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Spotting Your Mind Tricks: A Break Down of Commonly Used Cognitive Distortions for Teens
Hey there! Have you ever noticed a thought pop into your head that just makes you feel… bad? Maybe you think, “I messed up, so I’m a total failure” or “Nobody likes me”. Sometimes our brains play little tricks on us, and these thoughts can sneak in without us even realizing it.
In the world of therapy, we call these cognitive distortions—basically, patterns of thinking that twist reality and make us feel worse than we need to. Everyone experiences them, even adults, but the good news is that once you learn to spot them, you can start challenging them and thinking more realistically.
In this blog series, we’re going to break down the most common cognitive distortions used by teens, one by one. We’ll show you how to recognize them, give examples you might relate to, and offer tips to quiet those tricky thoughts. Think of it like a mental cheat code to help you feel more confident and in control of your mind.
So, are you ready to start noticing when your brain is playing tricks on you? Let’s dive in!
All-or-Nothing Thinking: Seeing Life in Black and White
Have you ever thought, “If I don’t get an A on this test, I’m a total failure” or “If I don’t have the perfect outfit, my whole day is ruined”? If so, you’ve experienced All-or-Nothing Thinking—one of the most common cognitive distortions.
All-or-Nothing Thinking happens when we see things in extremes: everything is either perfect or a disaster, right or wrong, good or bad. The tricky part? Life almost never fits into those neat boxes. Thinking this way can make you feel stressed, disappointed, or frustrated more often than necessary.
Why it happens: Our brains like shortcuts, and seeing things as all-or-nothing feels simple. But it’s not realistic, and it can make small mistakes feel huge.
How to spot it:
- You think in extremes: “I have to be perfect, or I’ve failed.”
- You ignore the gray areas: “If I’m not amazing at this, I’m terrible.”
- You feel intense emotions when things aren’t perfect.
How to challenge it:
- Pause and notice your thought. Write it down.
- Ask yourself: Is this really all-or-nothing? Are there shades of gray?
- Reframe it: Try something like, “I didn’t get an A, but I did my best and can improve next time.”
Remember, noticing all-or-nothing thinking is the first step to taking control of your thoughts. Life isn’t black and white—it’s full of colors, and so are you!
Stay tuned for the next post in our series, where we’ll dive into Overgeneralizing—another sneaky way our brains trick us.
