CD-Quest

Dichotomous thinking also called all-or-nothing, black-and-white, or polarized thinking: I view a situation, a person, or an event in "either- or" terms, fitting them into only two extreme categories instead of on a continuum.

EXAMPLES: "I made a mistake; therefore my performance was a failure." "I ate more than I planned, so I blew my diet completely."

Intensity

Also called fortune telling: I predict the future in negative terms and believe that what will happen will be so awful that I will not be able to stand it.

EXAMPLES: "I will fail and this will be unbearable." "I'll be so upset that I won't be able to concentrate for the exam."

Intensity

I disqualify positive experiences or events, insisting that they do not count.

EXAMPLES: "I passed the exam, but I was just lucky." "Going to college is not a big deal, anyone can do it."

I believe my emotions reflect reality and let them guide my attitudes and judgments.

EXAMPLES: "I feel she loves me, so it must be true." "I am terrified of airplanes, so flying must be dangerous." "My feelings tell me I should not believe him."

Intensity

I put a fixed, global label, usually negative, on myself or others.

EXAMPLES: "I'm a loser." "He's a rotten person." "She's a complete jerk."

Intensity

I evaluate myself, others, and situations placing greater importance on the negatives and/or placing much less importance on the positives.

EXAMPLES: "I got a B. This proves how bad my performance was." "I got an A. It means the test was too easy."

Also called mental filter and tunnel vision: I pay attention to one or a few details and fail to see the whole picture.

EXAMPLES: "Michael pointed out an error in my work. So, I can be fired" (not considering Michael's overall positive feedback). "I can't forget that a small piece of information I gave during my presentation was wrong" (not consider- ing its success and the audience great applause).

I believe that I know the thoughts or intentions of others (or that they know my thoughts or intentions) without having sufficient evidence.

EXAMPLES: "He's thinking that I failed." "She thought I didn't know the project." "He knows I do not like to be touched this way."

I take isolated negative cases and generalize them, transforming them in a never-ending pattern, by repeatedly using words such as "always", "never", "ever", "whole", "entire", etc.

EXAMPLES: "It was raining this morning, which means it will rain during the whole weekend." "What a bad luck! I missed the plane, so this will interfere in my entire vacation." "My headache will never stop."

I assume that others' behaviors and externalevents concern (or are directed to) myself without considering other plausible explanations.

EXAMPLES: "I thought I was disrespected because the cashier did not say thank you to me" (not considering that the cashier did not say thank you to anyone). "My husband left me because I was a bad wife" (not considering that she was his fourth wife).

Also "musts", "oughts", "have tos": I tell myself that events, people's behaviors, and my own attitudes "should" be the way I expected them to be and not as they really are.

EXAMPLES: "I should have been a better mother." "He should have married Ann instead of Mary". "I shouldn't have made so many mistakes."

Intensity

Also called arbitrary inference:I draw conclusions (negative or positive) from little or no confirmatory evidence.

EXAMPLES: "As soon as I saw him I knew he would do a lousy work." "He looked at me in a way that I immediately knew he was responsible for the accident."

Others or oneself: I direct my attention to others as sources of my negative feelings and experiences, failing to consider my own responsibility; or, conversely, I take responsibility for others' behaviors and attitudes.

EXAMPLES: "My parents are the only to blame for my unhappiness." "It is my fault that my son married a selfish and uncaring person."

I keep asking myself questions such as "what if something happens?"

EXAMPLES: "What if my car crashes?" "What if I have a heart attack?" "What if my husband leaves me?"

Intensity

I compare myself with others who seem to do better than I do and place myself in a disadvantageous position.

EXAMPLES: “My father always preferred my elder brother because he is much smarter than I am." "I can't stand she is more successful than I am."