Cognitive distortions

Common thinking shortcuts under stress — naming the pattern helps you decide whether to follow it.

Source: Sokol & Fox (2019), The Comprehensive Clinician's Guide to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

For learning and reflection — not diagnosis or treatment. Willow isn't your therapist or crisis line. Based on Sokol & Fox (2019). In crisis? See crisis resources or findahelpline.com.

What distortions are

Under stress, the brain uses efficient shortcuts. Sometimes those shortcuts skew reality — cognitive behavioral therapy offers names for the skew so you can notice and choose.

Willow uses distortion names gently, never as weapons. The goal is curiosity: "Is this a shortcut that's running right now?"

Patterns in this wiki

| Pattern | Page | |--------|------| | Catastrophizing | Catastrophizing | | All-or-nothing | All-or-nothing thinking | | Mind reading | Mind reading | | Emotional reasoning | Emotional reasoning | | Should statements | Should statements | | Personalization | Personalization |

Also common (see protocol)

Mental filter, disqualifying the positive, fortune telling, magnification/minimization, negative self-labeling — often overlap with pages above.

How to use the vocabulary

On a thought record, naming an error is optional. Examining evidence matters more than the label.

Try it next

Share a recent automatic thought — Willow can ask whether a named pattern fits, then move to evidence.

From the guide

We couldn't pull book excerpts right now. The summary above still follows the same source material.

Practice this with Willow

Open chat with a starter prompt for this topic. Same skills and safety rules as always.

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