What Is Cognitive Reframing?

Thanks to our upbringing, cultural conditioning, societal influences, and other factors, we all make sense of our lives, environments, and relationships through a certain, specific lens. Whether we’re aware of them or not, these mental frameworks can impact how we interpret things—for better or for worse. When we or a mental health professional notice that some of our mental frameworks may be causing us distress, cognitive reframing can help us consciously shift them to more helpful alternatives.

Though many don’t realize it, our thoughts often follow certain patterns that help us interpret the world around us. Because these mental frameworks are the lens through which we see virtually everything, it’s easy to understand how they can have a large impact on our behavior. If these patterns are warped or based on false conclusions or beliefs, we might experience maladaptive feelings and behaviors, like increased stress or anger, as well as symptoms of mental health disorders like anxiety or depression. 

That’s where cognitive reframing comes in. It’s the process of shifting your perspective by replacing negative or flawed thought patterns with more realistic and positive ones, which can help improve your mood, mental health, and general well being.

Cognitive distortions are thought patterns that are often flawed or irrational, and are usually damaging or unhelpful. There are over a dozen common cognitive distortions that people may experience, which can be the cause of negative emotions and behaviors. While anyone can experience cognitive distortions, they are especially correlated with certain mental health conditions like depression, social anxiety disorder, and eating disorders. 

Learning to recognize and name these distortions when they come up is the first step to shifting them toward something more helpful through the practice of cognitive reframing. Here are a few of the most common ones.

All-Or-Nothing Thinking

We engage in all-or-nothing thinking when we imagine that there are only two possible outcomes of a situation: incredible or terrible. In reality, few situations in life are all bad or all good, or represent complete success or total failure, even when we’re faced with negative outcomes. There’s typically a lot of nuance in between the two ends of the spectrum, which we can miss out on when employing this cognitive distortion. An example of this distortion would be a student getting a lower grade than they expected on one test and seeing their complete academic career as a failure.  

Overgeneralization

Overgeneralization happens when we take information from one situation and apply it to all similar situations in the future, assuming they’ll go the same way. It can lead us to close ourselves off to new opportunities, because we’ve already decided that they’ll go poorly. An example of this distortion would be a person whose first date didn’t go well assuming that they’re bad at dating, or that there are no good people out there, or that they’ll never find a partner because they're destined to be alone forever. 

Mind-Reading

Mind-reading, which can often be found in those with social anxiety, involves making assumptions about what someone else is thinking—usually negative ones—especially with little or no evidence. It’s a thought pattern that makes us interpret even the smallest signals or cues as something negative toward us. An example of this distortion would be someone feeling like the person they’re at lunch with is bored and wants to leave because they aren’t talking much, when there might be many other explanations—they could simply be trying to be a good listener, tired from work, or any number of other things. 

Mental Filtering

This distortion is all about what you notice most or fixate on in a situation. Some individuals are in a loop of negative counterfactual thinking, preoccupied with past events that they can no longer control. When engaging in negative mental filtering, you might focus on only the bad elements of something and completely disregard the good. This distortion can be unhelpful or even harmful because it gives you a lopsided, unrealistic view of how things really are. An example of this distortion would be forgetting about a work deadline, leading to the belief that you’re bad at your job, you’re a mess, and you always do this. In reality, this negative self talk means you’re ignoring all the positive things you have accomplished: deadlines that you did remember and meet in the past without any trouble, and all the times at work you’ve been praised by your boss and colleagues. 

Cognitive Reframing

Cognitive reframing is the practice of consciously changing the way you view events, memories, people, and situations. Its effectiveness is well-documented; a 2019 study found that using cognitive reframing helped participants manage and reduce negative thoughts.

You can start working on cognitive reframing on your own, though it can be helpful to have a strong support system as you navigate this process. Additionally, a licensed professional, whether a social worker, an adult psychiatrist, or a therapist, like those at BetterHelp, can provide valuable guidance and support. Studies have found that those who practice “self-directed CBT” can experience moderate improvement in their symptoms and overall mental health. It may be a good starting point if you want to learn about the techniques before meeting with a therapist. 

To get started with cognitive reframing, you can become familiar with the key cognitive distortions and how they may manifest. It’s often an important step in learning to recognize when they’re occurring in you. Next, cultivating a mindfulness practice can help you start noticing your thoughts more in general—the positive thoughts as well as the negative ones. If you’re not aware of unhelpful or irrational thoughts, it’s essentially impossible to adjust them. Keeping a thought journal can also help you develop an awareness of these distortions, allowing you to practice noticing when they arise, questioning their validity, and taking steps to reframe them if you deem them to be untrue or unhelpful. It can also help you track which ones are the most pervasive in your mindset, so you know what to focus most on when doing cognitive reframing.

Getting Help With Reframing

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in particular, just like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), is a method of talk therapy that has been proven to be effective in addressing a wide range of mental health disorders. It’s especially helpful for those that can arise from, or be intensified by, negative thought patterns like cognitive distortions. It’s predicated on identifying unhelpful thought patterns that cause unhelpful feelings or behaviors—in other words, it relies on cognitive reframing as a key tenet. 

Often, in an individual therapy setting, a therapist asks questions about common thought patterns you experience and helps you find constructive ways to reframe them. Research suggests that this therapeutic style is also effective when administered to patients virtually. If you’re interested in trying out online therapy, you can get matched with a licensed mental health professional through a platform like BetterHelp. You can meet with them via phone, video call, and/or online chat to address any of the challenges you may be facing. They can help you learn to notice your thoughts, identify distortions or flaws, and practice reframing for better emotional and behavioral outcomes. You can find client reviews of BetterHelp therapists below.

Reviews

"I worked with another counselor for over 6 months before working with Arielle Ballard. In one 30 minute session, I got more accomplished in terms of structuring goals, building coping mechanisms, and recognizing thought patterns, than I had in the 6 months working with the other counselor. I'm pleased with my progress and am very grateful to Arielle."

"I came to Gary through BetterHelp in a time of crisis in my life, experiencing issues and problems I had never faced before. He listened to my story and understood what I was going through. With the advice he provided, he shed light on my situation, and I felt a new lease of life, like the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. I saw everything in a new light, from a new and better perspective, and now I'm on a new path away from my troubles. I haven't looked back, and that's all down to the help Gary provided me. I couldn't recommend him more if you're going through a tough moment in your life, thank you."