We all have "favorite" lenses—predictable patterns of cognitive refraction that turn neutral reality into emotional pain. These are not character flaws; they are survival strategies that have overstayed their welcome.
The **Distortion Detector** is designed to help you catch your brain in the act of sabotage. By naming the pattern, you strip it of its authority.
Review these common distortions. Which ones feel like your "Default Mode" when you're stressed?
Assuming you know what others are thinking without evidence. Usually, you assume they are thinking something negative about you.
Taking a small event and projecting it into the worst possible future outcome. (e.g., "I forgot to send this email" becomes "I'm going to be homeless.")
Seeing things in extremes. You are either a success or a total failure. They are either perfect or an enemy. There is no middle ground.
Believing that because you feel something, it must be true. "I feel like a fraud, therefore I am a fraud."
Motivating yourself with "shoulds" and "musts," which creates constant guilt and resentment toward yourself and others.
The preceding pages mapped the immediate surface. These next five questions are designed to dig past your immediate defenses and uncover the load-bearing logic of your patterns.
Do not rush them. If a question causes an immediate feeling of resistance, annoyance, or a sudden desire to "skip it"—that is the exact question where your deepest structural weakness lies. Answer clinically and honestly.