Opinion
Some of the distortions described by Peter Grinspoon, MD, may hit close to home for some animal health pros. As you read his assertions, consider something as simple as prejudging an animal owner’s ability to pay, a topic we’ve hashed over for decades.
Grinspoon says cognitive distortions are internal mental filters or biases that increase our misery, fuel our anxiety and make us feel bad about ourselves. To deal with having to continually process lots of information, our brains seek shortcuts to cut down our mental burden. A big part of dismantling our cognitive distortions is simply being aware of them and paying attention to how we are framing things to ourselves.
The author shares unhelpful cognitive distortions some will recognize. Here are samples:
- Black-and-white (or all-or-nothing) thinking
- Should-ing and must-ing
- Jumping to conclusions (or mind-reading)
- Disqualifying the positive
Source: Harvard Health Publishing, May 4, 2022. Link.
Sometimes our brains’ shortcuts are helpful, yet in other circumstances they can cause more harm than good, such as with unhelpful cognitive filters.” – Peter Grinspoon, MD