Essay on Cognitive Distortions

Submitted By Ljohnson1980

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There are many type of cognitive distortions, however there are three that I can readily identify with. One on a personal level, but others I see in those close to me.

A sibling of mine is subject to polarized thinking. Everything is very black and white for him, and he often thinks in extremes. Polarized thinkers tend to view situations “in extremes rather than on continuum” (book pg 302). As my client, a strategy that I would ask this person to employ is “shades of grey”(Grohol 2009). With this strategy the client is encouraged to evaluate situations on a scale of 0 to 100. For example, if my client did not receive a much sought after promotion, I would have them reevaluate the experience as a partial success. I might ask them, to rate the good that came out of seeking the promotion on a scale of 0-100. Another cognitive distortion is catastrophizing, which is “predicting a negative outcome without considering other possibilities”(book 302). I think we all have a few family members that are guilty of this. The strategy that I would employ of my client would be the double standard method. I would suggest that every time my client had a negative thought about a situation, she/he should begin talking to themselves in the same caring way that they would speak to a friend that was in a similar situation (Grohol 2009). If this was ineffective, the client could try diversions or distractions. Every time that they had a negative thought, they would then focus on something completely unrelated in order to keep their mind busy and not focused on the situation at hand.

A cognitive distortion that I myself am guilty of is personalization. Personalization is the act of “assuming inordinate responsibility for events or other’s behaviors”(book pg 302). I have a bad habit of assuming responsibility

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