Cognitive Distortions:Some Questions to Ask Yourself to Unbend that “Stinking Thinking”
The theory of cognitive distortions was first proposed by David Burns, MD. Eliminating these distortions and negative thoughts is one of the goals of many research proven Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(CBT) approaches to conquering mood disorders such as depression and chronic anxiety. The process of learning to refute these distortions is called cognitive restructuring. David Burns originally came up with 10 types of cognitive distortions, and a few others have been suggested subsequently by other researchers.
A number of years ago, myself and psychologist Jillian Hooper adapted these types of distortions into questions which clients and patients could use to challenge their dodgy thoughts. I thought it might be useful to post them here in the hope that they may be of use to readers. So here they are:
Questions to help you challenge negative thinking
What real evidence is there?
Am I turning a thought into a “fact”?
Am I jumping to conclusions?
What alternatives could there be?
What is the effect of thinking the way I do?
Is thinking this way helpful?
What are the pros and cons of thinking this way?
What thinking errors am I making?
Am I asking questions that don’t have answers?
Am I thinking “all or nothing” thoughts?
Am I “always” exaggerating “everything?”
Am I questioning my worth as a person because of one thing that has happened?
Am I focussing on my weaknesses and forgetting my strengths
Am I blaming myself for things that aren’t really my fault?
Am I taking things personally?
Am I expecting more of myself than I would of others?
Am I only noticing the negative side of things?
Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
Am I expecting a catastrophe?
Am I worrying about things that I can do something about?
Am I assuming that things can’t change?
Am I trying to predict the future?
Brown, P H & Hooper, J (1998) Accessible Interventions for Depression in Rural and Remote Areas. Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme.
David Burns Brilliant Book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy 
//
76 Comments »
Leave a reply to Cet Eté-là Télécharger Cancel reply
About Peter
Peter Brown BHMS (Hons) MPsychClin MAPS
I’m a Clinical Psychologist and have a private practice and consultancy in Brisbane Australia. I have 24 years experience in child, adult and family clinical psychology. I have a wonderful wife and three kids.
I am co-founder of Christian Wholeness Counselling Services.
I like researching issues of the brain & mind, reading and seeking out new books and resources for myself and my clients. I thought that others might be interested in some of what I have found also, hence this blog…
Subscribe to My Blog Posts & Updates
-
Blog Surfer
Alphainventions
Recent Comments
Peter H Brown Clinical Psychologist 
Excellent questions!!! I remember journaling what I called a mood spiral when I was about 16. My pen couldn’t move fast enough. I wrote down every thought that came into my head for about 40 minutes as I continually berated myself until I cried myself to exhaustion. I ended up with 5 pages front and back. I took it to mu counselor and said….”Read this. This is how my mind works every day. Help me!”
He didn’t point out that these were cognitive distortions or that I could challenge them.
I just learned (the hard way) at age 43 that these these thought are irrational and 3 basic questions to challenge them.
I wish I had your series of questions years ago. It would have saved myself from a lot of suffering and helped me model more optimistic viewpoints in front of my children.
Thank you.
Hi Tina! So pleased that you’ve found some help here! Thanks for your comment and all the best!
Peter
It’s actually a nice and helpful piece of information. I’m glad that you just shared this
helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this.
Thank you for sharing.
Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against
hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything
I’ve worked hard on. Any tips?
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about
this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the
message home a bit, but other than that, this is excellent blog.
An excellent read. I will certainly be back.
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
I’ve joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post.
Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!
Thank you Solomon!
Everything is very open with a very clear description of the issues.
It was truly informative. Your site is extremely helpful.
Thank you for sharing!
You made some decent points there. I checked on the net to find out more
about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this
website.
Simply wish to say your article is as astounding. The clarity for your publish is simply cool and that i could think you’re a professional in this subject.
Well together with your permission let me to
clutch your RSS feed to stay up to date with drawing close post.
Thanks 1,000,000 and please keep up the enjoyable work.
After research a number of of the weblog posts on your website
now, and I truly like your way of blogging. I bookmarked
it to my bookmark website checklist and will be checking back
soon. Pls try my site as properly and let me know what you think.
Thanks for the advice on credit repair on
your web-site. Some tips i would advice people is usually
to give up the actual mentality they will buy now
and fork out later. As a society many of us tend to
do that for many issues. This includes holidays,
furniture, as well as items we wish. However, you have to separate your current wants from all the needs.
As long as you’re working to boost your credit score make some sacrifices.
For example it is possible to shop online to save cash or you can go to second hand retailers instead of pricey department stores to get clothing.
Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to check out your site on
my iphone during lunch break. I really like the knowledge you provide here and can’t wait to
take a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how fast your blog loaded
on my phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, superb site!
It’s going to be ending of mine day, except before finish I am reading this great post to increase
my know-how.
Hello, of course this post is genuinely good and I have learned lot of things from it about
blogging. thanks.
Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of the challenges.
It was really informative. Your site is useful. Thanks
for sharing!
Hello there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established
blog. Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast.
I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not
sure where to start. Do you have any ideas or
suggestions? Cheers
I got what you mean, saved to bookmarks, very good site.
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and
now each time a comment is added I get several emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
Thanks a lot!
I’ll have a look and do what I can for you. Sorry about that :!
I will right away grab your rss as I can not find your e-mail subscription hyperlink or newsletter service.
Do you have any? Please let me understand in order that I may just subscribe.
Thanks.
Its such as you read my mind! You appear to know so much approximately this,
such as you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some percent
to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is wonderful blog.
An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.
Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and
starting a new initiative in a community in the
same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to
work on. You have done a extraordinary job!
You are so awesome! I do not believe I’ve truly read anything like this before.
So wonderful to find another person with some original thoughts on
this subject. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up.
This website is something that is required on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find
It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and
help others like you helped me.
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes
it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often.
Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Fantastic work!
I like the helpful info you provide in your articles.
I’ll bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently.
I am quite sure I’ll learn many new stuff right here!
Best of luck for the next!
I used to be suggested this blog through my cousin. I’m no longer sure whether this
submit is written by him as no one else recognize such designated about my trouble.
You’re amazing! Thanks!
Amazing! Its in fact amazing piece of writing, I have got much clear idea concerning from this
post.
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact
was once a enjoyment account it. Glance complicated to far delivered agreeable from you!
By the way, how could we keep up a correspondence?
I was very pleased to uncover this web site. I wanted to thank you for your
time for this wonderful read!! I definitely really liked every little bit of it and
I have you saved to fav to look at new stuff in your blog.
It’s actually a cool and helpful piece of info. I’m
happy that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this.
Thanks for sharing.
I drop a leave a response whenever I especially enjoy a post on a website or I have something to contribute to the conversation.
Usually it is a result of the passion displayed in the post I browsed.
And after this article Cognitive Distortions:Some Questions to Ask Yourself
to Unbend that Stinking Thinking Peter H Brown Clinical
Psychologist. I was moved enough to drop a thought 😛 I do have some questions for
you if you tend not to mind. Could it be only me or does it look like some
of these remarks come across like left by brain dead visitors?
😛 And, if you are posting at additional social sites,
I’d like to follow anything new you have to post. Could you list every one of all your
shared sites like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
I got what you necessarily mean, many thanks for posting.
I’m delighted to find this site through search engines.
I don’t leave many responses, but i did a few searching and wound up
here Cognitive Distortions:Some Questions
to Ask Yourself to Unbend that Stinking Thinking Peter H Brown Clinical Psychologist.
And I do have 2 questions for you if you do not mind.
Is it only me or does it appear like some of these comments appear as if they are left by brain dead people?
😛 And, if you are writing on other online social sites, I’d like to follow everything new you have to post.
Would you make a list of all of your public pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or
linkedin profile?
Definitely imagine that that you stated. Your favorite reason
seemed to be on the web the easiest thing to bear in mind of.
I say to you, I definitely get annoyed at the same time as folks think about worries that they just don’t know about.
You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and outlined out the
whole thing without having side effect , folks could take
a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
Thank you
Hi there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new
apple iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look
forward to all your posts! Keep up the outstanding work!
Thankfulness to my father who told me regarding this web site, this website
is truly awesome.
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four e-mails with the same
comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Thanks a lot!
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on
Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in
Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
Many thanks
Hi! Quick question that’s totally off topic.
Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
My blog looks weird when browsing from my iphone 4. I’m
trying to find a template or plugin that might be
able to correct this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share.
Thank you!
Hi i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this piece of writing i
thought i could also make comment due to this good piece of writing.
Your method of telling the whole thing in this article is genuinely good, every one can effortlessly be aware of it, Thanks a
lot.
Thanks designed for sharing such a fastidious idea, piece of writing is fastidious,
thats why i have read it fully
Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this site.
It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that
“perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appearance.
I must say that you’ve done a very good job with this.
In addition, the blog loads very fast for me on Safari.
Excellent Blog!
I was more than happy to uncover this page. I want to to thank you for ones time just for this
fantastic read!! I definitely liked every bit of it and I
have you saved as a favorite to check out new things in your blog.
Have you ever thought about including a little
bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and everything.
Nevertheless think about if you added some great graphics or videos to give your posts more, “pop”!
Your content is excellent but with images and video clips, this site could certainly be one of the
greatest in its field. Fantastic blog!
Hi to every body, it’s my first pay a quick visit of this weblog; this web site includes remarkable and truly excellent stuff in support of readers.
Hi there, I think your web site could possibly be having web browser compatibility issues.
When I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however,
when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues.
I merely wanted to give you a quick heads up! Apart from that,
fantastic website!
First of all I want to say excellent blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask
if you do not mind. I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing.
I’ve had a hard time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.
I truly do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to
15 minutes are usually wasted simply just trying to figure out
how to begin. Any ideas or hints? Many thanks!
If you wish for to obtain much from this piece of writing then you
have to apply such methods to your won webpage.
I blog frequently and I truly thank you for your content. This great article has really peaked my interest.
I am going to take a note of your site and keep checking for new details about
once per week. I subscribed to your Feed as well.
Hi to every one, it’s truly a nice for me to go to see this web
page, it contains precious Information.
This blog was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have
found something that helped me. Thanks a lot!
I visited many sites except the audio quality for audio songs curren at
this web site is actually excellent.
Hi there would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re
utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.
Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a fair price?
Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!
Every weekend i used to pay a visit this web site, as i want
enjoyment, for the reason that this this web site conations
truly good funny stuff too.
Greate pieces. Keep posting such kind of information on your blog.
Im really impressed by your blog.
Hi there, You have performed an incredible
job. I will definitely digg it and in my opinion recommend
to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this site.
Worthwhile information. I am so fortunate to discover your website by chance, and I’m amazed why
this twist of fate didn’t took place earlier! I saved it.
I always used to study post in news papers but now as I am a user of web therefore
from now I am using net for articles or reviews, thanks to web.
Thanks for this great post, I am glad I found this web site on yahoo.
Several really nice stuff on this website, I like it.
I relish, lead to I discovered just what
I was looking for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt!
God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
It’s amazing in favor of me to have a web site, which is beneficial in favor of my know-how.
thanks admin
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
I do not know who you are but certainly you are going to a famous
blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
This is a topic which is close to my heart… Many thanks!
Exactly where are your contact details though?
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look
forward to reading more of your outstanding post.
Also, I have shared your site in my social networks!
Hi there, had alert to your blog through Google, and
discovered that it’s truly enlightening.
I’ll be grateful if you continue this in future.
If you are going for finest contents like myself, just pay a
visit this web site every day for the reason that it presents feature contents, thanks
This is such an excellent resource that you’re offering and you provide out free
of charge. I enjoy seeing sites that provides a perfect helpful resource free of charge.
I genuinely adored reading your posts.
Incredible! This blog looks just like my old one!
It’s on a completely different subject but it has pretty much
the same layout and design. Outstanding choice of
colors!
There’s certainly a great deal to learn about this topic.
I love all of the points you made.
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up!
I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back
down the road. Many thanks
Have you ever thought about creating an ebook or
guest authoring on other blogs? I have a blog based upon on the same ideas you discuss
and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my
readers would enjoy your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel
free to send me an email.
This post is genuinely a pleasant one it assists new internet users,
who are wishing in favor of blogging.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have
truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and
I hope you write again soon!