How to Untwist your Thinking

You’ve probably heard the term “cognitive distorted thinking,” which, in simple words, some also refer to as twisted thinking (distorted thinking, negative thinking patterns).

In most cases, distorted thinking (commonly referred to as cognitive distortions) is typically consistent with an individual’s core beliefs. The core beliefs that cause these negative thoughts are about themselves, others, and the world. These thoughts seem logical and truthful, to the person thinking them, but in reality, they are not.

Distorted thinking also bolsters negative beliefs and emotions. This can lead to increased feelings of low self-esteem, worsening mental health disorder symptoms, and trigger a pattern of self-destructive behavior. As one example, for someone suffering from social anxiety, distorted thinking might increase feelings of social discomfort. This could lead to an increase in feelings of withdrawal to the point the person chooses to completely stay away from any social situations.

If left unchecked, in extreme cases, these will have to be managed by a clinical mental health professional to discover techniques for replacing those twisted thinking patterns with healthier and more realistic thoughts patterns; in most common treatments, cognitive behavior therapy is used to develop a more positive mindset.

When first identified in 1979, researchers discovered some of the most common distorted thinking patterns in humans, which includes:

1. All-or-Nothing-Thinking: Viewing something as either-or, without considering the full spectrum and range of possible evaluations. Also referred to as “splitting,” “black-and-white thinking, and “polarized thinking.” There is no in-between for people who consider themselves either a success or a failure; either they are good or bad. This distortion is commonly found in perfectionists.
2. Overgeneralization: Assuming that the occurrence of one adverse event means that other bad things will happen repeatedly.
3. Filtering: Focusing on negative information and devaluing positive information. The Feeling Good Handbook notes that filtering is like a “drop of ink that discolors a beaker of water.”
4. Minimizing or Disqualifying the Positive: Ignoring or dismissing positive things that have happened. Negative belief is maintained despite contradiction by everyday experiences. Disqualifying the positive may be the most common fallacy in the cognitive distortion range; it is often analyzed with “always being right,” a type of distortion where a person is in an all-or-nothing self-judgment. People in this situation show signs of depression.
5. Jumping to conclusions: which includes subtypes.

• • • Mind reading: Assuming that others are thinking negatively about oneself.
    • Fortune-telling: Predicting outcomes (usually negative) of events.

6. Magnification and minimization (Catastrophizing): Making pessimistic predictions about the future based on little or no evidence
7. Emotional reasoning: Believing something to be accurate based on emotional responses rather than objective evidence. Examples: “I feel stupid; therefore, I must be stupid.”
8. Making “must” or “should” statements: Thinking that things must or should be a certain way, expecting the world to be different than it is. It can be seen as demanding achievements or behaviors regardless of the realistic circumstances of the situation.
9. Gratitude traps: A gratitude trap is a type of cognitive distortion that typically arises from misunderstandings regarding the nature or practice of gratitude. The term can refer to one of two related but distinct thought patterns:

• • • A self-oriented thought process involving feelings of guilt, shame, or frustration related to one’s expectations of how things “should” be
    • An “elusive ugliness in many relationships, a deceptive ‘kindness,’ the main purpose of which is to make others feel indebted,” as defined by psychologist Ellen Kenner

10. Personalization & Blaming: Personalization is assigning personal blame disproportionate to the level of control a person realistically has in each situation. In the blaming distortion, the disproportionate level of blame is placed upon other people rather than oneself. In this way, the person avoids taking personal responsibility, making way for a “victim mentality.”
11. Always being right: In this cognitive distortion, being wrong is unthinkable. This distortion is characterized by actively trying to prove one’s actions or thoughts to be correct and sometimes prioritizing self-interest over another person’s feelings. In this cognitive distortion, the facts that one has about their surroundings are always right while other people’s opinions and perspectives are wrongly seen.
12. The fallacy of change: Relying on social control to obtain cooperative actions from another person. The underlying assumption of this thinking style is that one’s happiness depends on the actions of others. The fallacy of change also assumes that other people should automatically change to suit one’s interests and that it is fair to pressure them to change. It may be present in most abusive relationships in which partners’ “visions” of each other are tied into the belief that happiness, love, trust, and perfection would occur once they or the other person change aspects of their beings.
13. Labeling & mislabeling: A form of overgeneralization; attributing a person’s actions to their character instead of an attribute. Rather than assuming the behavior to be accidental or otherwise irrelevant, one assigns a label to someone or something based on that person’s inferred character.

Looking at them all together can make them seem overwhelming! How are there so many different types of negative thinking patterns, and how could we possibly manage to avoid them? The truth is we can’t always avoid negative thinking and learning to reroute your thinking patterns takes a lot of work. But we can care for ourselves by becoming aware of these patterns and developing strategies to deal with them when we notice them popping up.

So, what’s next is to explore a summary of valuable tips and strategies that will be useful in helping you untwist your negative thinking patterns—adapted from The Feeling Good Handbook by David D. Burns M.D.

• Identify the distortion: Write down your negative thoughts so you can see which of the ten cognitive distortions you’re involved in. This will make it easier to think about the problem more positively and realistically.

• Examine the Evidence: Instead of assuming that your negative thoughts are true, examine the actual evidence for it. For example, if you feel that you never do anything right, you could list several things you have done successfully.

• The Double-Standard Method: Instead of putting yourself down in a harsh, condemning way, talk to yourself in the same compassionate way you would speak to a friend with a similar problem.

• The Experimental Technique: Experiment to test the validity of your negative thoughts. For example, if you become terrified that you’re about to die of a heart attack during the episode of panic, you could jog or run up and down several flights of stairs. This will prove that your heart is healthy and strong.

• Thinking in Shades of Grey: Although this method might sound drab, the effects can be illuminating. Instead of thinking about your problems in all-or-nothing extremes, evaluate things on a range of 0 to 100. When things don’t work out as well as you hoped, consider the experience as partial success rather than a complete failure. See what you can learn from the situation.

• The Survey Method: Ask people questions to find out if your thoughts and attitudes are realistic. For example, if you believe that public speaking anxiety is abnormal and shameful, ask several friends if they ever felt nervous before they gave a talk.

• Define Terms: When you label yourself “inferior” or “a fool” or “a loser,” ask, what is the definition of a “fool”? You will feel better when you see that there is no such thing as a “fool” or a “loser.”

• The Semantic Method: Substitute language that is less colorful and emotionally loaded. This method is helpful for “should statements.” Instead of telling yourself, “I shouldn’t have made that mistake,” you can say, “It would be better if I hadn’t made that mistake.”

• Re-attribution: Instead of automatically assuming that you are “bad” and blaming yourself entirely for a problem, think about the many factors that may have contributed to it. Focus on solving the problem instead of using up all your energy, blaming yourself, and feeling guilty.

• Cost-benefit Analysis: List the advantages and disadvantages of a feeling (like getting angry when your plane is late), a negative thought (like “No matter how hard I try, I always screw up”), or behavior pattern (like overeating and lying around in bed when you’re depressed). You can also use the cost-benefit analysis to modify a self-defeating belief such as; I must always try to be perfect.”

Let’s Recap

Cognitive distortions are negative thinking patterns that aren’t entirely based on facts. Everyone uses them from time to time. When they become more frequent, though, they can affect your mood and relationships.

Fixing cognitive distortions and negative thinking requires work — but it’s possible. You may want to collaborate with a therapist and do some reframing exercises yourself. As you stop negative thinking, you may notice your mood improves in many aspects.