if you genuinely believe it, so a forced positive thought won’t help. The TEAM-CBT toolkit covers the methods for this, such as examining the evidence and the double standard.
When to see a licensed professional
If negative thoughts are constant, come with low mood that lasts for weeks, panic attacks or thoughts of harming yourself, please see your GP or a licensed professional. Coaching teaches skills; it isn’t a substitute for clinical care. The crisis resources page lists 24-hour lines for the UK and across Europe.
Frequently asked
Common questions
- What are cognitive distortions?
- Cognitive distortions are common thinking traps: habitual ways the mind bends a situation so it looks worse than it is, such as all-or-nothing thinking, mind-reading and catastrophizing. They're a central idea in CBT, which teaches you to spot and answer them.
- What are the 10 cognitive distortions?
- The commonly used list is: all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralisation, mental filter, discounting the positive, jumping to conclusions (mind-reading and fortune-telling), magnification, emotional reasoning, should statements, labelling and blame.
- How do you stop cognitive distortions?
- You don't stop them completely; everyone has them. You learn to catch them: write the thought down, name the traps in it, and answer it with a response that is both kinder and true. With practice, the answering becomes quicker.
- Can a coach help with negative thinking?
- Yes. Spotting and answering thinking traps is core CBT skills work and suits coaching well, with progress measured session by session. Rose works online, in English, across the UK and Europe. The first 20-minute call is free.
Next step
Catch the trap, answer the thought.
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