Identifying Common Thinking Errors and Untwisting Your Thoughts

Thousands of thoughts run through our minds every single day. Some of them are helpful, but others can be unfair or simply untrue. In fact, the way we think can affect how we feel, how we act, and even how we treat other people. These unhealthy thought patterns are called thinking errors.

As a therapist, I’ve worked with clients who believed their thoughts were completely true, even when those thoughts were causing them stress and anxiety. A low test score could turn into “I’m stupid,” or feeling left out one day could become “Nobody likes me.”

Thinking errors can make small problems feel much bigger. They lead to choices that may keep us stuck or even hurt our relationships.

In this article, I’ll explain common thinking errors, how they can affect daily life, and techniques for developing healthier thought patterns.

What are Thinking Errors?

Thinking errors, also known as cognitive distortions, are unhelpful thought patterns that are inaccurate or not fully rooted in reality. These thoughts can increase stress, anxiety, and self-doubt.

Cognitive distortions were first identified by psychiatrist Aaron Beck, who noticed that many of his patients experienced negative thinking patterns that affected the way they felt and behaved [*].

Today, experts recognize many different types of thinking errors, and most people experience them from time to time, especially during periods of stress.

While thinking errors are common and happen to everyone occasionally, constantly viewing situations through these distorted patterns can damage a person’s self-esteem and affect mental health over time.

Common Thinking Errors and Real-Life Examples

Positive change in our thoughts starts with awareness, and that awareness can be an important step toward achieving personal goals and success in different areas of life.

I encourage you to explore the thinking errors list below and how they can present in daily situations. You can use this as a personal reflection tool or as a guide if you are supporting someone who may be struggling with unhelpful thinking patterns.

1. All-or-nothing thinking

All-or-nothing thinking occurs when people judge situations as completely good or completely bad. This type of thinking ignores effort or small successes. It can also lead to perfectionism and harsh self-judgment.

For example, someone tries a new hobby and thinks, “If I’m not naturally good at this, there’s no point in continuing.”

2. Overgeneralization

If you experience a negative situation and then think that it will always happen in the future, you are likely dealing with overgeneralization. In this thinking error, you find yourself using words like always, never, nobody, and everybody. One setback becomes the lens through which you judge everything else.

For example, if you fail a test once and tell yourself, “I always fail — I will never be smart enough,” you are overgeneralizing.

3. Mental filter

Mental filtering is when you tend to dwell on the negative aspect of a situation, even though there are positives. It can happen in different areas of your life, like in your relationships or your own self-perception.

For instance, you may receive several compliments but focus only on one criticism, or you enjoy most of a social gathering but keep thinking about one awkward interaction afterward.

4. Disqualifying the positives

Disqualifying the positives happens when you acknowledge a good thing but immediately convince yourself that it does not count. You hear a compliment, notice a win, or recognize a good outcome, but you brush it off with reasons why it is meaningless.

You might tell yourself that you simply got lucky, or that anyone could have achieved the same result, so it doesn’t really reflect your effort.

5. Jumping to conclusions

People are more likely to jump to conclusions in everyday life situations, according to research. Moreover, this tendency becomes even stronger when the information a person has is mostly negative. Anxiety also increases it, especially in situations involving health concerns [*].

This pattern of thinking commonly presents itself in two ways:

Mind reading

A person who does mind reading believes they know what others are thinking, and usually assumes those thoughts are negative, such as “They think I’m incompetent” or “My boss thinks I’m not doing a good job.”

Fortune telling

In fortune telling, a person predicts a bad outcome, such as a student believing they will fail a test, no matter how hard they study. As a result, they lose motivation to prepare or give up before even trying because they feel the outcome is already decided.

6. Magnification and minimization

Magnification and minimization happen when we distort the importance of events, mistakes, or achievements. We either blow things out of proportion or shrink them down.

For example, a person might make a small mistake at work and view it as a complete disaster, while dismissing a major accomplishment as “not a big deal.”

A common form of magnification is catastrophizing.

Catastrophizing

Catastrophizing occurs when you automatically imagine the worst possible outcome and treat it as if it is likely to happen, such as a child assuming they will fail an entire school year because of one poor test grade, or believing that losing a friendship means they will never have friends again.

7. Emotional reasoning

Emotional reasoning tricks you into confusing how you feel with what’s actually true. Feeling like a failure doesn't make you one. Feeling like something bad will happen doesn’t mean it will. Emotions are signals worth hearing, but they’re not always right.

8. “Should” statements

“Should” statements represent a form of cognitive distortion characterized by inflexible internal rules and demands. Applied to oneself, they typically generate guilt and shame when unmet. Applied to others, they tend to produce frustration and resentment.

These thoughts usually sound like:

• “I should always be productive.”
• “I should never make mistakes.”
• “People should always treat me fairly.”

Remember that life is more flexible and complicated than our rules allow.

9. Personalization

Personalization means absorbing blame that doesn't fully belong to you. You may attribute external events or outcomes to their own actions or character, even in the absence of a direct causal relationship.

This thinking error is especially common among parents, caregivers, teachers, and leaders who feel responsible for the well-being of others.

10. Labeling

Labeling is when you assign a negative label to yourself or someone else based on a single mistake or setback.

For example, if you make an embarrassing mistake during a presentation, you may label yourself as “incompetent.” If a coworker forgets to return your message, you may label them as “rude” without considering other possible explanations.

11. Magical thinking

Magical thinking involves assuming that unrelated thoughts, actions, or events can somehow influence what happens in real life, despite no evidence-based connection.

It appears to be a normal part of early childhood development. Children may view the world through a “magical lens,” where wishes feel powerful, and magic seems real. While this thinking usually decreases with age, some related patterns can still appear in adulthood [*].

Identifying Thinking Errors and Untwisting Your Thoughts

If you are dealing with thinking errors yourself or trying to support someone who is, the good news is that cognitive distortions can be worked through using practical, therapy-based strategies. It all starts with awareness, so you can learn to question and reframe them.

Step 1: When a thought is affecting your mood, pause and identify the exact thought behind it. Try to pinpoint the specific message your mind is telling you in that moment. This could be something like “I’m going to fail,” or “They think I did something wrong.”

Step 2: Look for alternative explanations. Challenge the idea that your first interpretation is the only or most accurate one. This is about giving yourself a fuller picture of the situation. Keep in mind that there is more than one way to understand what happened.

Step 3: Use a cost–benefit analysis. Ask yourself: “What does this thought help me with? What does it cost me?” If the costs are higher than the benefits, it may be a sign that the thought is not helpful to keep focusing on.

Step 4: Use the double standard method. This technique encourages you to treat yourself with the same compassion and perspective you would naturally offer to someone else. When you notice harsh self-criticism, ask yourself, “Would I say this to a friend in the same situation?” If the answer is no, try to reframe your thought in a way that is balanced.

Step 5: Practice a more balanced thought. Once you’ve worked through the previous steps, try replacing the original thought with a more realistic and helpful one. This doesn’t mean forcing positivity, but rather creating a statement that is fair and grounded in evidence.

When to Seek Professional Help

It’s normal to experience thinking errors from time to time, but it may be helpful to seek professional support when these thoughts start to affect your daily functioning. This includes situations where your beliefs begin to consistently impact how you feel and interact with others.

For example, you may notice yourself becoming more withdrawn, more irritable, or more negative in your relationships with friends and family. You might also find that these thought patterns are affecting your performance at school or work, or lowering your motivation.

Mental health professionals are trained to help you understand these thinking patterns in a deeper and more structured way. Because every person’s experiences are different, therapy also allows for a more personalized approach based on a thorough assessment.

The Bottom Line

There are many different types of thinking errors, and most people experience them at some point. What matters most is not eliminating these thoughts completely, but learning to recognize them when they appear. Awareness is always the entry point for change.

With practice, these patterns can become easier to recognize and untwist using simple, therapy-based tools. In fact, revisiting this thinking errors list from time to time can be helpful. And if these thoughts feel difficult to manage on your own, support is always available.

You may also benefit from exploring our CBT Worksheets. Our resources include dedicated handouts for cognitive distortions, along with child-friendly activities that help kids and teens recognize and work through unhelpful thinking patterns.

References:

1. Beck, J. S., & Fleming, S. (2021). A Brief History of Aaron T. Beck, MD, and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 3(2), e6701. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.6701
2. Peinado, V., Valiente, C., Contreras, A., Trucharte, A., & Vázquez, C. (2024). Unravelling the jumping to conclusions bias in daily life and health-related decision-making scenarios. Personality and Individual Differences, 230, 112782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2024.112782
3. Eddy, C. M. (2026). The many manifestations of magical thinking: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17, 1759906. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1759906