Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a form of therapy that changes your negative thought patterns. There are a number of reasons why something decides to take this form of therapy so that they can be aware of their thought patterns and how it is taking over their life. One of these reasons is if you are struggling with cognitive distortions. 

Cognitive Distortion 1: Everything is Bad

One cognitive distortion would be focusing on negative feelings while filtering on the positive aspects of the situation. For example, you could be having a good time with your friend. But then, something bad happens like your car breaks down or the restaurant service is too slow. You will only focus on the bad parts of the day instead of the good. This is black and white thinking. Either everything is good or everything is bad with no grey areas. Another distortion is overgeneralizing. This is where if something bad happens to you once, you think it will happen again. It is where you suffer a never-ending pattern of defeat. You can also jump to conclusions where you think if someone says something negative to you, it can mean they all around do not like you instead of finding out for sure.

Cognitive Distortion 2: Something Bad Will Happen

Another distortion where you are convinced that something bad will happen to you and you are convinced of that being a fact. For example, it can be your first day of college and you already have it in your mind that you will not make any friends instead of taking everything day by day. You feel it is a fact that you will not make friends so you convince yourself it is the truth. You could also be exaggerating events that are of no significance. For example, you could go bowling with friends and think if you do not hit any pins then that means you are a failure instead of just laughing it off.

Cognitive Distortion 3: I Am Responsible for Everyone’s Pain

You could also believe that you need to take responsibility for the pain and happiness of everyone around you. For example, if one of your employees is not happy, you can believe that it is because of something that you did as the reason why instead of understanding that you are not responsible for everything. You can also either blame others for your pain or constantly blame yourself for everything. Instead, you should believe that some things are beyond your control and others are only your responsibility. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help fix those unhealthy distortions.

Come to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at Bayview Recovery

Located in Tacoma, Washington, Bayview Center’s mission is to offer clinically-driven programs and services to treat a number of substance abuse disorders along with anxiety and depression. We know that by using cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical-behavioral therapy, trauma therapy, yoga therapy, and more, we can offer you a successful recovery. For more information, please call us at 855.478.3650 as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.