Cognitive Distortion

Habitual ways of thinking that alter our perception.

• Mindreading: believing you know what other people are thinking or what their motives are
• Overgeneralizing: drawing too broad a conclusion from a single event or piece of information or from limited information
• Catastrophizing: imagining worst case scenarios; exaggerating the likelihood of negative or disastrous outcomes
• All or Nothing Thinking (also called Black and White Thinking): thinking in extremes without allowing for complexity (shades of gray); believing that if something isn’t perfect or the best, it’s worthless