Negative thinking patterns are also referred to as cognitive distortions, cognitive biases, thinking errors, or faulty thinking. Therapists use a technique called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help people change their negative patterns of thinking and their behaviors. Dr. Aaron T. Beck, a leading researcher in psychopathology, is regarded as the father of cognitive therapy. CBT is one of the most effective forms of treatment for depression, anxiety, and other related disorders. This treatment helps us identify and restructure our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Our brains have developed pathways from habitual ways of thinking, but once we become aware of these negative thought patterns, we can begin to form new pathways. This process is called cognitive restructuring. It helps us replace our negative thoughts with more positive ones and challenge the validity of our negative thoughts.
Dr. David Burns continued to build on Dr. Beck’s research by highlighting the ten most common cognitive distortions in his book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Today an internet search will reveal as many as one hundred cognitive biases. Negative self-talk or cognitive distortions can be thought of as the little voice that second guesses our decisions, critiques or judges our self-worth, compares our life to someone else’s, or makes us focus on the negative rather than the positive aspects of a situation. Too much criticism or comparing can have a negative impact on our mental health. This can lead to perfectionism tendencies and low self-esteem. It can make us feel depressed, stressed, or anxious. Negative thoughts and chronic stress can also adversely impact our immune system making us more prone to physical illnesses. Cognitive distortions affect our relationships, our opportunities, and our overall well being and satisfaction with life.
Below I have listed ten of the more common thinking distortions:
- Polarized thinking: This is black and white thinking such as: everything is either good or bad, right or wrong, all or nothing. There is no middle ground in this type of thinking. It can lead to emotional highs and lows which can be difficult patterns to break.
- Catastrophizing: You expect the worst outcome, even when you make a small mistake. You may jump to the worst possible conclusion about a situation without having adequate information. This elevates your stress level, and often it is an exaggerated response.
- Idealistic Comparing: You compare yourself unfavorably to others, focusing on their positive qualities while ignoring your own. You measure your life against someone else’s life while ignoring your own unique path.
- Feelings are Facts: You accept your feelings as indisputable facts. You think that if you feel something, it must be true. This can create a cycle of negative thinking, keeping you stuck in those feelings which may have no basis for accuracy.
- Mind Reading: You believe you know what others are thinking about you without actual knowledge about their thoughts. You tend to imagine the worst. Your feelings of insecurity may cause you to imagine that others are judging you negatively without any evidence that is true.
- Fortune Telling: You predict a negative outcome for something based on your own internal negative feelings. This prediction has little validity and can prevent you from taking beneficial action.
- Personalizing: You accept the blame for something that was a group effort or something that was out of your control. You shoulder the blame, even when there were other contributing factors.
- Magnifying or minimizing: You either make a big deal out of something small, or you minimize a positive contribution or event in your life.
- “Should” Statements: You set the bar too high for yourself. You impose unrealistic expectations on yourself, others, or the world based on how you think life “should” be.
- Overgeneralizing: You make hasty judgments from insufficient information. You draw conclusions from a single negative event, thinking it will happen repeatedly. One mistake does not define you, nor does it define the future.
Awareness is the first step towards changing your cognitive distortions. As you become aware of your negative thoughts, you can begin to identify the type of thought and challenge its validity. Identifying the type of negative thought can help you change your internal narrative. You might find it helpful to journal your thoughts, identifying the thought, the type of thought, and the event or triggering thought that preceded it. Once you become aware of your negative self-talk, you can begin to replace the negative thoughts with positive, more constructive ones. Even though there will be events and circumstances over which you have no control, you can control your perceptions (thoughts), thereby controlling your negative emotions (feelings) and reactions (behavior) to those events. Becoming aware of your negative thought patterns is a major step towards gaining control over your feelings and your actions. Reducing negative self-talk will benefit your mental, emotional, relational, spiritual, and physical well being.

Greta Parkinson, MA-LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 20 years experience working with children, adolescents, adults, families, and couples. She has worked in the public sector as a counselor, policy maker, and director of child, adolescent, and family services, as well as in private practice offering services to children and adults. In her therapy practice she helped clients with a broad range of issues including anxiety, depression, mood issues, ADHD, parenting issues, career related transitions, relational issues, and other adjustments to life transitions. A parishioner for many years, Parkinson joined the staff of Christ Church Episcopal in 2024.