How Cognitive Distortions Can Depress You

With Special Guest Travis Goodman: https://www.youtube.com/@TravisGoodman

Aaron Beck back in the 1960s in his research working with depressed individuals
Part of his central theory on Depression and later the foundation of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)
“Cognitive distortions or ‘unhelpful thinking styles’ are ways our thoughts can become biased. As conscious beings we are always interpreting the world around us, trying to make sense of what is happening. Sometimes our brains take ‘shortcuts’ and generate results that are not completely accurate.”
Beck had 7 cognitive distortions
DAVID BURNS, MD
Dr David Burns was an early student of Aaron Beck who has done much to popularize CBT. In the 1980’s In his self-help book Feeling Good he compares unhelpful thinking styles to the kinds of illusions performed by magicians “When you are depressed, you possess the remarkable ability to believe, and to get the people around you to believe, things which have no basis in reality”. Importantly, he used language that made cognitive distortions more engaging and understandable.