The Ten Cognitive Distortions a Stoic Would Learn to Spot
Introduction
Epictetus asked his students to examine every impression before accepting it. Yet examining is easier when you know what to look for. A doctor spots an illness sooner if they know its symptoms; an editor catches an error faster if they know which ones are most common.
Twenty centuries later, cognitive psychology compiled that catalog. Building on Aaron Beck's work in the 1960s and 1970s, and its popularization by psychiatrist David Burns in his book Feeling Good, psychologists described a series of cognitive distortions: habitual thinking errors that warp our perception of events and fuel disproportionate emotions.
You cannot guard a door without knowing what the intruders look like. Cognitive distortions are the mind's most frequent intruders.
This article presents the ten most common distortions, each with an everyday example and the Stoic question that helps dismantle it.
1. Emotional Reasoning
What it is: taking an emotion as proof that something is true. "I feel useless, so I am useless." "I feel scared, so it must be dangerous."
Example: after a job interview, you feel uneasy and conclude that it went poorly, even though you answered the questions well.
Stoic question: what do the facts say, separate from what I feel? Epictetus asked us to distinguish the impression from the thing itself.
2. Catastrophizing
What it is: turning a problem into a catastrophe, or treating the worst possible outcome as the most likely one.
Example: your car makes a strange noise and you immediately picture an unaffordable repair, debt, and having no way to get to work.
Stoic question: is it truly unbearable, or merely unpleasant? Seneca reminded us that we suffer more in imagination than in reality.
3. Overgeneralization
What it is: drawing a sweeping rule from a single event. It usually gives itself away with words like "always," "never," "everything," "nobody."
Example: you get one number wrong in a report and think: "I always mess everything up."
Stoic question: is "always" really true? Search your memory for the times it didn't happen. Marcus Aurelius advised describing things accurately, adding nothing.
4. All-or-Nothing Thinking
What it is: seeing things in extremes, with no middle ground: success or failure, perfection or disaster.
Example: you skip one workout after three weeks of consistency and conclude that "you've ruined the whole thing."
Stoic question: what percentage did I actually complete? The Stoics knew that no one becomes a perfect sage; what counts is progress.
5. Mental Filter
What it is: fixating exclusively on the bad and ignoring everything else.
Example: in your annual review you receive ten positive comments and one area for improvement, and you spend the weekend thinking only about that one.
Stoic question: if I had to defend my case before a fair judge, what evidence would I present in my favor?
6. Disqualifying the Positive
What it is: discounting good things: "they were just being nice," "it was luck," "anyone could have done it."
Example: someone congratulates you on a presentation and you think they are only being polite.
Stoic question: why do I accept negative judgments without examination and scrutinize positive ones under a magnifying glass? Seneca's evening review begins with what went well.
7. Fortune Telling
What it is: treating how something will turn out as a foregone conclusion without having enough information.
Example: "I'm not going to get that job, so why even apply?"
Stoic question: do I know this, or am I assuming it? Seneca advised asking whether the feared evil is certain, whether it is imminent, and whether it is as serious as it appears. Often the only way to find out is to try.
8. Mind Reading
What it is: assuming you know what other people are thinking—almost always something negative about you.
Example: a friend doesn't reply to your message all day and you conclude they are upset with you.
Stoic question: what other explanations are there? Epictetus asked how we can know someone acted wrongly without knowing their motives. Besides, what others think is not up to you.
9. Labeling
What it is: jumping from a specific action to a global label about yourself or someone else: "I'm a failure," "he's selfish."
Example: you forget your sister's birthday and tell yourself: "I'm a terrible sister."
Stoic question: what exactly did I do? Describing the action ("I forgot her birthday") allows you to correct it; the label only weighs you down. And the same goes for others: judging a whole person by a single act is just as unfair as doing it to yourself.
10. "Should" Statements
What it is: rigid rules about how you, other people, or the world ought to be. "I should be able to handle everything." "They should treat me the way I expect." "Life should be fair."
Example: you get frustrated because "by this point I should be earning more money" and compare your salary with your college classmates'.
Stoic question: is this a demand or a preference? Epictetus advised not demanding that things happen as you wish, but wishing them to happen as they do. The blog devotes an entire article to this distortion.
The Three Most Common Distortions When Changing a Habit
Anyone trying to change a habit (eating better, exercising, saving money, quitting smoking) tends to trip over three in particular:
1. All-or-nothing thinking: a slip-up is experienced as total failure. 2. Fortune telling: "I failed before, so I'm going to fail again." 3. Labeling: "I have no willpower."
Spotting them in time can be the difference between getting back on track the next day and giving up.
How to Practice
1. Keep a brief log. When an emotion shakes you, write down the thought that goes with it. 2. Look for the distortion. Check the list: which of the ten shows up? Sometimes there are several. 3. Ask the Stoic question. Write down your answer. 4. Write a more accurate version. Not more optimistic—more accurate. "I got one number wrong; I'll fix it and double-check next time." 5. Rate the emotion before and after, from 0 to 10.
Common Mistakes
- Using the list to judge others. It is a tool for reviewing your own thinking.
- Believing every negative thought is a distortion. Sometimes the facts really are bad. The goal is accuracy, not optimism.
- Arguing with yourself in the middle of a crisis. If the emotion is very intense, calm down first; examination comes afterward.
- Expecting instant results. Thinking habits took years to form and change with practice.
When to Seek Professional Help
If these thoughts are constant, hard to step out of, or accompanied by persistent sadness, intense anxiety, or thoughts of harming yourself, consult a mental health professional. Cognitive behavioral therapy works on these distortions in a structured way. In Chile, in a crisis, the Suicide Prevention Line *4141 provides free 24-hour support.
Conclusion
The Stoics asked us to examine our impressions; psychology gave us a catalog of typical errors that makes the examination easier. Copy the list of ten distortions onto your phone. Over the next seven days, whenever an emotion shakes you, identify which one is showing up and answer the corresponding Stoic question. At the end of the week, count which one repeated the most: that is your go-to distortion, and the first one worth watching.
References
- Epictetus. Enchiridion, 1, 5, 8, and 45.
- Seneca. Letters to Lucilius, 13.
- Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. International Universities Press.
- Burns, D. D. (1980). Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. William Morrow.
- Robertson, D. (2019). How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. St. Martin's Press.
- Vázquez, M. (2019). Invicto: Logra más. Sufre menos. Fitness Revolucionario.