What are cognitive distortions?

Cognitive distortions are like when your brain tells you a story that’s not quite true, kind of like when you think your favorite toy is missing, but it's actually just hiding under the couch.

Imagine you're playing with your blocks and you drop one. Your brain might say, “Oh no! I’ll never build my tower again!” But that’s not really true, you can still build a new tower. That’s a cognitive distortion called overgeneralizing, where one bad thing makes you think everything is bad.

Sometimes, your brain tells stories that are too loud or too quiet. Like when you spill juice on your shirt and say, “I’m the worst kid ever!” That’s like turning a small mess into a big disaster, it's called catastrophizing.

Other times, your brain might think everyone is watching you, just like when you're wearing mismatched socks and suddenly believe all your friends notice. That’s mind reading, where your brain assumes others know what you’re thinking without you saying anything.

Your brain is like a storyteller, sometimes it tells great stories, but sometimes it adds extra drama or skips the details. And that's totally normal!