Should statements are cognitive distortions, or faulty thought patterns, in which a person knowingly or unknowingly creates rigid expectations that in turn lead to unnecessary distress. Should statements are one of the “sneakier” cognitive distortions in that they become so ingrained in our thought habits that we don’t even realize we are making these errors,…
Worst case scenario thinking, also known as catastrophizing, is a cognitive distortion or faulty thought pattern, in which a person greatly exaggerates the likelihood that something unusually bad will occur. Worst case scenario thinking is one of the more common cognitive distortions, particularly for those with anxiety or depressive disorders. In this article we will…
Gratitude is the feeling appreciation for someone or something. When we feel gratitude, we recognizing the good in the world that exists outside of ourselves. This article contains four gratitude exercises that are designed to cultivate gratitude in our daily lives. When we express gratitude, we may think the recipient our gratitude to be the…
Pity is the feeling of sorrow for another person’s suffering or hardship. The word has its origin the ancient Greek word piety, which can be understood to mean a devotion to goodness. Pity was central to ancient Greek thought: it can be seen as the true theme of Homer’s The Iliad, which is often considered…
Emotional reasoning is a cognitive distortion, or faulty pattern of thought, in which a person believes that his or her own emotional experience in relation to a thought is evidence of the truthfulness of that thought. In a nutshell, emotional reasoning occurs when we think the following: I feel it’s true, so it must be true. Like…
All or nothing thinking (also known as black and white thinking) is a cognitive distortion that causes a person to see something as all good or all bad, with no in-between. This is is one of the most common cognitive distortions, and also one of the most damaging. Examples of all or nothing thinking When…