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Cognitive distortions.

Published July 10, 2026 · Last reviewed July 14, 2026 by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA

A plain-language reference to the ten common thinking errors from cognitive behavioral therapy, with an example and a reframe for each.

Medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA · Last reviewed July 10, 2026

Quick answer

Cognitive distortions are habitual, automatic thinking patterns that make situations look worse than they're. They're not diseases and not diagnoses. Almost everyone uses them under stress. In anxiety and depression they show up more often and with more force. Learning to spot them is one of the most common opening moves in cognitive behavioral therapy, because you can't examine a thought you haven't noticed.

What cognitive distortions are.

The idea comes from Aaron Beck's work on the cognitive model of depression in the 1960s and 1970s, and was popularized for the general public by David Burns in Feeling Good (1980). The basic claim is straightforward: how you interpret a situation shapes how you feel about it and what you do next. When those interpretations are habitually skewed, the resulting feelings and actions get skewed too. That's a cognitive distortion.

Recognizing a distortion isn't a cure. It's a first step. In cognitive behavioral therapy, the next steps are examining the evidence for and against a thought, considering more accurate alternatives, and, often, behavioral experiments that test what your mind is predicting. This reference sheet covers the noticing step. The therapy work goes further.

The ten common distortions.

The list below follows the classic set from Burns (1980), with Beck's original terminology where it differs. For each one you'll find the pattern, an example, and a reframe question you can ask yourself when you catch it.

  1. 1. All-or-nothing thinking

    Seeing things in absolute, black-and-white categories. If a situation isn't perfect, it's a failure.

    Example. "I ate one cookie, so my whole diet is ruined."

    Reframe question. Is this really all or nothing, or is there a middle ground I'm not seeing?

  2. 2. Overgeneralization

    Treating a single negative event as evidence for a never-ending pattern of defeat. Watch for the words always and never.

    Example. "I got turned down for that job. I'm never going to get hired anywhere."

    Reframe question. Is this one event, or a pattern with evidence behind it?

  3. 3. Mental filter

    Picking out a single negative detail and dwelling on it, so the whole picture looks dark.

    Example. "The presentation went well overall, but I stumbled on one slide, so it was a disaster."

    Reframe question. What else happened here that I'm filtering out?

  4. 4. Discounting the positive

    Rejecting positive experiences by insisting they "don't count." Compliments become flattery, successes become luck.

    Example. "They only said the report was good because they had to."

    Reframe question. If a friend told me this happened to them, would I dismiss it the same way?

  5. 5. Jumping to conclusions

    Interpreting events negatively without evidence. Two flavors: mind reading (assuming you know what someone else is thinking) and fortune telling (predicting things will turn out badly).

    Example. "She hasn't texted back in two hours. She must be angry with me."

    Reframe question. What evidence do I actually have? What are two other explanations that would also fit?

  6. 6. Magnification and minimization

    Blowing things out of proportion, or shrinking them down inappropriately. Magnifying your errors and other people's successes; minimizing your successes and other people's flaws. Catastrophizing is a common version of magnification.

    Example. "I mispronounced her name. She's going to think I'm an idiot forever."

    Reframe question. On a scale from a normal daily annoyance to a genuine catastrophe, where does this actually sit?

  7. 7. Emotional reasoning

    Assuming that the way you feel reflects the way things are. "I feel it, so it must be true."

    Example. "I feel like a fraud in this job, so I must actually be a fraud."

    Reframe question. If I set my feelings aside for a moment, what does the evidence say?

  8. 8. "Should" statements

    Rigid rules about how you or other people ought to behave. Directed at yourself, they produce guilt. Directed at others, they produce anger and frustration.

    Example. "I should be over this by now."

    Reframe question. Is that a rule I'd apply to someone I love? Where did I learn it?

  9. 9. Labeling

    Attaching a global, permanent label to yourself or someone else based on one instance of behavior. Not "I made a mistake" but "I'm a failure." Not "he was late" but "he's a jerk."

    Example. "I forgot to reply. I'm just a terrible friend."

    Reframe question. What did I actually do or not do? Is a global label the accurate description?

  10. 10. Personalization and blame

    Holding yourself responsible for events that weren't entirely your fault, or blaming others for things you contributed to. The mirror image of accepting responsibility appropriately.

    Example. "My kid is struggling at school. It must be because I'm a bad parent."

    Reframe question. What actually caused this? Which parts are mine, and which parts belong to other people or to circumstances?

How to use this sheet.

Print it. Keep it somewhere you'll see it during hard weeks. When a thought is spinning, look at the list and see whether it fits one of the ten patterns. Naming the distortion doesn't make the feeling go away, but it can put a small amount of distance between you and the thought, enough distance to look at it more honestly.

This is a noticing tool, not a treatment. If cognitive distortions are showing up often enough that they're interfering with your life, working through them with a therapist trained in cognitive behavioral therapy is usually more effective than working alone from a sheet.

What this reference isn't.

This is a general education reference. It isn't a diagnosis, not therapy, and not a substitute for care from a licensed clinician. Cognitive distortions show up in many conditions and in many life circumstances, recognizing one doesn't mean you have a mental health condition, and not recognizing them doesn't mean you don't. If distortions are frequent, painful, or driving decisions you regret, that's a signal to talk with a therapist or psychiatrist.

Want to work with a clinician on patterns like these? Therapists trained in cognitive behavioral therapy are the usual place for this work; a psychology or licensed-therapist directory (such as Psychology Today's therapist finder) can help you find one. If medication is also part of your question, shrinkMD is the network's independent telepsychiatry practice.

Sources.

  • Beck AT. Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. New York: International Universities Press; 1976.
  • Burns DD. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. New York: William Morrow; 1980.
  • Beck JS. Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond, 3rd ed. New York: Guilford Press; 2020.
  • American Psychiatric Association. What Is Psychotherapy? (patient education, updated).
  • Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. beckinstitute.org (educational resources on CBT).

Related resources.

Each thinking trap here has a longer write-up somewhere else in the network. Pick the depth you want.

How to cite this page

APA-style suggested citation:

Refai S. Cognitive distortions: a reference to the ten common thinking errors. The Shrink Network Toolkit Library. Published July 10, 2026. Accessed [date]. https://shrinknetwork.com/toolkit/cognitive-distortions/

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Educational reference, not medical advice. This page is general education. It isn't a diagnosis, not therapy, and not a substitute for evaluation or treatment by a licensed clinician. Reading it doesn't create a doctor,patient relationship. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 in the US.