10 Common Thinking Traps (and How to Catch Them)
Cognitive distortions are patterns of thinking that feel true but distort reality. Learn to recognise the 10 most common ones — and what to do when you catch yourself in one.
Why this works
Cognitive distortions are automatic patterns of thinking that twist how you see reality. They feel completely true in the moment, but when you step back, you can see they are biased or exaggerated. Psychiatrist Aaron Beck first identified them in the 1960s, and psychologist David Burns later popularised ten common "thinking traps" in his book Feeling Good.
Research consistently shows that simply noticing a distortion creates distance between you and the thought. Once you can say "that is catastrophising" instead of believing the catastrophe is real, the emotional intensity drops. This is a core principle of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
For neurodivergent brains
If you have ADHD, you may be especially prone to mind reading and catastrophising — particularly around social rejection. Knowing these are common thinking traps (not reality) can be genuinely relieving.
All-or-nothing thinking can feel like a natural part of how you process the world. That is okay — the goal is not to force grey-area thinking, but to notice when the black-and-white pattern is causing you distress.
Spotting a thinking trap is not evidence that you are "thinking wrong." It is compassionate noticing — you are learning how your mind works so you can take better care of it.
The 10 common thinking traps
All-or-nothing thinking
Seeing things in black and white with no middle ground.
"I didn’t get the promotion, so I’m a complete failure."
Catastrophising
Jumping to the worst possible outcome, no matter how unlikely.
"I made a typo in that email. I’ll get fired."
Mind reading
Assuming you know what someone else is thinking — usually something negative.
"She didn’t reply. She must be angry at me."
Fortune telling
Predicting the future negatively and treating the prediction as fact.
"No point applying. I won’t get in."
Emotional reasoning
Believing something is true because it feels true.
"I feel like a burden, so I must be one."
Should statements
Placing rigid expectations on yourself or others with "should," "must," or "ought to."
"I should be over this by now."
Labelling
Attaching a fixed label to yourself based on one behaviour or event.
"I’m lazy — instead of ‘I didn’t finish that task.’"
Overgeneralisation
Taking one event and applying it to everything.
"I always mess things up."
Mental filter
Ignoring all the positives and fixating on a single negative detail.
"Ignoring 9 positive comments and replaying the 1 critical one."
Discounting the positive
Dismissing good things as flukes, luck, or politeness.
"They only said that to be nice."
When to use this
Learning cognitive distortions is most useful as background knowledge that you carry with you. Once you know the patterns, you start noticing them in real time — during conversations, while scrolling, after a setback. They pair well with thought records and the CBT Triangle for deeper work.