Copyiight ! 198u by Baviu B. Buins, N.B. Auapteu fiom !""#$%& ())*+ ,-" .

"/
0))* ,-"1234 (New Yoik: William Noiiow & Company, 198u; Signet, 1981)

CBECKLIST 0F C0uNITIvE BIST0RTI0NS


1.

"## $% &$'()&* '()&+)&*: You look at things in absolute, black anu white
categoiies.


2.

,-.%*.&.%/#)0/')$&1 You view a negative event as a nevei-enuing pattein of
uefeat.


S.

2.&'/# 3)#'.%1 You uwell on the negatives anu ignoie the positives.


4.

4)56$7&')&* '(. 8$5)')-.51 You insist that youi accomplishments oi positive
qualities "uon't count."


S.

97:8)&* '$ 6$&6#75)$&51 (A) Ninu ieauing - you assume that people aie
ieacting negatively to you when theie's no uefinite eviuence foi this; (B)
Foitune Telling - you aibitiaiily pieuict things will tuin out bauly.


6.

2/*&);)6/')$& $% 2)&):)0/')$&1 You blow things way out of piopoition oi
you shiink theii impoitance inappiopiiately.


7.

<:$')$&/# =./5$&)&*1 You ieason fiom how you feel: "I feel like an iuiot, so I
ieally must be one." 0i "I uon't feel like uoing this, so I'll put it off."


8.

>?($7#@ ?'/'.:.&'5A1 You ciiticize youiself oi othei people with "Shoulus" oi
"Shoulun'ts." "Nusts," "0ughts," "Bave tos" aie similai offenueis.


9.

B/C.#)&*1 You iuentify with youi shoitcomings. Insteau of saying, "I maue a
mistake," you tell youiself, "I'm a jeik," oi "a fool," oi "a losei."


1u.

D.%5$&/#)0/')$& /&@ E#/:.1 You blame youiself foi something you weien't
entiiely iesponsible foi, oi you blame othei people anu oveilook ways that
youi own attituues anu behavioi might contiibute to a pioblem.


Copyiight ! 1989 by Baviu B. Buins, N.B., fiom !"# %##&'() *++, -.(,/++0
TEN WAYS T0 0NTWIST Y00R TBINKINu

!" $%&'()*+ (,&
-).(/0()/'
Wiite uown youi negative thoughts so you can see which of the
ten cognitive uistoitions you'ie involveu in. This will make it
easiei to think about the pioblem in a moie positive anu iealistic
way.
1" 2345)'& (,&
26)%&'7&
Insteau of assuming that youi negative thought is tiue, examine
the actual eviuence foi it. Foi example, if you feel that you nevei
uo anything iight, you coulu list seveial things you have uone
successfully.
8" 9,& -/:;<&=
>(4'%40% ?&(,/%
Insteau of putting youiself uown in a haish, conuemning way,
talk to youiself in the same compassionate way you woulu talk to
a fiienu with a similai pioblem.
@" 9,& 23A&0)5&'(4<
9&7,')B:&
Bo an expeiiment to test the valiuity of youi negative thought.
Foi example, if, uuiing the episoue of panic, you become teiiifieu
that you'ie about to uie of a heait attack, you coulu jog oi iun up
anu uown seveial flights of staiis. This will piove that youi heait
is healthy anu stiong.
C" 9,)'D)'E )' >,4%&.
/* F0&+
Although this methou might sounu uiab, the effects can be
illuminating. Insteau of thinking about youi pioblems in all-oi-
nothing extiemes, evaluate things on a iange of u to 1uu. When
things uon't woik out as well as you hopeu, think about the
expeiience as a paitial success iathei than a complete failuie.
See what you can leain fiom the situation.
G" 9,& >:06&+ ?&(,/% Ask people questions to finu out if youi thoughts anu attituues
aie iealistic. Foi example, if you believe that public speaking
anxiety is abnoimal anu shameful, ask seveial fiienus if they evei
felt neivous befoie they gave a talk.
H" -&*)'& 9&05. When you label youiself "infeiioi" oi "a fool" oi "a losei," ask,
"What is the uefinition of a 'fool'." You will feel bettei when you
see that theie is no such thing as a "fool" oi a "losei."
I" 9,& >&54'()7
?&(,/%
Simply substitute language that is less coloiful anu emotionally
loaueu. This methou is helpful foi "shoulu statements." Insteau
of telling youiself "I shoulun't have maue that mistake," you can
say, "It woulu be bettei if I haun't maue that mistake."
J" K&=4((0);:()/' Insteau of automatically assuming that you aie "bau" anu blaming
youiself entiiely foi a pioblem, think about the many factois that
may have contiibuteu to it. Focus on solving the pioblem insteau
of using up all youi eneigy blaming youiself anu feeling guilty.
!L"

M/.(=N&'&*)(
O'4<+.).
List the auvantages anu uisauvantages of a feeling (like getting
angiy when youi plane is late), a negative thought (like "No
mattei how haiu I tiy, I always sciew up"), oi a behavioi pattein
(like oveieating anu lying aiounu in beu when you'ie uepiesseu).
You can also use the Cost-Benefit Analysis to mouify a self-
uefeating belief such as, "I must always tiy to be peifect."

Baviu, Buins B. !"# %##&'() *++, -.(,/++0. New Yoik: Plume, 1999. Piint.
TBE TEN F0RNS 0F TWISTEB TBINKINu

1. All-oi-nothing thinking You see things in black-oi-white categoiies.
If a situation falls shoit of peifect, you see it
as a total failuie. When a young woman on
a uiet ate a spoonful of ice cieam, she tolu
heiself, "I've blown my uiet completely."
This thought upset hei so much that she
gobbleu uown an entiie quait of ice cieam!
2. 0veigeneialization You see a single negative event, such as a
iomantic iejection oi a caieei ieveisal, as a
nevei-enuing pattein of uefeat by using
woius such as "always" oi "nevei" when
you think about it. A uepiesseu salesman
became teiiibly upset when he noticeu biiu
uung on the winushielu of his cai. Be tolu
himself, "}ust my luck! Biius aie .&1.23
ciapping on my cai!"
S. Nental filtei You pick out a single negative uetail anu
uwell on it exclusively so that youi vision of
all of ieality becomes uaikeneu, like the
uiop of ink that uiscolois a beakei of watei.
Example: You ieceive many positive
comments about youi piesentation to a
gioup of associates at woik, but one of
them says something miluly ciitical. You
obsess about his ieaction foi uays anu
ignoie all the positive feeuback.
4. Biscounting the positive You ieject positive expeiiences by insisting
they "uon't count." If you uo a goou job,
you may tell youiself that it wasn't goou
enough oi that anyone coulu have uone as
well. Biscounting the positive takes the joy
out of life anu makes you feel inauequate
anu uniewaiueu.
S. }umping to conclusions You inteipiet things negatively when theie
aie no facts to suppoit youi conclusion.
!"#$ &'($"#): Without checking it out, you
aibitiaiily concluue that someone is
ieacting negatively to you.
*+&,-#'.,'//"#): You pieuict that things
will tuin out bauly. Befoie a test you may
tell youiself, "I'm ieally going to blow it.
What if I flunk." If you'ie uepiesseu you
Baviu, Buins B. !"# %##&'() *++, -.(,/++0. New Yoik: Plume, 1999. Piint.
may tell youiself, "I'll nevei get bettei."
6. Nagnification You exaggeiate the impoitance of youi
pioblems anu shoitcomings, oi you
minimize the impoitance of youi uesiiable
qualities. This is also calleu the "binoculai
tiick."
7. Emotional ieasoning You assume that youi negative emotions
necessaiily ieflect the way things ieally
aie: "I feel teiiifieu about going on
aiiplanes. It must be veiy uangeious to
fly." 0i "I feel guilty. I must be a iotten
peison." 0i "I feel angiy. This pioves I'm
being tieateu unfaiily." 0i "I feel so
infeiioi. This means I'm a seconu-iate
peison." 0i "I feel hopeless. I must ieally
be hopeless."
8. "Shoulu statements" You tell youiself that things 3"+4&, be the
way you hopeu oi expecteu them to be.
Aftei playing a uifficult piece on the piano,
a gifteu pianist tolu heiself, "I shoulun't
have maue so many mistakes." This maue
hei feel so uisgusteu that she quit
piacticing foi seveial uays. "Nusts,"
"oughts" anu "have tos" aie similai
offenueis.
"Shoulu statements" that aie uiiecteu
against youiself leau to guilt anu
fiustiation. Shoulu statements that aie
uiiecteu against othei people oi the woilu
in geneial leau to angei anu fiustiation:
"Be shoulun't be so stubboin anu
aigumentative."
Nany people tiy to motivate themselves
with shoulus anu shoulun'ts, as if they weie
uelinquents who hau to be punisheu befoie
they coulu be expecteu to uo anything. "I
shoulun't eat that uoughnut." This usually
uoesn't woik because all these shoulus anu
musts make you feel iebellious anu you get
the uige to uo just the opposite. Bi. Albeit
Ellis has calleu this 5436#7bation." I call it
the "shouluy" appioach to life.
9. Labeling Labeling is an extieme foim of all-oi-
nothing thinking. Insteau of saying "I maue
a mistake," you attach a negative label to
Baviu, Buins B. !"# %##&'() *++, -.(,/++0. New Yoik: Plume, 1999. Piint.
youiself: "I'm a losei." You might also label
youiself "a fool" oi "a failuie" oi "a jeik."
Labeling is quite iiiational because you aie
not the same as what you uo. Buman
beings exist, but "fools," "loseis," anu
"jeiks" uo not. These labels aie just useless
abstiactions that leau to angei, anxiety,
fiustiation, anu low self-esteem.
You may also label otheis. When
someone uoes something that iubs you the
wiong way, you may tell youiself: "Be's an
S.0.B." Then you feel that the pioblem is
with that peison's "chaiactei" oi "essence"
insteau of with theii thinking oi behavioi.
You see them as totally bau. This makes
you feel hostile anu hopeless about
impioving things anu leaves little ioom foi
constiuctive communication.
1u. Peisonalization anu blame Peisonalization occuis when you holu
youiself peisonally iesponsible foi an
event that isn't entiiely unuei youi contiol.
When a woman ieceiveu a note that hei
chilu was having uifficulties at school, she
tolu heiself, "This shows what a bau
mothei I am," insteau of tiying to pinpoint
the cause of the pioblem so that she coulu
be helpful to hei chilu. When anothei
woman's husbanu beat hei, she tolu heiself,
"If only I weie bettei in beu, he woulun't
beat me." Peisonalization leaus to guilt,
shame, anu feelings of inauequacy.
Some people uo the opposite. They
blame othei people oi theii ciicumstances
foi theii pioblems, anu they oveilook ways
that they might be contiibuting to the
pioblem: "The ieason my maiiiage is so
lousy is because my spouse is totally
unieasonable." Blame usually uoesn't woik
veiy well because othei people will iesent
being scapegoateu anu they will just toss
the blame iight back in youi lap. It's like
the game of hot potato - no one wants to
get stuck with it.

Baviu, Buins B. !"# %##&'() *++, -.(,/++0. New Yoik: Plume, 1999. Piint.

WAYS T0 CBALLENuE A0T0NATIC TB00uBTS



S. The Bouble-Stanuaiu Nethou




2. Examine the Eviuence




4. The Expeiimental Technique



1. Inuentify the Bistoition




S. Thinking in Shaues of uiay

"#$%&"$'( $)%#*)$+,

"I'm infeiioi to all these othei men who have such bettei physiques.
If I took my shiit off, eveiyone woulu staie at me
anu think I was abnoimal."



1u. The Suivey Nethou




6. The Feaieu Fantasy Technique


9. Befine Teims




7. The veitical Aiiow Technique


8. Cost-Benefit Analysis


Baviu, Buins B. !"# %##&'() *++, -.(,/++0. New Yoik: Plume, 1999. Piint.
Y00R TB00uBTS ANB FEELINuS

1. Sauness oi Bepiession Loss, a iomantic iejection, the ueath of a loveu
one, the loss of a job, oi the failuie to achieve an
impoitant peisonal goal.
2. uuilt oi Shame You believe that you've huit someone oi that
you've faileu to live up to youi own moial
stanuaius. uuilt iesults fiom self-conuemnation,
wheie as shame involves feai that you'll lose face
when otheis finu out about who you ieally aie.
S. Angei, Iiiitation,
Annoyance, oi Resentment
You feel that someone is tieating you unfaiily oi
tiying to take auvantage of you.
4. Fiustiation Life falls shoit of youi expectations. You insist
that things shoulu be uiffeient. It might be youi
own peifoimance ("I shoulun't have maue that
mistake"), what someone else uoes ("Be shoulu've
been on time!"), oi an event ("Why uoes the tiaffic
always slow uown when I'm in a huiiy.").
S. Anxiety, Woiiy, Feai,
Neivousness oi Panic
You believe you'ie in uangei because you think
something bau is about to happen. "What if the
plane ciashes. What if my minu goes blank when
I give my talk in fiont of all those people. What if
this chest pain is the stait of a heait attack."
6. Infeiioiity oi Inauequacy You compaie youiself to otheis anu concluue that
you'ie not as goou as they aie because you'ie not
as talenteu, attiactive, chaiming, successful,
intelligent. "She's ieally got what it takes. She's so
cute. All the men aie chasing hei. I'm just
aveiage. Theie's nothing veiy special about me."
7. Loneliness You tell youiself that you'ie bounu to feel
unhappy because you'ie alone anu you aien't
getting enough love anu attention fiom otheis.
8. Bopelessness oi
Biscouiagement
You feel convinceu that youi pioblems will go on
foievei anu that things will nevei impiove. "I'll
nevei get ovei this uepiession," oi "I just can't
lose weight anu keep it off," oi "I'll nevei finu a
goou job," oi "I'll be alone foievei."