00:00Anxiety doesn't just come from what happens.
00:02It often comes from what the mind says about what happens.
00:06If thoughts regularly jump to danger, failure, or rejection, anxiety grows fast.
00:13Cognitive distortions are thinking traps.
00:15They're common mental shortcuts that bend reality in a scary direction.
00:20They're not character flaws.
00:22They're habits the brain uses under stress, and they can be changed.
00:26Here are five distortions that often show up with anxiety.
00:31Catastrophizing.
00:32A small problem becomes a disaster.
00:35Example.
00:36If I mess up this meeting, my job is over.
00:39Mind reading.
00:40Assuming others are judging without checking.
00:43Example.
00:45They didn't text back.
00:46They must be mad.
00:48All or nothing thinking.
00:49It's perfect or it's terrible.
00:51Example.
00:52If I'm not great at this, I'm a failure.
00:56Overgeneralizing.
00:57One rough moment becomes a permanent pattern.
01:00Example.
01:01This always happens to me.
01:03Emotional reasoning.
01:04Treating feelings like facts.
01:07Example.
01:08I feel unsafe, so it must be unsafe.
01:11These thoughts feel true because anxiety pushes the brain towards certainty.
01:15It inflates danger, shrinks confidence, and erases neutral explanations.
01:20Then the body reacts, and those body symptoms can feel like proof.
01:38Try this quick method when anxiety spikes.
01:41Step 1.
01:43Catch the thought.
01:44Write the exact sentence your mind is saying.
01:47Step 2.
01:48Name the trap.
01:50Catastrophizing.
01:51Mind reading.
01:52Step 3.
01:54Ask for evidence.
01:55What supports it and what doesn't.
01:57Step 4.
01:59Build a more accurate thought.
02:00Not positive, just accurate.
02:03Step 5.
02:04Take one small action.
02:06Anxiety shrinks when actions prove coping is possible.
02:10Thinking traps don't mean anything is wrong with a person.
02:13They mean the brain is trying to protect, but it's overdoing it.
02:17With practice, thoughts can become more balanced, and anxiety can ease.
02:22River North Counseling Group, LLC 405 North Wabash Avenue, Suite 3209, Chicago, Illinois, 60611, Office 312-467-0000, RiverNorthCounseling.com.
02:37River North Counseling Group, LLC 405 North Wabash Avenue, Suite 3209, Chicago, Illinois, 60611, Office 312-467-0000, RiverNorthCounseling.com.
02:51River North Counseling Group, LLC 405-467-0000, RiverNorthCounseling.com.
02:51River North Counseling Group, LLC 405-467-0000, RiverNorthCounseling.com.
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