Intrusive Thoughts vs. Cognitive Distortions

By Kevin Lahey, Master Level Clinical Intern

In the world of therapy, there is a wide array of terms that get thrown around and we, as therapists, aren’t always the best at explaining what these terms really mean. That’s a topic for another time but just know that your therapists are people who can change and grow too! Getting back to the topic at hand, the goal of this blog post is to hopefully clear things up a little, at least in relation to intrusive thoughts and cognitive distortions.

Let’s start with the idea of intrusive thoughts. Put simply, an intrusive thought is an unwanted thought that pops into our heads and makes us feel bad or upset. These thoughts can be many different things, from thoughts of hurting another person, thoughts of a loved one passing away, or even safety concerns and self-doubts. Something I feel is important to point out is my usage of the word “our” at the start of the paragraph. Intrusive thoughts are something that everyone experiences. Sure, they look different from person to person, but we all get them. Intrusive thoughts, because of their upsetting or distressing nature, often lead to us feeling alone or like there’s something wrong with us, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Your intrusive thoughts don’t make you a bad or broken person, they just make you a person.

Next, let’s look at cognitive distortions. There’s a lot to be said and explained about the term, but to put things simply, cognitive distortions are thought processes that often impact how we view ourselves and others. Some examples of cognitive distortions include:

• Overgeneralization – looking at isolated cases and applying them to our lives as a whole (“always”, “never”, “everyone”).
• Emotional reasoning – viewing our emotions as reality and letting them dictate how we respond to the world around us.
• Dichotomous thinking – “Black and white” or “all or nothing” thinking that prevents us from viewing things on a spectrum, instead viewing things at both extreme ends.

Obviously, there are many more cognitive distortions that could be talked about, but this is a blog post and (thankfully) not a research paper.

There was a lot of information thrown at you in this post, so I want to end this by saying that if after reading, you recognize that intrusive thoughts or cognitive distortions are negatively impacting your life, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to work with you through anything and get you to a happier place in life.

Want support in differentiating your thoughts? We’re here for you! 

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