Think of the number of times that your mood has dropped after one of the following cognitive distortions. A twisted thought can create a chain of negative moods!
| Labeling | “I’m an idiot! How could I do that?” Are you a really an idiot? It was a mistake. |
| All or Nothing Thinking | “I’m a failure.” Black and white thinking — “success” is a continuum. |
| Over- generalization | “This always happen to me!” A single negative event is not never-ending. |
| Mind reading | “I don’t matter enough for him to call me back.” That’s probably not the issue. |
| Emotional Reasoning | “I feel hopeless.” Negative emotions don’t necessarily reflect the way things really are. |
| Mental Filter | “She said I could do better.” Are you ignoring any positive feedback and obsessing about the critical comment? |
| Should Statements | “I shouldn’t have eaten that cake.” This will probably make you feel guilty and frustrated. |
| Jumping to Conclusions | “I’ll never understand this.” Is that absolutely true? Or will it simply take time and work. |