Cognitive Distortion

A cognitive distortion is a thought that causes a person to perceive reality inaccurately because the thought itself is exaggerated or irrational. Cognitive distortions are negative or biased thought patterns, such as mind reading, fortune telling and emotional reasoning, that warp the way a person interprets a situation or interprets themselves, reinforcing negative emotions and behaviors in the process, and they are implicated in the onset or continuation of psychopathological states such as depression and anxiety. According to the psychiatrist Aaron Beck's cognitive model, a negative outlook on reality, sometimes described as a negative schema, is itself a factor in symptoms of emotional dysfunction and poorer subjective well-being, since negative thinking patterns of this kind reinforce further negative emotions and thoughts, and identifying and challenging these distortions is a central task of cognitive-behavioral therapy in helping a person overcome them and improve their mental well-being.