The Cognitive distortions Are a fallacious way of reasoning and Are usually associated with the transformation of reality, causing suffering and other negative consequences for the person.
Own of the different mental disorders, the person who presents them distorts reality to a greater or lesser extent. While it is true that we may all have incoherent or incorrect ideas, what characterizes these patients is that their ideas tend to hurt themselves.
According to a paper from the University of Michigan's Mind Woks Campus, cognitive distortions and negative thoughts are common in people with anxiety , depression And other mental disorders.
It is true that we can all have negative thoughts Sometimes, but begins to pose a problem when they are very frequent and intense, identified by:
- Be exaggerated or erroneous ideas.
- In spite of being false or imprecise, the person who experiences them usually believes firmly in them.
- They cause great discomfort.
- They are automatic and difficult to recognize or control.
In addition, negative thoughts are characterized by:
- Modulate how we feel.
- Change our behaviors.
- Be very convincing to the person, without recognizing that they may be totally or partially false.
- Make the individual feel bad about himself and others.
- They tend to provoke despair to the present and future life.
The concept was introduced by Aaron Beck (1963) and Albert Ellis (1962).
Model A-B-C by Albert Ellis
Ellis Developed a theory Which indicates where the cognitive distortions come from. The theory is called"ABC"(Activating Event or Belief System, Belief System, and Consequence or consequences) and argues that people are not directly altered by any particular event, but rather the thought they construct on that event Which causes the emotional reaction.
Because, Albert Ellis Indicates that between A and C is always B. Let's see what each one consists of:
- "A"o Activating Event: Means the event or situation, which can be either external (bad news) or internal (a fantasy, an image, sensation, thought or behavior), which is going to provoke a reaction in the people who live it.
- "B"or Belief System: Which encompasses everything related to the individual's cognitive and belief systems, such as his memories, way of thinking, schemas, attributions, attitudes, rules, values, lifestyle, etc.
- "C"o Consequence: Here we find the reaction triggered by"A"and modulated by"B", and can be 3 types: emotional (creating certain feelings to the person), cognitive (causing thoughts) or behavioral (triggering actions). The consequences are also classified as appropriate, that is, they do not harm the person and even benefit; And inappropriate, which are classified as disturbing and dysfunctional for the individual.
Inappropriate consequences are distinguished by creating suffering in the person that is unnecessary or disproportionate to the situation: to carry out actions that ultimately go against our own interests or not to implement strategies that would be good for achieving our goals. Of course, they are linked to cognitive distortions.
A -> B -> C
Currently this model has been expanded, realizing that the phenomenon is much more complex than the ABC scheme defined by Ellis. It is now considered that relationships are not so linear, but that all of the above components interact and interact with each other continuously. Let's look at the examples:
B-A: In this way, the authors give a person a more active role by understanding that"A"is the fact perceived by the person in a subjective way, created or constructed by him because of his beliefs, values, attribution systems, etc. In addition, it is influenced by the goals or objectives of each and their cognitive schemas (B).
C-B: On the other hand, the emotions that can arise in stage"C"or consequences, will modulate the schemas and the cognitive distortions (B) when they construct the event or"A".
AC: The emotions we have and our behavior will also change our vision of the situation.
A-C: Sometimes"A"can instantly trigger a quick and learned response ("C"stage) to"B"or the cognitive system later.
Types of Cognitive Distortions
Polarization of thought or"white or black"
The person constructs extreme thoughts around two opposite categories (like considering something or perfect or fatal), ignoring intermediate steps or different degrees, something that is not realistic if we consider the great variety of nuances that exist in the things that happen to us .
A polarized thought is also to base all hopes on a single event or result of life, which causes unattainable standards and a great increase of stress.
Overgeneralization
It means that a single negative event or incident becomes a general conclusion, considering that it will always happen again in similar situations. In this way, if something bad happens one day, the person will tend to think that that fact is going to happen again and again.
This is also related to the dichotomous thinking of situating the facts in"always"or"never". An example would be to think"nothing good happens".
This cognitive scheme can result in the person avoiding situations in which he believes that the negative incident will happen again.
Selective abstraction or filtration
It is the elimination or ignorance of positive events and a deviation of attention to negative data magnifying them. In this way, the person only takes refuge in negative aspects to interpret and visualize their reality.
For example, someone may focus on their failures by thinking that their lives are disastrous without contemplating their successes.
In this cognitive distortion people tend to attend to those events that they fear the most.
Likewise, individuals with anxiety will filter the dangerous situations for them, the depressives; Will focus on the events in which a loss or abandonment may occur, while the choleric ones will focus on a situation of injustice or confrontation.
Demands and perfectionism, also known as the"must"
They are inflexible and strict ideas about how others and oneself should be. In this way, the person is never satisfied with himself or with others because he is always finding criticism. They are called so because they usually start with"should","I have to","it is necessary that", etc.
This results in inhibited behavior, frustration, guilt, and low self-esteem for feeling that they do not meet the expectations of perfection. Strict demands on others cause hatred, anger, and anger toward them.
Some examples would be:"I should not make mistakes,""I have to like everyone,""I should always be happy and calm,""I have to be perfect in my job,""people should try harder,"etc.
Magnification (catastrophic vision) and minimization
Catastrophic vision is a way of thinking that triggers anxiety. It is characterized by expecting that the worst will always happen or is considered a much more serious event than it really is.
In addition, the thoughts focus on a disaster that has not occurred beginning with"what if...?"Or, overly interpret a fact as negative.
For example: what if I go up to the elevator and get stuck? What if I come to the party and nobody talks to me? In the end, the individual changes his behavior by becoming evasive. Following the example above, the person will decide not to get on the elevator or not to go to the party.
On the other hand, minimization implies the opposite; And in people affected by anxiety, depression or obsessions, it usually consists of ignoring the positive parts of the facts, the good moments, or the events that contradict their schemes.
For example, a person with depression will not be able to appreciate that he scored well on an exam or attribute it to luck or chance to feel good on that day.
We find two subsections that explain this attitude better:
- Negativism: Appears when the person tends to make negative predictions of the facts of their daily lives, such as"I'm sure that I'm doing poorly at the job interview"or"I certainly do not pass the exam".
- Denial: Another form of cognitive distortion is denial, which is the opposite of catastrophic vision; Relating to minimization. It consists in hiding the weaknesses, the problems and the failures, thinking that all is well or that negative things are not important when it is not really being that way.
Not allowing ourselves to feel bad, angry or worried can do us much harm.
Projection
In this case, the person has some weakness, problem or frustration that he does not want to recognize and projects them to other people, indicating that they have the characteristics.
Disqualification of the positive
As its name implies, this way of thinking implies that people forget the positive things that they achieve or that happen to them, associating it many times with luck, chance, or thinking that they are isolated facts that do not usually happen when in fact it is that they do not Pay attention.
Personalization
It is an egocentric tendency of thought, in which the individuals who present it believe that everything that others do or say is related to them. Everything revolves around oneself.
They often compare themselves to others by making value judgments, whether they are more or less clever, handsome, successful, etc. These people measure their value by comparing themselves with others, so that if they interpret that the people around them are"superior"to them; They will feel uncomfortable, frustrated and sad.
In addition, each interaction with others considers it as a situation in which its value is tested.
On the other hand, they make false attributions of the facts in a way that they can believe that they are the cause of events that are not under their control or that they have happened by other diverse reasons, as it can happen with other people, establishing a culprit when I had nothing or little to see.
Reading the Thought
Without having obvious evidence of it or asking others directly, these individuals imagine what they feel, think or will do.
Obviously, they usually have a negative connotation that damages the person who thinks it and in most of the occasions this is partially or totally false. Some examples would be:"I'm sure they think I'm stupid,""that girl wants to trick me,"or"she's being kind because she wants me to do her a favor."
Draw conclusions abruptly
Establish negative predictions from ideas that are not supported by empirical evidence, starting from sensations, intuitions or imaginations that do not coincide with reality. Within this category are:
- Fortune telling : Related to the above, but referring to the person believes to predict events before they happen and without good evidence to think, such as believing that your girlfriend will leave or that the following weekend is going to be a disaster.
- Culpability: It looks like personalization, but here it specifically refers to the person feeling guilty of things that have actually provoked other people; Or vice versa, that is, to blame others when you have provoked it.
- Emotional Reasoning: To think that, according to the feelings that one presents, this is going to be the reality. That is, often negative emotions are not necessarily a reflection of reality. This cognitive distortion is often very difficult to recognize. Let's look at it better with a few examples:"I'm afraid to ride in an airplane, so riding on a plane should be dangerous,"or"If I feel guilty it's something I've done,"or"I feel inferior, I am".
- Labeled: Is an extreme form of"all or nothing"thinking and it is about classifying people and oneself into inflexible, permanent categories linked to prejudices. In this way, they usually choose one or two characteristics of the person and is labeled for it without considering other virtues or defects. For example:"I was wrong, then I am useless","that boy is a liar, once tried to deceive me".
- Confirmatory bias: Occurs when we remember or perceive only those things that fit our current schemes. For example, if we think we are useless, we tend to remember only the moments when we did things wrong, and in the future we will perceive only the information that would confirm it, ignoring that which proves otherwise.
Fallacies
There are several types of fallacies:
- Fallacy of reason: These people are continually trying to prove that they possess the absolute truth, and will try not to make mistakes or justify their mistakes so that they only accept their truth.
- Fallacy of control: Can be external control or internal control. The first refers to the person feeling that he can not control his own life, but is a victim of fate. Instead, the fallacy of internal control is that the individual feels responsible for the mood of others.
- Fallacy of justice: The individual who presents it feels frustrated because he believes that he is the only one who acts fairly, judging inflexibly what is fair and what not according to his own opinions, desires, needs and expectations.
- Fallacy of divine reward: In this case, the person is convinced that someday all the suffering he has lived and the sacrifices he has made will have their reward. Then the person can become very frustrated if that magnificent reward that waits does not arrive.
How to deal with cognitive distortions?
Normally, cognitive distortions are confronted by psychological therapy, teaching the person first to identify their distortions (which will appear disguised as everyday thoughts) and then replace them with alternative reasoning.
The most commonly used technique to eliminate these thoughts is known as cognitive restructuring, and you can know what it is and how it is put into practice here.
1- Learning to identify distortions
First of all, you must know what the cognitive distortions are and then be aware of your own thoughts to recognize them when they appear.
This may be the most difficult step because cognitive distortions are ways of thinking that can be deeply rooted or arise quickly and automatically. In addition, people often believe in them with certainty, causing them discomfort. The secret is to pay close attention to what you are thinking.
2- Examine their truthfulness
To what extent is it true what I think? To do this, you can ask the following questions and try to answer honestly:
What proof do I have that this thought is real?
What evidence do I have that is not real?
What would you tell a friend who had the same thought?
If it's finally true, are the consequences as bad as I think?
3- Do a behavioral experiment
It is advisable to do experiments in a way that can be directly verified with facts if something is as true as it is believed or not.
For example, a person who is afraid to speak in public can avoid the situation because he thinks he is going to be nervous, he will blush and others will make fun of him.
However, if you do the experiment and then try to solve questions like the following: How many people will have noticed that he was nervous or flushed? Did anyone really notice it had any importance? Did anyone really make fun of the situation?
That person might also wonder Would I laugh at someone who would get nervous or flustered talking in public?
4- Try to change your internal dialogue
Does that way of thinking help you achieve your goals or be happier in life? Does it push you to overcome your problems? If not, you have to change the way you see things.
For example, a person who has chronic pain may always be thinking about such pain and how unhappy it is. However, that way of thinking does not make you feel better, nor does it boost your mood, nor does it help you to do the things you would like; but on the contraty.
For this reason it is very important to tell ourselves positive verbalizations that help us to replace negative ones that stop us. It is not to deceive ourselves, but to think of more positive things that are real.
For example, in the case of the person who is afraid to speak in public because he thinks he will say inconsistencies due to the nerves; You can do the exercise of changing that thinking and focus on how you plan your speech so that it does not happen.
In reality, each type of distortion can be faced in a different way, although the goal will always be to knock it down and replace it with another way of thinking.
For example, for"white or black"thinking the person must be aware that there are many degrees between success and failure and that most situations are somewhere in between.
Or for catastrophists, the exercise of giving the proper importance to each event can be put into practice. Being important to know that an isolated disappointment is not going to determine the well-being and happiness of someone permanently.
- If you want to opt for a more systematic option, you can Develop a record of thoughts In which you include the negative thought that has appeared, the type of cognitive distortion that is and a rational alternative to that thought. Try that the thinking is very clear and clear and reflect exactly what you are worried about.
- Always look for the positive side Or at least, the"non-negative."
- Recognize your achievements and your growth. Remember those things that you have achieved in your life, what gives you good, your qualities, etc. And do not just focus on failures, flaws or problems, which is very common in cognitive distortions.
- Focus on finding the solution. Do not think of"how bad what has happened!"But in"what can I do to solve this?".
- Increases the empathy And understanding to others : Perfection does not exist. Everyone has virtues and defects, and has different ways of seeing the world and behaving that you may not share. It is essential to be tolerant, understanding and substitute prejudices or criticisms for"and why not? Everyone is free."
Or, for example, not pigeonhole the others by an isolated characteristic such as"clumsy"or"vague". Try in that case to look for evidence that confirms this as rejecting it, surely that person has more traits and that label does not define it completely.
- Do not abuse being demanding with yourself : When you demand too much, it is because you believe that this is the only way to prove your worth to yourself and to others. That way, you get depressed or frustrated more than normal because it is very difficult to meet the demands you impose.
Try to be more flexible, tolerant and understanding with yourself, substituting"I have to"or"I should"for"I would like"or"I prefer".
References
- Albert Ellis, rational behavioral emotional therapy. (S.f.). Retrieved on July 14, 2016, from CAT Barcelona.
- Beck, A.T. (1963). Thinking and Depression. Idiosyncratic Content and Cognitive Distortions. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 9: 324-33.
- Burns, D. (s.f.). Checklist of cognitive distortions. Retrieved July 14, 2016, from Austin Peay State University.
- Cognitive Distortions. (S.f.). Retrieved July 14, 2016, from Campus Mind Works, University of Michigan.
- Common mindtraps associated with Anxiety. (S.f.). Retrieved on July 14, 2016, from Reconnect Mental Health.
- Franceschi, P. (2007). Complement to a theory of the cognitive distortions. Journal de Thérapie Comportementale et Cognitive, 17 (2), 84-88.
- Mckay, M.; Davis, M. and Fanning, P. (1988): Cognitive techniques for the treatment of stress. Martínez Roca: Barcelona.
- Unhelpful Thinking Styles. (S.f.). Retrieved on July 14, 2016, from Psychology Tools.