Cognitive distortions
Every day we must understand the reality around us. All our psychological processes will be activated in the context of different situations: whether decision-making processes, emotions, understanding, evaluation... But these processes can be erroneous and limited by cognitive distortions.
Key takeaways
- Cognitive distortions, described by psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck in 1967, distort the perception of reality and generate automatic negative thoughts.
- Beck and Burns identified 10 forms of distortions: dichotomous thinking, arbitrary inference, overgeneralization, selective abstraction, labeling, personalization, etc.
- These distortions favor the birth and continuity of anxiety and depressive disorders.
- Cognitive restructuring allows you to deal with it in two steps: identifying automatic thoughts, then evaluating the evidence that confirms or contradicts them.
1. WHAT ARE COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS?
Introduced by psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck in 1967, he defines cognitive distortions as “the fact of distorting reality through an erroneous interpretation, of seeing the world in a biased way, thus leading the subject to have negative thoughts which themselves are sources of anxiety and discomfort. These thoughts are all the more difficult to counter as they become systematic and invasive for the subject who suffers from them, to the point that they take precedence over a lucid vision of the world and become automatic.
Beck and Burns will highlight 10 forms of cognitive distortions:
Dichotomous thinking (“All or nothing”)
Consists of thinking that there are no intermediate nuances (ex: if I can't do it, it's because I'm worthless). The person will see everything in white or everything in black, everything is good or bad. This type of distortion can lead to perfectionism and any mistake will make the person feel like a “failure”.
Arbitrary inference
Drawing hasty and negative conclusions without evidence. There can be: “mind reading” which consists of believing that one knows the thoughts of other people; “The forecasting error” which consists of making predictions about the future and firmly believing in them.
Overgeneralization
The act of drawing a general conclusion based on a single negative event. Example: I didn't succeed in doing that, I would never succeed.
Selective abstraction
Consists of concluding on a detail that is not necessarily relevant. So we will focus our attention on a single negative detail which will lead us to see the whole situation negatively.
Minimizing the positive and maximizing the negative
Also called the lorgnette phenomenon. It is the fact of maximizing one's faults, one's errors, that is to say of “dramatizing” an unpleasant event; and downplaying one's successes, which can lead to feeling less strong than others.
Rejection of the positive
This distortion consists oftransforming a neutral or positive experience into a completely negative experience. So we're not just going to ignore the positive but we're going to transform it into a negative. Ex: when a person gives a compliment “I was just told that to please myself, but it’s not true”.
Emotional reasoning
Use your emotions as evidence. Ex: If I feel anxious at height, there is something wrong with this situation
False obligations
This distortion is based on “I must” or “I should”. It is having beliefs about what one should do or what others should do. These obligations are given without paying attention to the realisms of them. So they will create guilt, frustration, anger….
Labeling
It is the act of making a definitive and negative judgment on a person or on oneself, which will lead to an overgeneralization. ex: “I’m rubbish”, rather than saying “I made a mistake”.
Personalization
Thinking that you are responsible for negative events or the behavior of others, without being the real cause. This distortion leads to a strong feeling of guilt.
Subsequently, many other cognitive distortions were found. These cognitive distortions play a fundamental role in the birth and continuity of anxiety and depressive disorders. Indeed, during anxiety-provoking situations people will tend to have negative automatic thoughts and distorted.
2. WHAT ARE COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS?
Now that you know that these types of distortions exist, it is of course entirely possible to deal with these distortions. To do this, it will be necessary to detach yourself from these negative automatic thoughts, to take a step back from them in order to be able to correct them. We will therefore influence our automatic thoughts which are “distorted”. This is called Cognitive Restructuring.
First step: identify thoughts and distortions
So it will be fundamental to be able to identify automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions in order to become aware of this distortion of thoughts. This will allow you to take a step back from them and visualize the situation from a new angle. You can, for example, write them down on paper.
Second step: evaluation of evidence
The goal is to find evidence that supports these negative thoughts and evidence that contradicts them. So by doing this assessment exercise, you will be able to evaluate the situation in a more balanced way. The situation will therefore be interpreted differently in view of the new information, which will help to alleviate the problem.
As you will have understood, cognitive distortions exist in all people and occur without us even being aware of them. They can have a more or less significant impact on our actions, on our life. Each time we challenge our cognitive distortions, we give ourselves the opportunity to improve our daily well-being.
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Cognitive Distortions FAQ
Why use virtual reality in the field of mental health?
Virtual reality allows graduated and controlled exposure to anxiety-provoking situations, in a secure and reproducible setting. It promotes habituation, reinforces patient engagement and allows the practitioner to adapt the exercises according to the specific needs of each patient.
What pathologies can be treated in virtual reality?
Virtual reality is used in the treatment of anxiety disorders (phobias, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorders), addictions, mood disorders and in cognitive remediation. The choice of environment and protocol is up to the practitioner, according to the patient's needs.
Do I have access to all environments?
Yes, all C2Care environments are grouped into a single application. You therefore do not need to install several software programs to access the different scenes offered, whatever the disorder or phobia being worked on.
Who should I contact if I have software problems?
The C2Care technical service can be reached by live chat from your control platform. If there is a problem with the headset, a diagnosis is made with you, and the defective equipment is replaced within 48 hours if necessary.
Can I feel nauseous while using the headset?
A slight discomfort is possible: this is what we call cybersickness. It concerns around 10% of people using a virtual reality headset. The practitioner can adapt the duration and intensity of the session to limit this sensation.
Who can use virtual reality for treatment?
The C2Care devices are aimed at practitioners: psychologists, psychiatrists and occupational therapists. They are used in health establishments (CHU, hospitals, clinics, EHPAD, SSR) as well as in private practices, always under the responsibility of a trained practitioner.
How long has this existed?
C2Care has been testing its virtual reality software in hospitals since 2016. Its solutions are today used in nearly 50 countries by more than 1,000 equipped practitioners, to support patients in the treatment of their disorders.
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C2Care
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