Reviewed and updated: June 13, 2026
Certain patterns of thinking make you more likely to experience anxiety, depression, anger, and other problems. These patterns are called cognitive distortions, and you can learn to counter them.
Cognitive distortions are a type of thinking we are all vulnerable to. The term refers to thinking that is negatively biased in some way. The thoughts can be about ourselves, others, or the world around us. They often happen automatically — like a reflex.
Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree, but when they happen a lot they can cause anxiety, low mood, and distress.
Here are the most common types of cognitive distortions (Burns, 1999):
All-or-Nothing Thinking
The tendency to evaluate oneself, others, or situations in extreme, black-and-white ways. For example, Because I got a B+ on my exam, I’m a total failure.
Overgeneralization
Making broad interpretations based off a few events. For example, a person drops their sandwich on the floor and concludes, Nothing good ever happens to me.
Mental Filter
Mental filter refers to when one overly focuses on negative aspects of oneself or a situation. For example, a soccer player who scores countless goals throughout her season dwells on the one game she did not score and forgets all about her past successes.
Disqualifying the Positive
Transforming neutral or positive experiences into negative ones by discounting the good things that have happened. For example, a skateboarder lands a difficult trick and thinks, That was a fluke, it doesn’t count.
Catastrophizing
Catastrophizing is assuming that the worst possible outcome is certain to occur, overlooking other possibilities that are more positive. Also: considering something unpleasant to be unbearable or intolerable, even though it is, in fact, bearable and tolerable.
Jumping to Conclusions
Making negative, arbitrary predictions about what others think, or about the future. For example, a friend does not return your phone call and you assume, He’s intentionally avoiding me, rather than, Maybe he’s busy and forgot. Another example of jumping to conclusions would be I’ll never meet someone to settle down with. Jumping to conclusions is one of the most common cognitive distortions for people who suffer from anxiety.
Magnification and Minimization
Blowing things out of proportion (magnification), or shrinking something to make it seem less important (minimization). For example, you get one bad grade on an exam and think, How awful! I’ll never get into college now. On the flip side, one might get a perfect score on an exam and think, It was just one exam, it doesn’t mean that much.
Emotional Reasoning
Assuming that because you feel a certain way, your thoughts must be true. For example, I feel worthless, therefore I am worthless.
“Should” Statements
Applying critical words like “should” or “must” to ourselves or others. For example, I should exercise today or He shouldn’t be running so late. Should statements also come up often when we try to cope with change. Using critical language often creates unnecessary feelings of pressure and resentment.
Labeling
Assigning negative labels to ourselves or others. For example, I’m lazy, or, They’re dumb. Labeling can also be viewed as a form of black-and-white thinking, as it suggests that there is only one extreme way of characterizing oneself or someone else.
Personalization
Assuming responsibility for something that you do not have complete control over. For example, a cancer patient is not doing well, and the patient’s doctor thinks, I’m a lousy doctor. It’s all my fault that the patient isn’t getting better.
What To Do Once You Notice Cognitive Distortions
- Keep in mind that the way that you think about situations depends largely on your mood. You are more likely to experience irrational thoughts when you are feeling anxious or down.
- Remember that your feelings are not facts! Your feelings mirror the way you think, and if your thinking isn’t accurate, your feelings will not entirely reflect the truth. Sometimes it’s good to question your thoughts and feelings, even if they feel genuine.
- Identify thoughts that may be contributing to your feeling anxious, depressed, or angry. Try writing down self-critical or negative thoughts as they run through your mind, especially in situations where you feel upset.
- Evaluate your negative thoughts by reviewing the evidence for and against them. For example, let’s say you have the thought, I never do anything right. Ask yourself: What evidence actually supports this thought? Are there times in my life when I did do something well?
- With the above information in mind, substitute your negatively biased thought with a thought that reflects the facts. For example: Like all humans, I’m not perfect and I certainly make mistakes; however, there are many things I have done in my life I am proud of. If it is difficult for you to come up with an alternative thought, consider what you might say to a friend who had the same thought you did.
- Practice, and be patient with yourself. Identifying and talking back to distorted thoughts is a skill that takes time to develop. It can be challenging to master on one’s own, especially for those who feel anxious or depressed.
How Cognitive Distortions Affect Mental Health
How you think affects the emotions you feel. And your emotions are a big part of your mental health. So if you tend to think that things will generally not work out well for you (mental filter), this can lead you more likely to experience depression. If you’re someone who tends to catastrophize, you will be more likely to experience anxiety and excessive worry. If you experience a lot of labelling thoughts or should statements directed toward others, you may have more difficulty with anger than most people.
How CBT Helps Challenge Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps you limit the impact of cognitive distortions via four steps:
- Awareness: First, a CBT therapist will help you notice the thoughts that contain cognitive distortions. People often react to their thoughts as though they are facts, rather than viewing them as ideas that may or may not be accurate. As a result, these thoughts can influence emotions and behavior without our carefully examining them. In CBT you will be taught how to create more of an awareness of the relevant thoughts when the thoughts are happening.
- Challenging: Next, you’ll be taught how to evaluate whether the thoughts are accurate or not. You’ll get in the habit of examining the evidence that supports the thought and the evidence that contradicts the thought.
- Reevaluating: Then you’ll arrive at a new conclusion about the situation based on the facts and evidence.
- Practice, practice, practice: Lastly, and importantly, you’ll train yourself to handle these thoughts differently by repeating the above processes several times a day. Only with practice can you teach yourself any new skill, and challenging cognitive distortions is no exception.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are cognitive distortions?
Cognitive distortions are patterns of thinking that make anxiety and depression more likely. Cognitive distortions obscure the reality of situations in ways that can be alarming or demoralizing. We all suffer from cognitive distortions sometimes. People with depressive or anxiety disorders tend to have more thinking influenced by cognitive distortions than people without those disorders.
How does cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) help with cognitive distortions?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) uses a variety of techniques to reduce the impact of cognitive distortions. One important step is helping you become more aware of these unhelpful thinking patterns when they occur. People often assume that their thoughts are accurate without stopping to examine them. Once you learn to identify cognitive distortions, a CBT therapist can help you evaluate the evidence for and against these thoughts and develop more balanced ways of thinking. Over time, changing how you respond to distorted thoughts can reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, and anger.
What are the most common cognitive distortions?
Common cognitive distortions include all-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing, mental filtering, jumping to conclusions, and should statements. These thought patterns leave us more vulnerable to anger, depression, guilt, and anxiety. Cognitive-behavioral therapy often focuses on ways to lessen the impact that these thought patterns have on our emotional lives.
Can cognitive distortions cause anxiety?
Yes they can. This tends to happen most via thoughts that overrepresent threat or exaggerate the impact of a negative event. Consider the example of a strong student who is taking an exam thinks, I’m going to fail this exam and then my life is ruined! They are simultaneously overestimating the likelihood they’ll fail (jumping to conclusions, maximizing), and overstating the impact if they did fail (catastrophizing).
Are cognitive distortions part of OCD?
People with OCD often have cognitive distortions. However, they are not generally thought to be central to how OCD works. That’s why therapy for OCD will usually focus in other areas. Having said that, there are certainly some cases of OCD where a focus on cognitive distortions in therapy can be helpful.
Consider seeking help from a cognitive-behavioral therapist (learn about cognitive-behavioral therapy) if you have a lot of cognitive distortions and could use some help reducing their impact on your life!
Article written with contributions from Paul Greene, Ph.D.
