What are thinking traps?
Let’s start with automatic thoughts
The foundation of CBT is the idea that our thoughts, physical reactions, emotions, and behaviours all influence one another. The main assumption of CBT is that the situations we face in life are not (so much) what cause us distress. Rather it is how we react, respond, and give meaning to these situations that is distressing for us.
(click here for a detailed overview of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)
Automatic thoughts are the thoughts that immediately pop into our heads in response to a situation. For example, let’s say you spill coffee on yourself on the way to work. You might think, “Everyone is going to notice.” That is an automatic thought. You also might think, “I’ve ruined my shirt.” That is also an automatic thought.
Automatic thoughts can be neutral like facts. For example, you notice that it’s 8:19 and you were meant to leave at 8:15, “I might be late” is a neutral, factual thought. They can also assign meaning, either positive or negative, to situations. If you are running late, you might think, “I’m a horrible person for holding everyone up” - a more negative thought about being late. Or you might think, “Thankfully, I’m only a few minutes behind schedule” - a more positive thought.
Often, we have more than one automatic thought at a time. If you spill coffee on yourself on your way to work you may have thoughts about:
Whether you ruined your shirt,
How others will perceive you when you arrive with coffee down the front of your shirt,
What you should have done to prevent the spill/prepare for accidents,
How the spill is going to impact the rest of your day.
Automatic thoughts are constantly occurring, most often running in the background of our minds. In other words, we may not even notice them.
Thinking traps are essentially categories of automatic thoughts
They are ways of thinking that are typically inaccurate or unhelpful. They’re often biased toward negativity and can hold us back from taking risks, achieving goals, and being our best selves.
Let’s look at an example. Imagine you’re about to start a new job and don’t know anyone who works there. You may find yourself thinking, “No one is going to like me.” While it’s possible that some people may not like you, it’s unlikely that no one will. This thought is an example of catastrophizing: imagining the worst possible outcome as the only and most likely outcome. There are many other possibilities:
Maybe everyone will like you.
Maybe some will like you and others will be indifferent.
Or perhaps most people will be indifferent, but you’ll develop a great working relationship with a few colleagues and learn a lot along the way.
When we take a step back and think about it, the possibilities are endless, and while some of them may be scary, others are very exciting!
Thinking traps can cloud our judgment and distort how we see the world, like looking into a funny mirror at the local fair. They convince us there’s only one way to interpret a situation. In cognitive behavioral therapy, one of the goals is to identify our automatic thoughts, sort them into thinking traps (much like the Sorting Hat places wizards into Hogwarts houses), and evaluate whether those thoughts are accurate. The goal isn’t to convince ourselves that our perspective is wrong, but to honor what feels true while recognizing that other perspectives may also exist. By blending our initial automatic thoughts with more balanced viewpoints, we can create interpretations that feel both accurate and validating. Over time and with practice, this process becomes our natural way of responding to challenges in life.
Let’s take a look at each type of thinking trap:
Fortune telling: Believing we can predict how things will turn out, even though we really can’t know the future.
Black-and-white thinking: Also known as all-or-nothing thinking. Here, we see things as extremes - good or bad, success or failure - with no middle ground. But life is usually full of gray areas.
Mind reading: Assuming we know what others think of us and believing they think the worst, even though we can’t actually know their thoughts.
Overgeneralization: Viewing one negative event as a pattern, often using words like always or never.
Labeling: Defining ourselves with a single negative word or phrase. While we may feel a certain way, our entire identity is not defined by one thought.
Overestimating danger: Believing that something unlikely is definitely going to happen, and exaggerating the level of threat.
Filtering: Focusing only on the negative and ignoring the positive - like wearing “poop-tinted glasses.” (I hope you have heard of the saying wearing rose-tinted glasses, otherwise, this will sound very strange!)
Catastrophizing: Imagining that the worst-case scenario will happen and assuming we won’t be able to cope.
Should statements: Insisting that we, others, or the world should or ought to be a certain way, even though reality rarely matches these rigid expectations.
What can I do about it?
Next time you notice yourself experiencing an unhelpful thought, try asking:
Is there another way of looking at this situation?
What evidence supports this thought?
What evidence does not support this thought?
What could I tell myself that would be a more accurate perspective?
Learning to recognize and challenge thinking traps is an important step toward building resilience and self-compassion. By slowing down, questioning our automatic thoughts, and considering alternative perspectives, we create more balanced ways of interpreting our experiences. Over time, this practice not only reduces stress and anxiety but also helps us respond to life’s challenges with greater clarity, confidence, and flexibility.