Emotional reasoning is a cognitive distortion, or faulty pattern of thought, in which a person believes that his or her own emotional experience in relation to a thought is evidence of the truthfulness of that thought. In a nutshell, emotional reasoning occurs when we think the following: I feel it’s true, so it must be true. Like…

Cognitive distortions are errors of thought and/or belief that create false perceptions of reality and by doing so create emotional distress. Cognitive distortions can be contributing factors to anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. Identifying and reducing cognitive distortions is a core component of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which is one of the most well-regarded…

The foundational principle that underlies cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is that thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are interconnected. This relationship can be visualized with the CBT triangle (or cognitive triangle). Thoughts, behaviors, and emotions can be understood as three points on a triangle, and each one influences the other in a bilateral fashion. This means that: Cognitive…

Worst case scenario thinking, also known as catastrophizing, is a cognitive distortion or faulty thought pattern, in which a person greatly exaggerates the likelihood that something unusually bad will occur. Worst case scenario thinking is one of the more common cognitive distortions, particularly for those with anxiety or depressive disorders. In this article we will…

Should statements are cognitive distortions, or faulty thought patterns, in which a person knowingly or unknowingly creates rigid expectations that in turn lead to unnecessary distress. Should statements are one of the “sneakier” cognitive distortions in that they become so ingrained in our thought habits that we don’t even realize we are making these errors,…

All or nothing thinking (also known as black and white thinking) is a cognitive distortion that causes a person to see something as all good or all bad, with no in-between. This is is one of the most common cognitive distortions, and also one of the most damaging. Examples of all or nothing thinking When…

Jumping to conclusions is a cognitive distortion, or a faulty pattern of thought, in which a person makes unhelpful assumptions that are not supported by evidence. These “jumps” are leaps into the unknown. Jumping to conclusions is a particularly common cognitive distortion because we all must draw conclusions based on partial or incomplete information. Therefore,…

Blaming is a cognitive distortion, or a faulty thought pattern, that causes a person to wrongly assign the responsibility of a negative outcome either to oneself or another. This cognitive distortion occurs when one wrongly blames another for one’s own actions, or when one wrongly assumes responsibility for others’ actions. Examples of blaming others Often,…

The CBT triangle (or cognitive triangle) is a model for illustrating the relationship between thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. This model acts as a map for understanding the relationship between these three points (thoughts, behaviors, and emotions), and how we can make changes to habits of thought and behavior to help us feel better. This model…

Overgeneralization is a cognitive distortion, or a faulty thought pattern, that causes a person to generalize the outcome of one or several negative events to all similar events. It is the error of drawing a big conclusion from a small sample. We all have to make assumptions based on incomplete information. Otherwise, we couldn’t function…