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Distortional Thought Patterns Welcome back to our discussion on the ten forms of distortional thought patterns as outlined by Dr. David Burns. Previously we mentioned that our beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes give rise to our interpretation of events. These interpretations in turn create negative emotions which can often lead to a distorted view of the event. The ten cognitive distortions form the basis of all negative emotions and ultimately the consequences they bring. In the last newsletter we covered two distortional thought patterns—all-or-nothing thinking and overgeneralization. If you missed the newsletter, you will be able to read it here. Today we will touch on three other distortional thought patterns. 3. Negative Mental Filter People who practice this type of distortional thinking are prone to pick out negative details in a situation and dwell on them to the exclusion of anything positive. It is as though they are wearing glasses with special lenses that filter out anything positive. Choosing to focus only on the negative situations creates unnecessary stress. On the other hand, it is equally harmful and unrealistic to always focus on the positive while neglecting the negative. A healthy balance lies between the two extremes. 4. Disqualifying the Positive Even more disturbing is the persistent tendency to take positive experiences and turn them into negative ones. This is one of the most destructive forms of thought distortion. This type of thinking will keep a person from accepting praise for a job well done. When they have a positive experience, they counter it with negative thinking like, “This was just a fluke, it won’t happen again.” By saying this they constantly throw cold water on any good thing that happens, and so deny themselves of the many joys that life has to offer. 5. Jumping to Conclusions This type of person gives negative interpretation to events even though there are no definite facts to support it. They may hear a comment or see something being done and immediately come to the conclusion that these things were said or done to spite them. Dr. Burns gives two examples of this type of distortional thinking. One is mind reading: a person makes an assumption that others are reacting negatively to them. They are so convinced that this is true that they don’t even bother to check it out. The result is that they may withdraw from others or even retaliate. The second is fortune telling: this is where they are convinced that an anticipated event will turn out badly and they take this conviction as a fact—again with no evidence to back up their prediction. So far we have covered five forms of cognitive distortions. To be sure, each of them have no basis in reality, but are the cause of many of our negative emotions. In the next newsletter we will cover three more forms of distortional thought patterns. To lighten your day: It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. You can cut down on the number of mistakes you make at work by coming in late. Two ants sat on the grass at a golf course watching a duffer dig up the course. One said to the other, “Let’s get on the ball before he kills us! Till next time… “Nurse Audrey” signing off!
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