The eleven cognitive distortions

When you work through a thought record, Mandaboard lets you tag the thinking traps it matches. Here are all eleven, with a plain-language note for each — the same words you'll see in the app.

• All-or-Nothing — Seeing things in black and white: if it isn't perfect, it's a failure.
• Overgeneralization — Treating one setback as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
• Mental Filter — Dwelling on a single negative detail until the whole picture looks dark.
• Discounting the Positive — Dismissing good things as luck, or as not counting.
• Mind Reading — Assuming you know what others are thinking, usually the worst.
• Fortune Telling — Predicting things will turn out badly as though it were a fact.
• Magnification — Blowing problems up or shrinking your strengths down.
• Emotional Reasoning — Treating strong feelings as proof of the truth.
• Should Statements — Ruling yourself or others with shoulds, musts and oughts.
• Labeling — Defining yourself or someone else by a single failing.
• Personalization — Blaming yourself for things that weren't yours to control.

How to use them

Tag what fits, not what doesn't. Naming a distortion is the point — once you can see "that's Fortune Telling", the thought is easier to hold at arm's length. You don't need to tag anything to save a record.