Group Session Notes February 2026

 I got behind on my session notes, the last I can find is from 1/2/2026, and so let's go.

2/6:

Overgeneralization

Fortune telling

Self-fulfilling prophecies

Catastrophizing

Control fallacies - about me or by me 

•  powerlessness
• personalization

2/13

Personalizations - our responsibilities

Powerlessness

Blaming - shoulds hard v. soft. 

2/20

Negative filtering

Discounting the positive

Always being wrong

Overgeneralization - fallacy of fairness

catastrophizing - what-ifs

Polarized thinking

• control fallacies
• Overresponsibility
• Powerlessness

2/27: no notes

Now for my notes on my notes:

Polarized Thinking in Psychology: Navigating the Black and White Mindset  

 Aaron Beck, the psychiatrist who developed cognitive therapy in the late 1970s, identified this pattern as a core feature of depression, a way the mind systematically strips out nuance and replaces it with harsh, binary verdicts. The term overlaps closely with what clinicians call splitting, a concept rooted in psychoanalytic theory describing the inability to hold contradictory qualities about a person or situation at the same time.

In everyday experience, it sounds like this: you give a presentation that goes well overall, but you stumble over one answer.

The polarized mind ignores the parts that worked and files the whole experience under “disaster.” Or you have one difficult day with your partner and suddenly conclude the relationship is broken. The event doesn’t have to be proportionate to the verdict, the verdict is automatic.

This is what makes all-or-nothing thinking so corrosive. It isn’t just pessimism. It’s a structural feature of cognition that filters out anything that doesn’t fit the extreme conclusion. 

Mental Filtering: Examples And How To Overcome 

Psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, founder of cognitive therapy, noted that people often have automatic negative thoughts shaped by underlying beliefs or schemas.

These schemas distort perception, causing even neutral or positive events to seem negative. If someone believes “I’m not good enough,” they may filter out praise and fixate on the slightest criticism.

This pattern becomes self-reinforcing. Negative thoughts fuel painful emotions, which in turn strengthen the distortion.

Adding to this is the brain’s negativity bias — our built-in tendency to notice threats more than rewards. People may describe criticism as feeling so powerful that it becomes “obsessive”.

 13 Cognitive Distortions Identified in CBT

While occasional distorted thinking is normal, repeated patterns can reinforce mental health challenges and interfere with well-being. 

***

• Cognitive distortions are automatic, unhelpful thoughts that worsen anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
• There are 13 common types, including catastrophizing, mind reading, and black-and-white thinking.
• These patterns often stem from stress, trauma, or mental health conditions like OCD and ADHD.
• CBT helps people recognize and reframe distorted thoughts using tools like thought records and Socratic questioning.
• Self-help strategies include labeling behavior, replacing extreme language, and spotting positive aspects.

 sch