How to Stop Negative Thought Spirals: A Guide to Cognitive Distortions and CBT

Neha Bajaj
Oct 29
3 min read

Learn how to recognize and stop negative thought patterns with CBT techniques to reduce anxiety and improve mental health.

What are Cognitive Distortions?

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a negative thought spiral? If so, you may be engaging in cognitive distortions: irrational thought patterns that impact that way we see the world.

Cognitive distortions can cause negative emotions and reinforce negative beliefs about ourselves or others. We may believe these distortions to be true and factual even though they are based on flawed logic or assumptions.

Cognitive distortions can cause:

Anxiety
Depression
Low self-esteem
Interpersonal conflict
Self-sabotaging behavior

For example, if you receive a piece of constructive feedback at work, you may inaccurately believe that you are not doing well, and your boss is not happy with your performance. This cognitive distortion, known as overgeneralizing, could result in you anxiously obsessing for hours over why you’re not doing well and potentially adopting the belief that you will not be successful at work.

As a therapist, I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients recognize and challenge these distortions so that they are able to have more balanced thinking and logical decision making.

Common Cognitive Distortions

Catastrophizing: always expecting the worst possible outcome of an event. “I’m going to bomb at this presentation for work next week and everyone is going to laugh at me.”
Exaggerating or mental filtering: focusing only on the negative and ignoring any positives. “I spilled coffee on myself this morning after I got myself ready and got the kids off to school. It’s going to be a bad day.”
Magical thinking: believing our thoughts and actions can impact unrelated events. “I had an argument with my sister and she later tripped and twisted her ankle. I must have caused that with my negative thoughts.”
All or nothing thinking: believing that everything is one way or the other, with no possible outcomes in the middle. “I lost my tennis match today. I’m awful and should stop playing."

Mind reading, assuming that we know what someone else is thinking. “My coworkers must be talking about me in the corner.”

The “Should” Statement

Growing up in a traditional Indian household, I internalized the cognitive distortion of “should” statements. “Should” statements imply that there is one rulebook that we should live our lives by, and the rules dictate when and what we “should” or “should” not do.

You “should” get married by a certain age and have multiple kids.
You “should” choose from a list of 2-3 acceptable, financially lucrative careers.
You “should” enroll your kids in every extracurricular and sports team.

These “should” statements can create unrealistic expectations and fuel guilt or shame if we feel like we are falling short.

Challenging Cognitive Distortions

Recognize your negative thoughts and emotions. Notice when you are experiencing negative emotions and try to identify the negative thought that is behind those emotions.

Check the facts. Ask yourself if the thought is based on fact or not. What is your evidence that the thought is true or not?

Reframe the narrative. Based on the evidence, come up with a more balanced thought for the situation.

This process, called cognitive restructuring, is at the heart of CBT and allows us to refocus on facts and evidence so that we can think in a more balanced and logical manner.

Ready to Stop the Spiral?

Cognitive restructuring takes practice, and the more you practice, the easier you will it to recognize your distortions and have more balanced thinking. At Helping Hands Psychotherapy, we specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and are here to help you identify, challenge, and move beyond the thought patterns that are holding you back.

Feel free to reach out to me or directly to Helping Hands Psychotherapy to schedule a consultation and begin your journey toward clearer, more empowered thinking.