Do you have stinkin’ thinkin’? Better known as cognitive distortions, these 10 thought approaches can sabotage your mental health, relationships and success. They are based on the ground breaking work of Dr. Aaron T. Beck. Kelly and Maria share ways to recognize these behaviors and redirect them for good.

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10 Cognitive Distortions

1. Overgeneralization, which happens when you make a rule after a single event or a series of coincidences. The words "always" or "never" frequently appear in the sentence.
2. Mental filters, which is the opposite of overgeneralization, but with the same negative outcome. Instead of taking one small event and generalizing it inappropriately, the mental filter takes one small event and focuses on it exclusively, filtering out anything else.
3. Discounting the positive, which involves ignoring or invalidating good things that have happened to you.
4. Jumping to conclusions, which happens in two ways: Mind reading: When you think someone is going to react in a particular way, or you believe someone is thinking things that they aren't. Fortune telling: When you predict events will unfold in a particular way, often to avoid trying something difficult.
5. Magnification, which is exaggerating the importance of shortcomings and problem while minimizing the importance of desirable qualities.
6. Emotional reasoning, which is a way of judging yourself or your circumstances based on your emotions.
7. "Should" statements, which are self-defeating ways we talk to ourselves that emphasize unattainable standards. Then, when we fall short of our own ideas, we fail in our own eyes, which can create panic and anxiety.
8. Labeling, which involves making a judgment about yourself or someone else as a person, rather than seeing the behavior as something the person did that doesn't define them as an individual.
9. Personalization and blame, which happens when you entirely blame yourself, or 
   someone else, for a situation that in reality involved many factors and was out of your control.
10. All or nothing thinking, which involves ignoring or invalidating good things that have happened to you.

Episode Topics and Mentions

Depression

Anxiety

Cognitive distortions 

Cognitive Behavior Therapy, or CBT

Dr. Aaron T. Beck

The CBT Thought Diary app

Red Skin Syndrome

Topical steroids

Depression and Anxiety Toolkit for Athletes

RISE Athlete Mentoring

Quote of the Week

“Your mind is a ship; it can sail across the universe as long as you don't allow negative thoughts to sink it.” -- Matshona Dhliwayo

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.