Is your Mind playing trick on you?? (copia)
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
Following negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and depression, there exist irrational thoughts that trigger these feelings. These thoughts are termed cognitive distortions. They are negatively biased errors in thinking that are believed to amplify negative thoughts and contribute to the development or persistence of depression.
When something happens, our minds automatically come up with thoughts, which affect how we feel and what we do. They act as veils, concealing or distorting reality, and impeding our progress toward our objectives. These thoughts usually match our deeply held beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world.
If these deep beliefs are negative and our automatic thoughts are also negative (even if they're not backed by real evidence), it can turn a good, okay, or even positive event into something that makes us feel bad and act in unhelpful ways. Over time, this cycle of thoughts, feelings, and actions can cause or keep depression symptoms going.
Cognitive distortions encompass various categories, prompting us to create a series of informative posts detailing distinct types of distortions. These include:
Mindreading: Assuming that others are thinking negatively about oneself.
Catastrophising: Making bleak predictions about the future without much or any evidence.
All-or-nothing thinking: Seeing things in black-and-white terms, without considering a middle ground.
Labeling: Giving oneself negative labels after facing adversity.
Mental filtering: Focusing on negative information and downplaying the positive.
Overgeneralisation: Believing that one negative event guarantees more bad things will happen.
Personalisation: Assuming responsibility for negative events.
Should statements: Believing that things must conform to specific expectations.
Minimising or disqualifying the positive: Ignoring or discounting positive experiences.
The occurrence of these cognitive errors can vary in different aspects of life, especially depending on a person's core beliefs, which typically fall into two categories: feelings of being unlovable, dependent, or sociotropic*, and feelings of helplessness, autonomy, or achievement.
How to counteract this tendency? Here are a few strategies:
Seek concrete evidence that supports the notion that other people's actions are related to you.
Exercise restraint in forming conclusions unless you possess definitive proof and sound reasoning.
*Sociotropic: Individuals who exhibit a tendency to place excessive importance on proximity and social validation as a means to compensate for diminished self-worth.
References
Dozois, D. J. A., & Beck, A. T. (2008). Cognitive schemas, beliefs and assumptions. In K. S. Dobson & D. J. A. Dozois (Eds.), Risk factors in depression (pp. 121-143). Oxford, United Kingdom: Elsevier/Academic Press. [Google Scholar].
Martínez R, Senra C, Fernández-Rey J, Merino H. Sociotropy, Autonomy and Emotional Symptoms in Patients with Major Depression or Generalized Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Rumination and Immature Defenses. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 7;17(16):5716. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165716. PMID: 32784694; PMCID: PMC7459840.
Rnic K, Dozois DJ, Martin RA. Cognitive Distortions, Humor Styles, and Depression. Eur J Psychol. 2016 Aug 19;12(3):348-62. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1118. PMID: 27547253; PMCID: PMC4991044.