Addiction Addictive Behaviors 10 Cognitive Distortions Identified in CBT By Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD is a psychologist, professor, and Director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research at Royal Roads University, Canada. Learn about our editorial process Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Reviewed by Reviewed by David Susman, PhD on August 21, 2020 David Susman, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist with experience providing treatment to individuals with mental illness and substance use concerns. Learn about our Review Board David Susman, PhD Updated on November 30, 2020 Print Li Kim Goh / Getty Images The basis of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is identifying cognitive distortions (faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking) to effectively treat a number of issues ranging from depression and anxiety to addiction and eating disorders. These distorted thinking patterns cause negative feelings, which in turn can worsen an addiction. David Burns, MD, a pioneer in CBT, identifies 10 forms of twisted thinking in his 1999 bestselling book, "The Feeling Good Handbook." Here, we'll define each cognitive distortion using hypothetical examples to show how this kind of thinking can lead to addiction or relapse. All-or-Nothing Thinking All-or-nothing thinking can easily lead to relapse. This type of thinking involves viewing things in absolute terms. Everything is black or white, everything or nothing. For example, Joan feels like a failure at getting sober. Every time she has a slip-up, instead of acknowledging that she made a mistake and trying to move past it, she drinks to intoxication the same night, figuring she has already blown it. Overgeneralization Overgeneralization 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. Here's an example: Ben has inferred from a series of coincidences that seven is his lucky number and has overgeneralized this to gambling situations involving the number seven, no matter how many times he loses. Mental Filters A mental filter is an opposite 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. An example of how mental filters can lead to addiction or relapse: Nathan feels like he needs to use cocaine in social situations because he filters out all the good social experiences he has without cocaine, and instead fixates on the times he has not been on cocaine and others have seemed bored by his company. Discounting the Positive Discounting the positive is a cognitive distortion that involves ignoring or invalidating good things that have happened to you. For example, Joel compulsively seduces then rejects strangers because he discounts all of the positive non-sexual human interactions he has each day since they aren't as intense or pleasurable as having sex with a stranger. Jumping to Conclusions There are two ways of jumping to conclusions: 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. Here's an example: Jamie engaged in fortune-telling when he believed that he wouldn't be able to stand life without heroin. In reality, he could and he did. How to Stop Jumping to Conclusions Magnification Magnification is exaggerating the importance of shortcomings and problems while minimizing the importance of desirable qualities. A person addicted to pain medication might magnify the importance of eliminating all pain, and exaggerate how unbearable their pain is. An example of how magnification can lead to addiction or relapse: Ken spends his life savings looking for a pill to take away his pain and depression. Emotional Reasoning Emotional reasoning is a way of judging yourself or your circumstances based on your emotions. For instance, Jenna used emotional reasoning to conclude that she was a worthless person, which in turn led to binge eating. "Should" Statements These statements 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. An example: Cheryl became addicted to overspending on shoes because she couldn't live up to her own high standards. Labeling Labeling is a cognitive distortion that 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. Here's an example of how labeling can lead to addiction or relapse: Shannon labeled herself a bad person unable to fit into mainstream society. Why Believing in Yourself Matters Personalization and Blame Personalization and blame is a cognitive distortion whereby you entirely blame yourself, or someone else, for a situation that in reality involved many factors and was out of your control. For example, Anna blamed herself for childhood abuse by her father, reasoning that if she hadn't led him on, it never would have happened (this is actually what her father had told her at the time). Because she personalized the abuse, she grew up with a compulsive avoidance of sex, known as sexual anorexia. A Word From Verywell Cognitive distortions are the mind’s way of playing tricks on us and convincing us of something that just isn’t true. While many cognitive distortions are common, there are some that can indicate a more serious condition and take a toll on our mental health, which could lead to an increase in symptoms of stress, anxiety, or depression. If you think that cognitive distortions may be altering your sense of reality and are concerned about how these thoughts may be negatively affecting your livelihood, talk to your doctor about a referral to a psychotherapist and find out if cognitive behavioral therapy could work for you. How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Is Used to Treat Addiction Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Psychological Association. What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?. Melemis SM. Relapse prevention and the five rules of recovery. Yale J Biol Med. 2015;88(3):325-332. Rnic K, Dozois DJ, Martin RA. Cognitive distortions, humor styles, and depression. Eur J Psychol. 2016;12(3):348-362. doi:10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1118 Özdel K, Taymur I, Guriz SO, Tulaci RG, Kuru E, Turkcapar MH. Measuring cognitive errors using the Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS): Psychometric properties in clinical and non-clinical samples. PLoS One. 2014;9(8):e105956. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0105956 Kaplan SC, Morrison AS, Goldin PR, Olino TM, Heimberg RG, Gross JJ. The Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest): Validation in a sample of adults with social anxiety disorder. Cognit Ther Res. 2017;41(4):576-587. doi:10.1007/s10608-017-9838-9 Additional Reading Booth RW, Sharma D, Dawood F, et al. A relationship between weak attentional control and cognitive distortions, explained by negative affect. PLoS One. 2019;14(4):e0215399. Published 2019 Apr 18. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215399 Burns, D. Thinking About Thinking: Patterns of Cognitive Distortions. The Resilience Alliance. 2011. Burns D. The Feeling Good Handbook. Revised edition. New York: Penguin; 1999. McHugh RK, Hearon BA, Otto MW. Cognitive behavioral therapy for substance use disorders. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2010;33(3):511–525. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2010.04.012 Sudhir PM. Cognitive behavioural interventions in addictive disorders. Indian J Psychiatry. 2018;60(Suppl 4):S479–S484. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_15_18