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I’ve been in therapy for anxiety for about a year, and lately my therapist keeps gently pointing out that my thought patterns might fit something called cognitive distortions. I recognize some of them, like catastrophizing, but I’m not sure if I’m actually identifying them correctly in the moment or just labeling my normal worries after the fact.

I hear you. After a year of therapy I still catch myself thinking that my mind is doing cognitive distortions rather than just having a bad day. I try to pause when the thought spikes, name it as a worry, and then look for a piece of real evidence for and against. It helps a little but I still miss the moment a lot.

I wonder if the bigger thing is the anxiety coloring the whole scene. When the alarm is loud, a small setback feels like a catastrophe, even if the actual odds aren’t. Maybe the labeling comes from the anxiety, not from a clear truth.

I started keeping a tiny notebook in my bag and wrote down one thought and one counterexample when I felt wound up. It felt clumsy and I forgot it sometimes, but it did force me to look at the data instead of just the story for a minute.

Do you feel like you're labeling after the fact or in the moment?

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