Your Brain on Autopilot: Cognitive Distortions 101

Our brain is composed of about 100 billion neurons. Each neuron has one to ten thousand connections to other neurons. Our brain can perform 100 trillion calculations/sec. This is a lot of processing and it requires a tremendous amount of energy.

Our brain acts as a CPU and coordinates our breathing, our movements and our thoughts. To conserve energy, the brain runs some of its tasks on automatic pilot. (For instance think about breathing; we know that air comes in and out of our nostrils without any conscious thought).

Our higher thinking processes are no exception to this rule. Our brain has constructed “programs” to process our current experience of the world based on our past experiences, upbringing, culture and background. Here are the common types of cognitive distortion:

• Black and white thinking: Everything is absolute with no place for relative thinking.
• Generalization: You judge other events based on similar instance. We can also use “labels”. Example: if something bad happens only once, you expect it to happen again. 
• Jumping to conclusions: Without the output of the other person, you assume to know their thoughts or feelings.
• Magnification or minimization: This exaggeration of insignificant events or catastrophizing… or the opposite.
• Personalization: You believe that everything a person does or says is in direct relation to you.
• Should: You have preconceived rules on how a person or yourself should act.
• Mental filter: You only take into account certain select details of the bigger picture.

Which cognitive distortions are running on auto-pilot in your brain?