Name that distorted cognition (thought/perception)

[ms spock]

...much could be gained if we as a group took a harder look at the cognitive distortions... name it and claim it... own it, and form the plan/strategy.

That is pretty much why I started this thread as Anthony does mention now and then, that this is really a crucial thing to get on top of for managing PTSD but it doesn't seem to have widespread understanding.

If we keep this thread alive, hopefully people might see what we are doing and learn from it, and perhaps, when they feel ready start to do it with us or in therapy or in private as they see fit.

 

[ms spock]

My DISTORTED COGNITIONS

The 13 primary cognitive distortions (according to Vulcan Logic) are:

1. All or nothing thinking -- You see things in black and white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.
2. Over-generalization -- You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
3. Mental filter -- You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it so exclusively that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like the drop of ink that colors the entire beaker of water.
4. Disqualifying the positive -- You reject positive experiences by insisting they "don't count" for some reason or other. In this way you can maintain a negative belief that is contradicted by your everyday experiences.
5. Jumping to conclusions -- You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion. (Involves mind-reading and fortune-telling.)
6. Magnification and minimization -- You exaggerate the importance of things, or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny.
7. Emotional reasoning -- You assume that your emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are, as in "I feel it, therefore it must be true."
8. Should statements -- You try to motivate yourself with "should" and "should not," as if you have to be whipped and punished before you could be expected to do anything.
9. Labeling and mislabeling -- This is an extreme form of overgeneralization. Instead of describing your error, you attach a negative label to yourself.
10. Personalization -- You see yourself as the cause of some negative external event which, in fact, you were not primarily responsible for.

Add Ons:
No 11. Magical thinking is a distorted cognition as well. It is a big one for Developmental Trauma/Complex Trauma from childhood abuse. Well it is for me anyway.

12. Another form of magical thinking as an adult simply fills up so much time. It is an avoidance strategy. It is not living presently, but finding a way to numb feelings through fantasies of what life could be.

13. You have to make everyone happy, or you will die or be punished or tortured.

14. It is all your fault - you are to blame for the problems in your family - even when you were one years old!

 

[Friday]

I usually only have a few of these as regulars. But when I'm suicidal? All of them. 1-10, anyway.

14 is an old friend... But 'It's all my fault' is kind of the love-child between labeling + all or nothing thinking.

 

[ms spock]

Some of my distorted cognitions are really basic like "This is too hard!" "I can't do it !" and I have believed these for years and years. Now I am finding that I am having these feelings about certain things that it is all too hard and I can't do it and I push past this and I do it and it feels so good. It is still really hard thing - I was brought up in Hopelessness and Helplessness. I can see now that I just shut down and didn't do anything or did everything I thought my parents wanted me to do so that I could avoid more pain. I see now there was no other way to manage with my parents - their over arching abuse was huge. Now I am having self compassion I am improving even more.

I think there are distorted cognitions that lead to a lack of self compassion, and I am starting to grasp these.
http://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/

 

[ms spock]

This man calls distorted cognitions ANT.

TEDxOrangeCoast - Daniel Amen - Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
If you want to just google it - worth a watch.

and this...

The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans | Daniel Amen | TEDxOrangeCoast

 

[jaccat]

Magnification and jumping to conclusions, with a bit of mental fiter thrown in, I think- convincing myself that because I couldn't hear the cat he might be dead.

 

[The Albatross]

Yesterday was "should statements" and "all or nothing thinking". But I got through it... try again today. It's weird how they bounce around but helpful though difficult to name/acknowledge.

 

[Changing4Best]

I'm not sure where this one falls into all these. I have one that I am "useless." It was given to me by my husband, who was not abusive to me in the traditional sense. However, in saying to me that he had some kind of negativity toward useless people (while I was standing there unable to assist him in any way with what he was doing) did me in. I just realized this one today, and your bringing this up brought it to the surface of my mind, so thanks!

 

[The Albatross]

Sounds to me like emotional reasoning... but hey... where do YOU think it fits?

 

[The Albatross]

Okay yesterday's were all four of these:

1. Over-generalization -- You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
2. Mental filter -- You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it so exclusively that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like the drop of ink that colors the entire beaker of water.
3. Disqualifying the positive -- You reject positive experiences by insisting they "don't count" for some reason or other. In this way you can maintain a negative belief that is contradicted by your everyday experiences.
4. Jumping to conclusions -- You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion. (Involves mind-reading and fortune-telling.)

By the afternoon I had whittled it down to Over-generalization and Jumping to conclusions...

This morning I'm back to stoic and after having difficult "jumping to conclusions" dreams most of the night... think I've got it licked. I ran scenarios in my head, subconsciously and woke up a lot trying to restart/have better dreams first though. Doh.:O_o:

 

[ms spock]

I had some should statements today! I only just pinpointed that! Yay! Way to Go More! This naming distorted cognitions - those distorted feelings, thoughts and perceptions is not easy. I find it rather hard myself.

Yesterday I did some really solid jumping to conclusions and fortune telling. Yes most of the earth's populations was thinking poorly of me yesterday! I was SO BAD! You know it felt so real at the time. Yes emotional reasoning was occurring as well! It felt that way so of course it was true!

If I keep thinking I am sure to find more!

Hopelessness (Burns, p88) when you are so depressed you get so frozen in the pain of the moment moment that you forget entirely that you ever felt better in the past and find it inconceivable that you might feel better in the future.

and Helplessness (also p88) - I went there yesterday and got stuck there for a bit. Of course that meant I overwhelmed myself (also page 88).

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I love this thread because it holds me accountable and keeps me on track. My worst one I need to work on is jumping to false conclusions and I realized that this is a survivor behavior that once helped me to survive as a child but now works against me the most. I agree that thinking negative thoughts does color my feelings and perceptions and darkens my world and thus shrinks it.