8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Welcome to the 8 day journal to help you learn how to better

identify and process cognitive distortions! Please print out this PDF
and share it with others who you think might find it helpful.

Day 1:​ ​Read the cognitive distortions below. Highlight or circle

the ones that you use most frequently.

1. All or nothing thinking​: things are black and white,

completely without shades of gray. For example you may think, “If I am not perfect, I
should not try at all, because then I would fail completely.” Or you might think, “My
significant other is completely evil.” And then the next day, “My significant other is
perfect.”
2. Overgeneralization​: generalizations from one bad experience are made without
context, experience or evidence. “I am always alone.” Or “Everyone hates me.” “I
never win.” Always? Never? Everyone? It happens absolutely all the time, without
exceptions? In the moment, it can feel like that, but those statements are actually rarely
true. Speaking truth to yourself in this case might look like: I am sometimes alone,
several people are upset at me, I win sometimes, even if I didn’t this time.
3. Mental Filter​: focusing on the negative rather than the whole picture. After receiving
multiple positive statements and one negative statement, all you focus on is the negative
statement.
4. Disqualifying the positive​: When you do something good like get a compliment or
award, you instantly find ways to make less of it! For example, if someone says, “You
are looking good today,” but instantly you assume that person is giving you a false
compliment.
5. Jumping to conclusions ​(without evidence): reaching conclusions (usually negative)
with little evidence.
a. Mind reading​: assuming you know what the person is thinking about you.
Connection occurs from accurately knowing another, and with mindreading you
blind yourself without evidence.
b. Fortune telling​: predicting negative things in the future. For example you think “I
am going to fail this test even if I study,” so you don’t try, don’t study, and don’t
even show up.
6. Magnification or Minimization​: you make some weakness of yours much larger than it
is or a strength much less than it really is. For example you see your friends as beautiful
whereas you see your own beauty as very average.
a. Magnification of self and minimization of others (narcissism)
7. Emotional Reasoning​: believe that your feelings reflect reality. For example, “I feel
stupid, therefore I am.” or “I feel fearful of flying in planes therefore they must be
dangerous,” or “I feel ugly therefore I am ugly despite what others tell me.”
8. Shoulding​: a thing that you believe you should or should not do, often created to try to

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 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

maintain an image of yourself which is more in line with

social pressures. For example, “I should be perfect,” “I
should never cry,” “I should always win,” “I should be able to
do this on the first try.”
9. Personalization​: blaming oneself for a bad event without
looking at external factors that contributed to the bad event.
Attributing personal responsibility to things that you have no
control over, or when you do not see all the things that
caused something. For example, a friend is upset so you
think it is something you caused or are responsible for.
10. Error Messages​: thoughts that are like obsessive compulsive disorder due to having
thoughts that are repetitive, intrusive and not meaningful.

Journal any thoughts that came up for you while doing this:

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Day 2:
Re-read the cognitive distortions from day one. For the ones that
you identified as being the most frequently used cognitive
distortions, pick the top 3 and write them below. Then write out
some common situations and emotions that they occur with.

1. Cognitive Distortion 1:
Common Situations:
Common Emotions:

2. Cognitive Distortion 2:
Common Situations:
Common Emotions:

3. Cognitive Distortion 3:
Common Situations:
Common Emotions:

What are some things you have identified as trends or patterns from doing this exercise?

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Day 3:
Re-read the list of cognitive distortions and think about the last 24
hours and the most distressing situation you had.

Describe the details of the situation:

What emotions came up for you (anger, sadness, envy, disgust, shock, fear, shame…)

What thoughts came up for you that were distressing in the midst of the situation (like I always
mess up, I am always a failure, I can’t do it right ever, ect.)?

Which three cognitive distortions applied to this situation the most, and how did it specifically
apply? (Re-read the cognitive distortions and see which one applies the most to it.)

● Cognitive Distortion 1:

● Cognitive Distortion 2:

● Cognitive Distortion 3:

Were you able to work through and have less distress about the situation after thinking about
how the cognitive distortions applied to them?

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Day 4:

Re-read the list of cognitive distortions and think about the last 24
hours and the most distressing situation you had.

Describe the details of the situation:

What emotions came up for you (anger, sadness, envy, disgust, shock, fear, shame…)

Rate the intensity of each of the emotions (1%-100%, where 100% is the most intense it could
possibly be).

What thoughts came up for you that were distressing in the midst of the situation?

Which 3 cognitive distortions applied to this situation the most and how did it specifically apply?
(Re-read the cognitive distortions and see which one applies the most to it.)

● Cognitive Distortion 1:

● Cognitive Distortion 2:

● Cognitive Distortion 3:

Looking back at the statements, can you now rewrite them more accurately? For example, “I am
always messing up,” could be seen as having cognitive distortions of: black and white thinking,
overgeneralization, and minimizing the positive. The more accurate statement might therefore
be, “I messed up once, but I mostly do it right.”
Try to re-write one statement here:

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Day 5:
Re-read the list of cognitive distortions and think about the last 24
hours and the most distressing situation you had.

Describe the details of the situation:

What emotions came up for you (anger, sadness, envy, disgust,

shock, fear, shame…)

Rate the intensity of each of the emotions (1%-100%, where 100% is the most intense it could
possibly be).

What thoughts came up for you that were distressing in the midst of the situation?

Which 3 cognitive distortions applied to this situation the most and how did it specifically apply?
(Re-read the cognitive distortions and see which one applies the most to it).

● Cognitive Distortion 1:

● Cognitive Distortion 2:

● Cognitive Distortion 3:

Looking back at the statements, can you now rewrite them more accurately? For example, “I am
always messing up,” could be seen as having cognitive distortions of: black and white thinking,
overgeneralization, and minimizing the positive. The more accurate statement might therefore
be, “I messed up once, but mostly do it right.”
Try to re-write one statement here:

Now how would you rate the intensity of the emotions? Have they decreased?

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Day 6:
Re-read the list of cognitive distortions and think about the last 24
hours and the most distressing situation you had.

Describe the details of the situation:

What emotions came up for you (anger, sadness, envy, disgust,

shock, fear, shame…)

Rate the intensity of each of the emotions (1%-100%, where 100% is the most intense it could
possibly be).

What thoughts came up for you that were distressing in the midst of the situation?
1.

2.

Which 3 cognitive distortions applied to this situation the most and how did it specifically apply?
(Re-read the cognitive distortions and see which one applies the most to it.)

● Cognitive Distortion 1:

● Cognitive Distortion 2:

● Cognitive Distortion 3:

Looking back at the statements, can you now rewrite them more accurately?
Try to re-write two of the thoughts here:

What is one thing you can be grateful for today?

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Day 7: ​Sometimes cognitive distortions keep us from being

grateful.
Re-read the list of cognitive distortions and think about the last
couple days and think about one thing that you could have been
grateful for but were not for some reason.

Describe the details of the situation:

What emotions came up for you (anger, sadness, envy, disgust, shock, fear, shame…)

Rate the intensity of each of the emotions (1%-100%, where 100% is the most intense it could
possibly be).

What thoughts came up for you that were distressing in the midst of the situation?
1.

2.

Which 3 cognitive distortions applied to this situation the most and how did it specifically apply?
(Re-read the cognitive distortions and see which one applies the most to it.)

● Cognitive Distortion 1:

● Cognitive Distortion 2:

● Cognitive Distortion 3:

Looking back at the statements, can you now rewrite them more accurately?
Try to re-write two of the thoughts here:

Sometimes cognitive distortions keep us from being grateful. Can you feel the gratitude now that
you worked through the cognitive distortions? Think about how you might act upon this gratitude
(writing a letter, putting in a good review, telling someone how you appreciate them).

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

Day 8:​ Focus on gratitude on an ongoing basis.

Look back on the last 6 days of journal notes and reflect upon what
you have learned, and new ways of seeing the world around you.

What are three things you are grateful for learning, growing,
expanding your understanding of things?

1.

2.

3.

Can you feel any of that gratitude in your body? Where do you feel it?

What emotions came up for you (love, happiness, kindness, curiosity, joy, warmth…)

Rate the intensity of each of the emotions (1%-100%, where 100% is the most intense it could
possibly be).

What thoughts came up for you in the midst of looking back at the last 6 days?
1.

2.

Acting upon gratitude is very important. What are three ways you can act upon this
appreciation?

1.

2.

3.

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder
 8 Day Cognitive Distortion Journal

If this was helpful for you, please let me know! I love hearing about
how people are learning and growing.

Sincerely,

David Puder, M.D.

V002 Copyright: David Puder, 2019, All Rights Reserved. ​Dr@psychiatrypodcast.com​ Instagram: @Dr.DavidPuder