Increasing Awareness of Cognitive Distortions
Goal
The goal of this exercise is to help you recognise distorted thinking and reduce the negative impact of these thinking patterns.
Step 1: Understanding cognitive distortions
Cognitive distortions are ways that the mind convinces us of something that is not true. Although these thoughts may sound very convincing, they are simply not true and make us feel badly about ourselves or others.
For instance, a person might tell themself, “if I do not make it the first time, I will never make it.” This is an example of “black or white” (or polarised) thinking. The person is only seeing things in extremes — that if they fail at something the first time, they will fail at all future attempts. Learning to recognise your own cognitive distortions can help you to decrease their impact.
The downloadable examples and worksheet shows a list of 11 common cognitive distortions. Please study the list so that you have a clear idea of the different ways in which our mind tries to convince us of something that is not true.
Step 2: Identifying your own cognitive distortions
Now you have a better understanding of what cognitive distortions are, it is time to become aware of your own cognitive distortions. The downloadable worksheet can be used for this purpose.
As shown on the worksheet, there are three columns to track: feelings, thoughts and cognitive distortions. First, start by connecting to your present experience. What do you feel? Try to identify which emotion (e.g. anxiety, irritability, sadness, or shame) is present. Write the emotion in the first column labelled “Feelings.” You can also write down any notable physical sensations, (e.g. muscular tension), as uncomfortable somatic states can be caused by problematic thinking as well.
Once you have identified what you are feeling, then notice what thoughts are running through your mind as you experience those emotions or physical sensations. This step helps you to gain more insight in the relationship between thoughts and feelings.
Finally, analyse your thoughts for any cognitive distortions. If you notice that your thinking reflects one or more cognitive distortions, write it/them down. If not, your perspective is likely to be rational and you are probably experiencing a normal emotional response to something difficult. An example is completed on the downloadable worksheet.
Try to spend 5-10 minutes each day working on this exercise for at least one week. It is important that you actually write out the information. Simply thinking about it is often insufficient for this exercise to be effective. Putting the information down on paper provides perspective and clarity.
Step 3: Reflection:
How was it to do this exercise?
What did you learn from this exercise?
Take a look at the completed worksheet. Are there cognitive distortions that seem to happen more often than others? If so, which ones?
What could you do to reduce the impact of your cognitive distortions?