Faulty Logic: How Cognitive Distortions Can Trip You Up

Cognitive distortions are thoughts that have made an error in analyzing a situation. Unfortunately, they sound like the 'truth' and can lead us to make decisions that will trip us up. Learning how to recognize the patterns can help us figure out what our minds are up to.

Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are when thoughts (cognitions) get jumbled up (distorted) in the wiring. They lose access to accuracy in the quest to come to a quick conclusion. Cognitive distortions are often negative, focus on things outside of our control, or assign blame without making much sense. Often, these patterns of thinking come from past learned experiences which makes them seem reasonable or legit. These patterns can easily become habitual shortcuts for analyzing situations. When we mistake these thoughts as facts we might start behaving in ways that do not serve us or could even cause harm to ourselves or others.

Noticing Without Judgement

It can take having a neutral observer, such a therapist, to notice flaws in what you previously thought sounded like a solid bit of logic. Once a distortion is pointed out, people often offer a sheepish grin as they think about how they just went from Point A to Point D without much regard for all the bits in between. After all, your mind has probably been using those same distortions for a long time. It sounds ‘normal’ or ‘natural’ to you. Once you’ve lived with patterns of cognitive distortions long enough it can mask itself as ‘common sense.’

Examples of Cognitive Distortions

Here are just a few of the many cognitive distortions possible.

• Black and White thinking can lead you to lose out on noticing the intricacies of gray between two options.

  
  

• Overgeneralization throws around words like “always” or “never.”

  
  

• Catastrophizing often happens when people play the horror version of ‘what if’ games and assume the worst outcomes of a possible future.

  
  

Thoughts Are Not Facts

It can be very relieving to realize that our thoughts are thoughts - not facts - and are often hopelessly biased because they are based on our own limited past experiences. It can be incredibly beneficial to tune in and notice how your thoughts are intimately tied to everything else in your world. Noticing and responding to our thoughts with curiosity and psychological flexibility can give us the space we need to notice errors our mind may have made in its hurry to reach a conclusion.

A Marble Metaphor

Imagine a marble dropped on the top of a sand dune. As it rolls down the sand it will leave a path behind. The next marble falling into the sand is likely to roll down that same path. Over time and with enough marbles what once was a shallow ditch can become a grand canyon. If these marbles (that we hopefully do not lose) represent our thoughts then the paths they take represent how we process information. We can learn new ways of thinking about a situation, but on autopilot our thoughts will take the same path they always have. It's easier, temporarily, to roll down a path already there than to create a new, more helpful path.

The marbles are going to show up so when they do we can build our skills to purposefully catch them before they roll down the same paths that have given us trouble before. We can grab the marble and gently relocate it before it just does the same thing again. Our current thinking habits are not always helpful or accurate. This means we have to learn how to be mindful of how our own thoughts initially perceive events.

Uncrossing Wires

It can be very hard to distinguish which of your thoughts may be cognitive distortions. We all have them sometimes and they do not necessarily cause big problems. However, if you feel like your thoughts may be getting away from you it may be helpful to talk to a trained professional like a counselor to learn how to notice and address cognitive distortions that are getting in your way.

References

https://psychcentral.com/lib/cognitive-distortions-negative-thinking#types

https://www.healthline.com/health/cognitive-distortions#bottom-line