|
 Thoughts
which are unrealistic or irrational are called
cognitive distortions and can regularly
lead to higher than necessary levels of stress.
Common cognitive distortions are:
All or Nothing Thinking - This
is a basis for perfectionism. These thoughts construe a black and white outlook with no shades of
gray. Everything is placed in one of two opposite categories. For example, something is either good
or bad; immaculate or filthy. Something is perceived as a failure if it’s anything
less than a perfect performance. One B on an otherwise all-A report card dooms the whole card.
Catastrophizing
- This means blowing a small thing up into a disaster,
imagining dire consequences for a reasonable error,
e.g. "I’ll be fired if I miss a deadline."
Personalizing - This means taking responsibility for a negative event when there
is no basis. For example, a friend snaps at you; you assume you did something wrong rather than that your friend
is having a bad day.
Overgeneralization - One negative event indicates a total pattern of defeat.
Absolutes are used, e.g. "always", "never", "everybody", "nobody."
A person is turned down for a job, and assumes he is unemployable.
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