Break Free from Cognitive Distortions with Proven Strategies

Understanding Cognitive Distortions: A Deep Dive

Cognitive distortions are the gateway thoughts that will lead you down a path to an overall negative mindset. They are illogical or false thoughts and beliefs that distort or misshape the way you see the world and what is around you. This will often lead a person to experience negative emotions and engage in negative behaviors.

They are a common phenomenon, recognized in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as patterns of thinking that often lead to psychological disorders such as generalized anxiety and depression.

These distortions can affect anyone, regardless of age, background, or mental health status, making it a universal aspect of human psychology. I can’t speak for you, but I know that I personally have used all of these cognitive distortions at least once in my life. They are more common than you may think! Chances are, you have used several of these in your life too!

In this post, I will outline 10 of the most common distortions that I see, to help you understand what each of these distortions are, and I will use movie examples and real-life examples of the distortion being used. Stay tuned to the end of the post, where I will provide you with some antidotes to each of these distortions.

Please note that the content provided in this blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While I aim to share knowledge and tips to support your mental health journey towards serenity and wellness, this blog does not establish a therapist-client relationship. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified mental health professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or mental health concerns.

1. Magnification and Minimization

Magnification is when a person blows things up much larger than they really are! Such as the spider on the desk. That person sees a big spider, and his brain magnifies it to be 20 times larger than it actually is.

A person who minimizes may complete a hard project, and when praised for their work, they will say, “Oh, it wasn’t that big of a deal.” You may have said this too, believing you were trying to be humble. However, always humbling yourself can tear you down lower than you think. If you put in a lot of work, it’s not a bad thing to enjoy the spotlight a bit. Just don’t take it too far and let it go to your head!

• Movie Examples:
  • The Devil Wears Prada showcases magnification when Andy believes her job’s challenges outweigh her career achievements.
  • In Spider-Man, Peter Parker often minimizes his heroic acts as not being good enough.
  • Bridget Jones’s Diary illustrates both, with Bridget magnifying her romantic mishaps while minimizing her progress.
• Real-Life Example: Dismissing a compliment about a well-done project, focusing instead on minor, overlooked details.

2. Catastrophizing

I went into this distortion in a previous post. When you make something much larger than it really is without having all of the facts. This can lead you to experiencing a lot of stress for nothing!

• Movie Examples:
  • War of the Worlds depicts characters anticipating the end of the world in response to an alien invasion.
  • Contagion showcases societal catastrophizing in response to a global pandemic.
  • In Final Destination, characters constantly anticipate fatal accidents.
• Real-Life Example: Believing a missed call from a parent must mean a family emergency.

3. Overgeneralization:

The person who overgeneralizes, may look at this picture and say, “All of the flowers are dead and wilting!” In truth, only one or two look bad, but their overgeneralizing brain sees it as all bad! Imagine you work in retail as a cashier, and you have 200 kind customers and 10 rude customers. Those rude customers stick out in your mind and cause you to think, “Today is a horrible day!” You have just overgeneralized.

• Movie Examples:
  • 500 Days of Summer shows Tom overgeneralizing his romantic failures to mean he will never find love.
  • Legally Blonde has Elle assuming one rejection means she’s not smart enough for law school.
  • Ratatouille features critics overgeneralizing one meal to judge a chef’s entire capability.
• Real-Life Example: Thinking you’re bad at relationships because of one failed date.

4. Magical Thinking

Magical thinking: While this type of thinking would be awesome if it were true sometimes, nobody is that powerful! If you are, let me know, I would love to interview you! Picture this: you just found out that someone that you don’t like just got the promotion for a job that you wanted. You have a momentary thought of, “I hope something bad happens to them!” Later, you find out they got into a terrible car accident that night. The magical thinking brain would believe it caused the person to get into the car accident because they put that thought out into the universe and somehow willed it to come true.

Movie Examples:

“The Secret” (2006) “The Secret” popularizes the idea of the Law of Attraction, which is a form of magical thinking. It suggests that by simply thinking positively or wishing for something, one can attract that thing into their life.

“Aladdin” (1992): In this animated Disney classic, the protagonist, Aladdin, uses a magical lamp to summon a genie who has the power to grant him three wishes. The notion that making a wish and having it granted by a magical thing or person can have real-world effects is what makes this movie an example of magical thinking.

“Peter Pan” (1953): The story of Peter Pan revolves around the idea that believing hard enough can allow children to fly and that never growing up is a choice. This embodies magical thinking, particularly through the scene where children are taught that they can fly by thinking happy thoughts.

Real-Life Example: Believing that if you worry enough about a loved one’s safety, it will protect them from harm.

5. Personalization

• Movie Examples:
  • Good Will Hunting shows Will blaming himself for his abusive past.
  • In Frozen, Elsa sees her powers as a personal failing that endangers others.
  • Spider-Man again, with Peter Parker blaming himself for his Uncle Ben’s death.
• Real-Life Example: Feeling responsible for a friend’s mood, believing you must have done something to upset them.

6. Jumping to Conclusions

Jumping to conclusions: Your boss or principle called you into their office at the end of the day. You spend all day thinking about the worst possible outcomes. This stresses you out so much and ruins your day. When you finally arrive at their office at the end of the day, you find out they wanted to congratulate you with an award, but now you were too stressed to have a positive reaction.

• Movie Examples:
  • Mean Girls has characters assuming malicious intent in others’ actions without evidence.
  • A Christmas Carol features Scrooge predicting perpetual misery without change.
  • The Sixth Sense includes both, with characters assuming they know truths without all the information.
• Real-Life Example: Assuming a friend is angry with you because they haven’t texted back quickly.

7. Emotional Reasoning:

Believing that because we feel a certain way, it must be true. I feel like a jerk for what I said, therefore, I am a jerk. I was so awkward during my presentation in class. I must be an awkward person! You convince yourself to believe false truths that are based on your current feelings.

• Movie Examples:
  • Inside Out personifies emotions, showing characters believing their feelings reflect reality.
  • Silver Linings Playbook demonstrates characters equating feelings with truth in their personal and family life.
  • A Beautiful Mind portrays emotional reasoning in the context of psychological illness.
• Real-Life Example: Feeling like a failure and concluding that you must indeed be one.

8. Discounting the Positive:

• Movie Examples:
  • It’s a Wonderful Life has George Bailey discounting his positive impact on his town.
  • Harry Potter series, where Harry often discounts his achievements and focuses on his failures.
  • The Pursuit of Happyness shows Chris Gardner struggling to acknowledge his progress amidst adversity.
• Real-Life Example: Not believing praise for your work, thinking it’s just what anyone would have done.

9. Should and Could Statements:

I call these the mental health swear words. Saying the word should will quickly lead you or someone else to feel guilt or shame. You got a B on your test? You should have done better! SHAME!

Even when we mean well, these statements can be damaging! Hey Tony, I see you have studied hard for your class on Tuesday, you should do great on the test! Now if Tony doesn’t do well on his test, he experiences shame!

You could have done this instead! This is a shaming statement!

• Movie Examples:
  • Whiplash portrays the destructive nature of internalized “shoulds” in the pursuit of greatness.
  • Eat Pray Love explores the journey of escaping societal and self-imposed “shoulds.”
  • Rebel Without a Cause demonstrates the turmoil of youthful characters grappling with what they “should” be.
• Real-Life Example: Believing you should always be happy and feeling guilty when you’re not.

10. All or Nothing Thinking:

• Movie Examples:
  • Black Swan showcases the destructive pursuit of perfection, ignoring the middle ground.
  • Star Wars saga often dichotomizes the Force into good and evil, neglecting nuances or the middle.
  • The Dark Knight presents moral dilemmas in binary choices, overlooking complexities.
• Real-Life Example: Believing if you’re not the best in your class, you’re the worst.

Cognitive distortions can significantly impact mental health and relationships. Recognizing and changing these thought patterns through techniques like mindfulness, CBT, or professional help can lead to more balanced and realistic thinking. Movies, with their broad reach and emotional impact, provide relatable examples that can help us identify these patterns in ourselves and others. By understanding and learning from both fictional and real-life instances, we can work towards a healthier mindset.

The antidote to each of these cognitive distortions

1. Magnification and Minimization

• Reality Check: Compare your evaluation with facts to see if you’re magnifying a flaw or minimizing an achievement.
• Perspective Shift: Ask yourself how this will matter in 5 years, or compare your situation with those facing serious hardships.

2. Catastrophizing

• Evidence-Based Thinking: Challenge the likelihood of the worst-case scenario actually happening.
• Outcome Decatastrophizing: Plan for the worst-case scenario to reduce anxiety and realize you could handle it.

3. Overgeneralization

• Look for Exceptions: Identify any instances where the generalization does not hold true.
• Specificity Practice: Train yourself to see each situation as unique instead of applying a broad rule.

4. Magical Thinking

• Rational Evaluation: Acknowledge the difference between thought and action; wishes don’t cause events.
• Action Steps: Focus on actionable steps you can take rather than hoping for an outcome.

5. Personalization

• Boundary Setting: Understand and remind yourself of the limits of your control over events and others’ actions.
• External Factors Analysis: Consider external circumstances that could have contributed to the situation.

6. Jumping to Conclusions (Mind Reading/Fortune Telling)

• Fact-Checking: Ask for clarity or more information before drawing conclusions.
• Probability Assessment: Evaluate the actual evidence supporting your conclusion.

7. Emotional Reasoning

• Emotion vs. Reality: Acknowledge your feelings but question if they accurately reflect the situation.
• Balanced Thinking: Aim to find a more balanced, rational perspective on the situation.

8. Discounting the Positive

• Gratitude Practice: Make a habit of identifying and appreciating positive aspects of your life daily.
• Achievement Log: Keep a record of successes, no matter how small, to review when feeling ineffective.

9. Should Statements

• Flexibility Embrace: Replace “should” with “prefer” to reduce pressure and disappointment.
• Compassion Practice: Show compassion to yourself and others instead of rigidly applying should statements.

10. All or Nothing Thinking

• Spectrum Thinking: Train yourself to see the gray areas and continuum in situations instead of binary outcomes.
• Experimentation: Test out doing tasks imperfectly to challenge the belief that anything less than perfect is a failure.

11. Labeling and Mislabeling

• Specificity in Language: Use precise language to describe actions or situations instead of labeling yourself or others.
• Context Consideration: Understand and consider the circumstances that led to the behavior before attaching a label.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment down below if you found todays post interesting. If you have topics that you would like to be written about, leave a comment! See you soon!

APA Format Movie References