How Unhealthy Thinking Fuels Mental Health Challenges (And How CBT Helps)
Counsellor / Parenting Coach / Career Coach
How Unhealthy Thinking Fuels Mental Health Challenges (And How CBT Helps)
Unhealthy thinking patterns often operate beneath the surface of mental health struggles, quietly shaping our emotions, decisions, and relationships. These habitual errors are known as cognitive distortions—biased mental shortcuts that twist how we interpret ourselves, others, and life events. When distortions become automatic and repetitive, they can fuel depression, intensify stress, and drain hope. The good news? These patterns are learned, meaning they can also be unlearned. With the right tools, especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), distorted thoughts can be challenged, reframed, and replaced with healthier perspectives that lighten emotional burdens and restore a sense of control. Learn how with Counsellor, Paula Brunning.
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Cognitive distortions are biased, inaccurate thinking habits that distort reality. They act like mental shortcuts that can become automatic and negatively influence mood, relationships, and decision-making. Examples include black-and-white thinking, catastrophizing, and personalization.
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They reinforce negative core beliefs such as “I am unlovable” or “Nothing will ever change.” These distorted thoughts intensify emotional pain, lead to withdrawal or avoidance behaviors, and make problem-solving feel impossible. Over time, this creates a feedback loop that maintains low mood and hopelessness.
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Yes. Because they are learned thought habits, they can be rewired. With tools like CBT cognitive restructuring and mindfulness, people learn to identify inaccurate thoughts, challenge them with evidence, and intentionally replace them with healthier, more balanced interpretations.
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CBT helps by:
Identifying automatic distorted thoughts
Examining evidence for/against them
Reframing thoughts more accurately
Reducing avoidance through behavioral activation
Teaching mindfulness to observe thoughts without judgment
This improves emotional control, reduces self-criticism, and builds psychological flexibility.
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If distorted thinking is causing:
Persistent sadness or anxiety
Avoidance of people or activities
Relationship conflict or self-criticism
Loss of hope or control
Then it’s a strong sign to seek support. Counselling offers a safe, non-judgmental space to interrupt unhealthy cycles and rebuild healthier thinking and coping skills.
Unhealthy thinking patterns can lie beneath many mental health challenges including depression. In psychology these unhealthy thinking patterns are called cognitive distortions.
Cognitive distortions are biased, inaccurate mental shortcuts that can become habitual errors in thinking that twist how we perceive events, ourselves, and the world. As defined by the American Psychological Association, a cognitive distortion is a “faulty or inaccurate thinking, perception, or belief.” These inaccurate or biased thoughts shape a person’s emotions and behaviors in unhealthy ways. Although everyone experiences these at times, when they become frequent and entrenched, they can contribute significantly to mental health struggles because over time, these distortions chip away at hope and a sense of control, and make life feel heavier than it really is.
In the context of depression, cognitive distortions act as a vulnerability factor because they make it more likely for stressful events to spiral into lasting emotional distress. When automatic thoughts are distorted they reinforce a negative core belief that one is faulty in some way.
Negative core beliefs are false misperceptions that perpetuate cycles of low mood, mental distress or feelings of hopelessness. Negative core beliefs can include “I’m unlovable” or “Nothing will ever change”, statements that make problem solving very difficult. Within cognitive behavioral theory, thoughts, feelings and behaviors create a cognitive triad.
Thoughts are connected to and impact they way we feel and act. When we have distorted thoughts we create a negative view of ourself, our world, and our future that influences overall mental health and can maintain depressive symptoms.
Because these distortions are learned and practiced over time, they are possible to change into healthier thoughts. When we work to adjust our cognitive distortions, by identifying, challenging and reframing them into healthier options, this opens a pathway toward greater psychological flexibility that supports our emotional wellbeing. This in turn enables actions and behaviors that can reinforce coping with resilience towards more hopeful interactions with ourselves, others and the our world view. So although these distorted thought habits weigh down mental health, counseling and CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) techniques can help reframe them into healthier perspectives.
Let’s take a closer look at some common cognitive distortions.
Common Cognitive Distortions
All-or-Nothing Thinking is also known as Black-and-White Thinking:
Seeing things in extremes with no middle ground, such that something is either perfect success or a total failure.
Examples of all or nothing thinking include:
I had a cookie, so my diet is ruined.
If I can’t be the best at this, I won’t try at all.
She didn’t call me back, she’s never there for me when I need her.
Overgeneralization
Taking one negative event and assuming it will happen repeatedly. Examples of overgeneralization include:
That date didn’t go well. I will never find a partner.
I didn’t get selected, I will never amount to anything.
I failed this test, I fail at everything.
Catastrophizing
Expecting the worst-case scenario or exaggerating how bad something will be. Examples of catastrophizing include:
If this doesn’t go well I’ll be fired and lose my house since I won’t be able to pay the bills.
I am so stressed I won’t do well on this test, then I’ll never graduate and get a decent job.
We are running late, we will miss our flight and our whole holiday will be ruined.
Mindreading
Assuming you know what others are thinking—usually something negative—without real evidence. Examples of mindreading include:
She didn’t text back; she must be angry with me.
The boss frowned because she doesn’t think I can manage this project.
My friends shared a laugh, they think I’m a loser.
Personalization
Blaming yourself for events outside your control, or assuming others’ behavior is because of you. Examples of personalization include:
My friend is upset—it is all my fault.
My parents are fighting, I am to blame.
My son is struggling to make friends, I am a bad parent.
Disqualifying the Positive
Rejecting or minimizing good things that happen, as if they don’t count. Examples of disqualifying the positive include:
They only complimented me to be nice, not because I deserved it.
I passed that test because it was easy. Anyone could do it.
I got a promotion but its no big deal, the job is really simple.
Emotional Reasoning
Believing that feelings automatically reflect facts. Examples of emotional reasoning include:
I feel anxious, so I must be in danger.
I feel like I disappointed him, so I am a bad friend.
I’m frustrated about this delay, they are doing this on purpose.
Magnification/Minimization
Blowing mistakes out of proportion or shrinking strengths. Examples of magnification/minimization include:
My small error ruined everything for this project.(magnification)
It was nothing, anyone could have done this. (minimization).
She got that report in late, she should be dismissed.
Labeling
Assigning global, negative labels to yourself or others instead of describing specific behavior. Examples of labeling include:
I didn’t do that right, I’m such an idiot.
I was late getting back to her, I am so irresponsible.
They weren’t polite, they are such jerks.
Why These Patterns Are So Unhealthy
Cognitive distortions work like feedback loops. Thoughts shape feelings, which drive behaviors, which reinforce the thoughts. For example:
Thought: “No one wants to spend time with me.”
Feeling: Lonely, sad.
Behavior: Cancel plans or don’t reach out.
Result: More isolation, which confirms the original thought.
CBT research shows that avoidance—whether of feelings, situations, or even pleasurable activities—reinforces depression. Each cycle of withdrawal or rumination strengthens the brain’s “giving up” pathway, making it harder to bounce back.
Physically, this isn’t harmless either. Chronic stress, self-criticism, and numbing behaviors can overload the nervous system, leaving one feeling exhausted, shut down, and hopeless.
Recognizing and shifting cognitive distortions can bring change to feelings and behaviors, allowing one to begin healing from depression and improving overall mental health.
Working with a psychologist, counsellor, or psychotherapist can help you challenge and reframe these distortions, creating healthier ways of thinking and a stronger foundation for mental health within a safe, supportive relationship.
In cognitive behavioral therapy, a counsellor works with you to identify distorted thoughts and examine the evidence behind them. Instead of simply accepting a thought like “I’m a failure,” your counsellor may guide you to ask: “What’s the actual evidence for and against this belief?”
This process, called cognitive restructuring, helps you see your experiences more accurately and less harshly.
Counselling also supports behavioral changes that interrupt negative cycles. For example, if you tend to withdraw when you feel low, your counsellor might encourage small steps of behavioral activation—such as reaching out to a friend or scheduling a short walk. These actions create opportunities for positive reinforcement and gradually shift mood.
Another powerful tool CBT encourages is mindfulness, where you learn to observe thoughts without judgment. Instead of being swept away by “I feel anxious, so something must be wrong,” you practice noticing, “I’m having an anxious thought, but that doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Over time, these approaches build psychological flexibility—the ability to adapt your thinking and behavior in healthier ways. Research consistently shows that CBT and counseling reduce symptoms of depression, not by ignoring emotions, but by reshaping the way we relate to them.
Overall, creating healthier thinking patterns leads to less self-criticism, more balance, and a renewed sense of control. Please reach out for support if you are facing cognitive distortions that are impacting your ability to manage challenges with flexibility and resilience. Book in a session with me now!