It is possible that when you are thinking about your life, your own mind misleads you about the vision you have. Cognitive distortions make your mind see things with a different interpretation than what it should really be, a not very objective interpretation. This occurs mostly in people with depression and other mood disorders.

Cognitive distortions can be detected and also corrected. You just have to know what to look for and detect them. It may be more difficult for you to detect your own cognitive distortions than to detect it in others, but it is possible to do so. Doing so can make a lasting positive change in the way you experience stressors in your life. Even cognitive distortions can work to your advantage . The key is knowing when and how to do it.

There are some distortions that are more common than others and that are directly related to stress. If you look for these cognitive distortions in your mind and correct them, you will be on your way to reducing stress in your life.

All or nothing thinking

This type of distortion is to blame for when people think in extremes. Or black or white, no gray in between. All or nothing thinkers often use words like ‘always’ or ‘never’ when describing things. This kind of thinking can magnify life’s stressors, making them seem like much bigger problems than they actually could be.

Overgeneralize things

This occurs when a person associates an isolated event with everything, that is, if something bad happens, that bad will always happen. For example, if someone comes across a bad electrician who has tried to scam him, he will think that all electricians are bad people and want to rob him.

Just look at the negative

There are those who only look at the bad things that happen in their life and overlook all the good that can be found. If, for example, everything is going well in your life, but something bad happens to you, you will only pay attention to the bad thing that has happened to you, feeling that your life is a disgrace.

Therefore they can also tend to disqualify the positive and cling to a negative worldview with low expectations for the future . If you usually say something like ‘Yes, but …’ when someone gives you the solution to a problem … you should start changing the chip!

An emotional reasoning

This usually happens when conclusions are drawn ahead of time and some facts are ignored to draw them. If you are an emotional reasoner, you will consider your emotions above the situation and you will not know how to look at the facts objectively. For example, you may feel angry because you believe that you do not have the capacity to face a specific situation, even if you could. You may act on beliefs that are not objective and cause you stress in the long run.

Label incorrectly

There are people who mislabel and misunderstand them inaccurately. For example, you can insult a person thinking that it is one way when in reality it is another. Perhaps a person calls himself ‘useless’ and believes that this is the case in all facets of his life. Labels tend to define people and contribute to a one-dimensional view of them and create overgeneralization. This can lead to relationship conflicts.

Personalization

Those who personalize what stresses them tend to blame themselves or others for things over which they are not in control. In this way stress is created unnecessarily. Those who tend to personalize tend to blame themselves for the actions of others or blame others for their own feelings .

Elle Mcdonald

I am Elle Mcdonald Specializations in Psychology . Graduated in psychology from the University of Tennessee in 2000. Diploma of Advanced Studies in the Department of Personality, Evaluation and psychological treatments with excellent results.

First Level of Master in Clinical Psychology at the Center for Behavioral Therapists (recognized with a scientific-professional nature by the College of Psychologists)

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