Cognitions
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Cognitions ~
Learn.
What are cognitions?
Cognitions are otherwise known as thoughts, the things that you tell yourself about what you think is going on around you. Your thoughts are your subjective interpretations of an event or situation (Source: American Psychological Association).
“The way we think about things is the most powerful force in shaping our lives.”
What is metacognition?
Metacognition is the ability to think about and control your own thoughts and cognitive processes. and understand the patterns behind them (Source: Oxford Dictionary).
Why is metacognition important to your mental health?
Metacognition enables you to challenge your own thoughts, and unhelpful thinking patterns to help regulate emotions and manage your mental state by implementing cognitive strategies when needed (Source: Harvard University).
What is neuroplasticity?
The brain has the remarkable ability to change, both structurally and functionally throughout a person’s lifetime. The brain discards unused neural pathways and strengthens new ones based on our habits (Source: Cleveland Clinic).
What are neural pathways?
Neural pathways are created by repeating actions, emotions, and thoughts. If you repeat something enough it will become a habit, but your brain will not determine if the habit has a positive or negative effect on your mental or physical health (Source: Hopkins Medicine).
The brain is extremely powerful. It is important to understand how your negative thinking habits can develop from early life experiences (Source: Harvard). These negative thinking patterns become engrained and have a profound negative impact on your wellbeing. Have you ever heard the saying, “Neurons that fire together, wire together” (Source: Neuroscience News). The brain automatically prunes the unused pathways to make room for the new pathways that you utilize on a routine basis. You possess the ability to develop healthy thinking patterns and healthy behaviors with practice and patience (Source: NIDA NIH).
What is rumination?
Rumination can be described as compulsively focusing on one’s own thoughts. Ruminating involves a pattern of thinking about the causes, consequences, and symptoms of negative emotions (Source: Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema’s Rethinking Rumination).
What are negative schemas?
Negative thinking patterns reinforce negative emotional patterns. These distorted thoughts can lead to an overall negative outlook on the world contributing to the development of a depressive or anxious mental state (Source: Trauma Research UK).
What is worry?
Worry and the act of worrying can be described as unpleasant thoughts that you keep thinking about which generates a cycle of more worry. It is normal to have worries, and everyone has them from time to time. Worries can become a problem when they get in the way of other parts of your life, or they contribute to your unhappiness.
What are anxious thoughts?
Also known as anxious thinking, anxious thoughts refer to repetitive, negative intrusive thoughts. These thoughts typically focus on potential threats or negative outcomes. These thoughts can cause feelings of worry, fear, or unease even where there is little to no real danger present. It's the internal dialogue that pops up in your mind when you feel anxious, often characterized by a negative conclusion or other cognitive distortions (Source: Psychology Today).
What is the cognitive triangle?
The cognitive triangle was developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck, the founder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The cognitive triangle shows how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected and have an affect one another. A simple thought, an event, a person, place, or thing can trigger and activate the cognitive triangle. This means if you change your thoughts, it will change how you feel and how you behave (Source: Simply Psychology).
What are cognitive distortions?
Cognitive distortions are biased irrational thoughts that can influence your emotions. Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree, but in their more extreme forms they can be harmful to your mental and physical health (Source: Harvard).
Types of cognitive distortions
Magnification and minimization. You exaggerate or minimize the importance of events. You believe your own achievements are unimportant or that simple mistakes are excessively important.
Catastrophizing. You see only the worst possible outcomes of a situation. “I have a call from the doctor, it must be really bad news.”
Over generalization. You make broad interpretations from single or few events. “No one likes me, I will never be good enough”, “Everyone hates me.”
Personalization. You believe that you are responsible for events outside of your control. For example: “If I paid more attention to my friend, she wouldn’t be so sad all the time.”
Jumping to conclusions. You interpret the meaning of the situation with little or no evidence. For example, “That person looked at me weird, they think I am annoying.”
Mind reading. You interpret the thoughts and beliefs of others without adequate evidence. For example, “My friend did not call me back, they do not care about me anymore”, “People are looking at me, they must think my outfit is ugly.”
Fortune telling. You expect the situation will turn out bad without adequate evidence. For example, “I know that if I tell him how I feel about him, he won’t be interested in me anymore.”
Emotional reasoning. You assume that your emotions reflect the way things really are. For example, “I feel like I am unimportant, therefore I must be unimportant.” “I feel like a bad friend, so I must be a bad friend.”
Disqualifying the positive. You recognize only the negative aspects of the situation while ignoring the positive. For example, “You receive both compliments and constructive criticism on an evaluation, but you focus on the single piece of negative feedback.”
Should statements. You believe that things should be a certain way. For example, “I should always make perfect grades so that others know I am smart.” “No one should be upset with my actions.”
All or nothing thinking. You think in absolutes like always and never. For example, “I never do anything right.” “Things never go my way.”
Change.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Develop healthy thinking patterns.
Identify your negative thought patterns. Observe your thoughts without judgement. Thought patterns can become deeply ingrained. With self-awareness, practice, and patience you can change your thoughts! Listed below are some helpful strategies that you can start today.
Determine if your thoughts are facts or opinions.
Facts are verifiable, and opinions are personal interpretations of facts which can differ from person to person. The brain does not always differentiate between facts and opinions. Harmful opinions such as “I'm a bad person”, “I am ugly”, and “No one will ever love me” are sometimes treated as facts even without the evidence. Harmful opinions like these contribute to negative thinking loops and contribute to stress which can lead to other mental health problems. Be sure to fact-check your thoughts (Source: Therapist Aid)!
Learn the art of cognitive reframing.
Cognitive reframing is a psychological technique where you identify and actively change the way you interpret situations, experiences, or thoughts (Source: Very Well Mind). Replace negative or distorted thinking patterns with more positive and realistic perspectives to alter your emotional responses and behaviors. Shift your mindset to view things from a different perspective.
Decastrophizing and challenging your anxious thoughts.
Decatastrophizing is a way to question your own thoughts when you find that worry has taken over your mind and is causing you emotional distress (Source: Positive Psychology).
Learn how to combat worry!
One way to break down worry is to look at What Could happen vs. What Will happen. This is a helpful coping skill that can help you begin to worry less (Source: Therapist Aid).
Ask yourself the following questions.
What are you worried about?
How likely is it that your worry will come true and give evidence to support your answer.
If what you are worrying about comes true, what is the worst thing that could happen?
If your worry does come true what's most likely to happen?
If your worry comes true, what are the chances that you will be okay in one week, in one month, in one year?
The goal is to reduce the intensity of the worry and challenge thoughts so that the brain can come up with alternatives as possibilities.
Develop your Wise Mind.
Dr. Marsha Linehan is a psychologist and the creator of Wise Mind and Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Your mind has three states of being, the reasonable mind, the emotional mind and the wise mind. Everyone possesses each of these three states, but most people gravitate toward a specific one most of the time. When an individual is in emotion mind, feelings control the person’s thoughts and behaviors, and they might act impulsively with little regard for consequences. When an individual is in reasonable mind, they approach a situation with intellect and make decisions based on facts. When you are living in wise mind, there is a balance between the reasonable and emotional halves, and you can recognize and respect your feelings while responding to them in a rational manner (a hallmark of emotional intelligence).
Be mindful of your thoughts
Grow.
Become a cognitive scientist. Use metacognition to grow in your self-awareness. This can create new neural pathways to develop strategies to overcome unhelpful thought patterns and negative thought loops. Check out our learning center or the expanded reading and resources below to learn effective thought stopping strategies and create healthy neural connections to become a healthier and happier you. Remember, there is no shame in talking to someone about your thoughts to help get on track!
Expanded Reading and Resources
Learn more about cognition.