These cognitive distortions can skew one’s understanding of the severity of their addiction, the consequences of their actions, and the potential for recovery. Substance use treatment counseling can be a safe space for individuals to explore their cognitive distortions and develop effective strategies to overcome them. With the guidance of a trained counselor, individuals can gain insight into their thinking patterns and learn practical techniques to challenge and reframe distorted thoughts. Emotional reasoning is a thinking pattern that tells addicts that their emotions are their voice of reason. This cognitive distortion is how addicts convince themselves they need drugs or alcohol to function and live. Leading with your emotions is almost always problematic and harmful to the individual and those involved, especially if one is actively using.
Control the Mind
But with persistence, you can become fluent in the language of balanced, healthy thinking. Enter Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the superhero of the therapy world when it comes to tackling thinking errors. CBT is like a mental workout routine, training your brain to recognize and challenge irrational thoughts. It’s all about replacing those distorted thoughts with more balanced, realistic ones.
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The second major must is that “others must treat me with respect and consideration at all times, or they’re no good” puts impossible conditions on those around you. The Third Major Must Life should give me everything I want, nothing I don’t, be easily enjoyable and hassle-free or my situation is terrible and I cannot be happy. There are common ways of thinking that can create upsets and cause you to act in ways that provide you with little to no benefits. Join our FREE newsletter to learn about Addiction Prevention, Education, and Counseling. All research on the Coastal Detox website, including images, texts, and graphics, is strictly for informational purposes. Please do not ignore information from your doctor because of something you saw on the Coastal Detox website.
Re-asserting control of ourselves requires the right recovery skills, combined with a considerable effort to steer our minds in a more positive and constructive direction. Regular use and high-risk use are distinct from one another because high-risk use is characterized by continued substance use despite negative consequences. A hallmark of high-risk usage is the noticeable negative behavioral changes that occur as substance use becomes more frequent. Common negative behaviors include public intoxication, stealing or borrowing to fund substance use and neglecting essential responsibilities.
Traditional explanations refer to the chemical hooks that are delivered by drugs such as alcohol and nicotine, and these are both real and significant. When a substance use disorder and one or more co-occurring psychiatric disorders are present at the same time, this is referred to as having a dual diagnosis. At this stage, the addiction is at an all-time high with evident effects. Substance-induced overdoses are common at this stage if treatment is neglected. This thinking error example involves making assumptions without sufficient evidence. You might quickly conclude that your recovery efforts are pointless or that others are judging you harshly.
Distorted Reality
The brain has a remarkable capacity for regrowth and recovery, and sobriety will revert these changes if you give it a chance. In an unaddicted brain, the dopamine reward pathway encourages people to socialize, eat great food, and pursue hobbies or activities they find enjoyable. If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, click here for your free benefits review, or call us at1-866-UTAH-HOPE. Telling the Future (also known as Fortune Telling) is where you anticipate situations will turn out badly and convinced that your prediction is accurate.
Each one of us has our strengths and weaknesses, and none of us can accurately be defined by our worst act. Labelling other people can get in the way of the human connection we may be able to develop with them, and labelling ourselves can end up limiting what we believe we are capable of. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of Sober Recovery’s “Terms of Use”, “Privacy Policy”, “Cookie Policy”, and “Health Disclaimer”. The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided https://appsychology.com/living-in-a-sober-house/ by a qualified health care provider.
- These thinking errors can be particularly insidious in the context of addiction, often working in tandem to create a mental environment that sustains substance use.
- Be creative – once you that establish you are engaging in all-or-nothing thinking, try to come up with at least two gray-area statements.
- As we wrap up our exploration of thinking errors in addiction, let’s take a moment to recap.
- A commonly seen cognitive distortion is the tendency to flatten outcomes into simple black and white.
- Awareness is the first step toward change, and understanding the nature of thinking errors can demystify the recovery process.
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By combining this philosophy with a set of practical recovery skills to keep positive thoughts in circulation, addiction recovery becomes a much more manageable goal. As we wrap up our exploration of thinking errors in addiction, let’s take a moment to recap. We’ve unmasked the usual suspects – all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, mental filtering, discounting the positive, and jumping to conclusions. We’ve seen how these cognitive distortions can fuel addiction, acting as invisible chains that keep us bound to harmful behaviors. Therapy, particularly cognitive-behavioral therapy, is valuable for overcoming cognitive distortions. Through cognitive restructuring and the guidance of a trained drug counselor, individuals can challenge and replace distorted thoughts with more positive and accurate ones.
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When playing the victim, you get to feel pity for yourself and project the reason for your actions on someone else. The payoff could be that others might feel sorry for you temporarily, but a long term pattern of this thinking error will ultimately damage relationships as nothing is ever your fault. “I need a drink to relax after work” or “Using helps me be more creative” are common refrains born from these distortions. Overgeneralization can lead to the belief that one’s addiction defines all their relationships. This distortion can alienate individuals from supportive friends and family who genuinely care about their well-being.
Demanding that you do well 100% of the time leads to frustration, and the avoidance in taking healthy risks. The Second Major Must Others must treat me with respect and consideration at all times, or they are damnable people and should be punished. To learn more about how to start your healing journey at Impact Recovery, get in Living in a Sober House: Fundamental Rules touch with a member of our team here.
The one most suited for someone depends on factors such as the severity of the addiction and if co-occurring disorders are present. Co-occurring disorders are those that exist along with addiction, such as anxiety or mood disorders. Overgeneralizing, or the thinking that leads you to making sweeping over-generalizations about yourself, others or life based on a small amount of evidence, usually a single event. After practicing tip #3, replace the negative label with three or four positive affirmations.
You might say, “That doesn’t count, anyone could do that,” even when you’ve made significant progress. And of course, there’s always addiction support groups who are ready to help people achieve recovery. Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and SMART Recovery are all great ways to find support and learn new ways to overcome addictive thought patterns. Train yourself to do anything other than acting on the initial impulse caused by addictive thinking patterns, and eventually they’ll lose their power. When engaging in victimhood it’s the belief that you are not responsible for your actions thereby making others responsible for your behavior. This is different than minimizing in that with minimizing you may acknowledge that you have some personal responsibility but do not own up fully to your part.
Magnification involves blowing problems out of proportion, while minimization downplays your achievements. Addiction has set hooks into your brain which creates these addictive thought patterns, and you can break free if you start the path to sobriety. Addiction can change the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we behave as well. Thinking errors affect recovery because our thoughts influence our feelings and behavior. For example, if you think you are working hard at work, you might feel confident and proud of your accomplishments and work harder to impress your superiors.
- “I know she thinks I am still using,” or, “I know that my boyfriend is going to break up with me,” are examples of this cognitive distortion.
- Nobody wants to admit they have a problem or are struggling with anything, especially drugs or alcohol.
- Substance abuse is a pattern of compulsive drug use and dependency frequently accompanied by significant negative effects that can cause physical and emotional harm.
- Picture them as mischievous imps, scampering through your mind, distorting reality and clouding judgment.
- Whether you’re in addiction recovery or not, you may recognize some negative thought patterns on this list of cognitive distortions.
It’s likely that you want to do well and win the approval of significant people in your life. You likely prefer to be treated with respect and consideration by others (and who doesn’t?). Once you are aware of what constitutes unhelpful thinking, it becomes easier to recognize when these thoughts occur and work to change your thinking. Angie Carter, CRADC, SAP is a certified reciprocal alcohol and drug counselor and DOT certified Substance Abuse Professional. Angie sees local clients in the office and is also available for telephone coaching and/or consultation. Click here to contact Angie with appointment requests, questions, or feedback.
By predicting a negative outcome subconsciously you’ll find ways to make that outcome happen therefore proving that your predictions are accurate. This is where you make negative assumptions or conclusions about something or someone without investigating the facts about a particular situation. They’ll have you believing that “It’s not that bad” or “I can handle it,” even as the negative impacts of addiction pile up around you. First up, these distorted thoughts are masters at reinforcing negative self-image. This all-or-nothing thinking assumes that if immediate success isn’t achieved, long-term success is impossible. It undermines the value of persistence and gradual progress in recovery.