Chris, you really are the master of cognitive distortions. A textbook example.
Emotional reasoning - making decisions and arguments based on how you feel rather than objective reality. (See
appeal to consequences).
Making should statements - concentrating on what you think "should" or ought to be rather than the actual situation you are faced with, or having
rigid rules which you think should always apply no matter what the circumstances are. (See
wishful thinking).
All-or-nothing thinking - thinking of things in absolute terms, like "always", "every" or "never". Few aspects of human behavior are so absolute. (See
false dilemma).
Overgeneralization - taking isolated cases and using them to make wide generalizations. (See
hasty generalization).
Mental filter - Focusing exclusively on certain, usually negative or upsetting, aspects of something while ignoring the rest, like a tiny imperfection in a piece of clothing. (See
misleading vividness).
Jumping to conclusions - assuming something negative where there is actually no evidence to support it. Two specific subtypes are also identified:
- Mind reading - assuming the intentions of others
- Fortune telling - guessing that things will turn out badly. (See slippery slope).
Magnification and
Minimization - exaggerating negatives and understating positives. Often the positive characteristics of
other people are exaggerated and negatives understated. There is one subtype of magnification:
- Catastrophizing - focusing on the worst possible outcome, however unlikely, or thinking that a situation is unbearable or impossible when it is really just uncomfortable.
Disqualifying the positive - continually "shooting down" positive experiences for arbitrary, ad hoc reasons. (See
special pleading).
Personalization (or
attribution) - Assuming you or others directly caused things when that may not have been the case. (See
illusion of control). When applied to others this is an example of blame.
Labelling - related to overgeneralization, explaining by naming. Rather than describing the specific behavior, you assign a label to someone or yourself that puts them in absolute and unalterable terms.
Well done, in one post you have demonstrated every cognitive distortion that you accuse continually of others! I salute you, sir!
