Our thoughts shape how we experience life. They influence our emotions, guide our decisions, and colour how we interpret events around us. However, not every thought we have is accurate, fair, or helpful.
During periods of stress, burnout, trauma, or major life transitions, the mind often slips into cognitive distortions—automatic thinking patterns that quietly distort reality. When this happens, situations can feel heavier, more personal, and more hopeless than they truly are.
Common Cognitive Distortions You May Recognise
You might notice yourself falling into patterns such as:
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Catastrophising
Imagining the worst-case scenario and believing it will definitely happen. -
Mind Reading
Assuming you know what others think about you—usually something negative—without evidence. -
Overgeneralising
Turning one difficult experience into a sweeping belief like, “This always happens to me.” -
Labelling
Defining yourself with harsh identities such as “a failure,” “lazy,” or “not good enough,” rather than looking at a specific situation or behaviour. -
“Should” Thinking
Holding yourself to rigid, unrealistic rules: “I should always be productive,” or “I shouldn’t feel this way.” -
Personalisation and Control Fallacy
Blaming yourself for events outside your control or feeling responsible for other people’s emotions and reactions.
If any of these patterns feel familiar, it is important to understand this:
There is nothing wrong with you.
These thought patterns are learned responses. Many develop as coping strategies—ways the mind tries to stay safe, avoid harm, or maintain control during challenging experiences. And because they are learned, they can also be unlearned.
How Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Helps
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) offers practical, evidence-based tools to help you work with your thoughts rather than be ruled by them.
CBT helps you to:
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Notice unhelpful thought patterns
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Question them with curiosity instead of self-criticism
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Replace them with more balanced, realistic, and compassionate perspectives
CBT does not ask you to suppress your thoughts or “think positive” all the time. Instead, it helps you develop a healthier, more honest relationship with your inner dialogue—one that supports emotional regulation and resilience.
Support Makes the Process Easier
While self-awareness is powerful, structured guidance can make change feel more manageable. Therapist-designed CBT workbooks and guided worksheets can help you:
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Calm anxiety and mental overload
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Identify and challenge cognitive distortions
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Build emotional resilience and self-trust
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Work at your own pace, without pressure or judgment
Small, consistent practices can create meaningful shifts over time.
A Final Reminder
Your thoughts are powerful—but you are more powerful than any single thought.
With awareness, compassion, and gentle daily practice, it is possible to loosen the grip of unhelpful thinking patterns and create space for clarity, balance, and emotional wellbeing.
