The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure

by Jonathan Haidt

Look at the categories of distorted automatic thoughts below, and ask yourself: Is this thought a cognitive distortion? Write down the cognitive distortions you notice. (For example, looking at the automatic thoughts in number 3 above, you might write, “personalizing, overgeneralizing, labeling, and catastrophizing.”) Look at the evidence for and against your thought. Ask yourself what someone might say who disagreed with you. Is there any merit in that opinion? Consider again what happened, and reevaluate the situation without the cognitive distortions. Write down your new thoughts and feelings. (For example, “I am sad and disappointed that a date I was excited about got canceled.”) Write down again, using the same scale as before, how anxious, depressed, or otherwise distressed you feel. Chances are the number will be lower—perhaps a lot lower.