Cognitive Distortions Test | Fixmd.io

Cognitive Distortions Test

Detect thinking bugs: all-or-nothing, catastrophizing, and more. CBT-based.

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Find Your Thinking Bugs

20 items covering 10 common CBT cognitive distortions. Rate how often each thinking pattern occurred in the past week.

1. Seeing things in extreme categories with no middle ground. One mistake = total failure.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

2. Your world is absolute—black or white, no gray area.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

3. Viewing a single negative event as a never-ending pattern. One rejection = always rejected.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

4. You believe bad things never end, or treat one failure as permanent—"I always mess up!"

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

5. Focusing only on negative details while ignoring positive aspects.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

6. You only see the negative side of things and completely ignore the positive.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

7. Dismissing accomplishments as luck or unimportant. Achievements never count.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

8. You insist your achievements or good qualities don't matter.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

9. Mind-reading: assuming everyone judges you negatively.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

10. Fortune-telling: you assume everything will end badly. Jumping to negative conclusions without evidence.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

11. Blowing things out of proportion or shrinking their importance unrealistically.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

12. You either blow one thing way out of proportion or shrink its importance to nothing.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

13. Assuming emotions reflect reality. "I feel guilty, so I must be bad."

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

14. Your reasoning comes from feelings: "I feel like a fool, so I must be one."

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

15. Using "should," "must," "ought to" — leading to self-criticism and guilt.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

16. You constantly tell yourself what you should, must, or have to do.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

17. Describing yourself or others with negative labels ("I'm a loser") instead of specific mistakes.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

18. When things go wrong, you call yourself "a fool" or "a loser" instead of admitting you made a mistake.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

19. Self-blame: when problems arise, you blame yourself whether or not it's your fault.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

20. Other-blame: when problems arise, you ignore your own role and keep blaming others. You look for who's at fault instead of solving the problem.

Scale: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Almost always

What Are Cognitive Distortions?

Cognitive distortions are automatic, often distorted thinking patterns central to CBT. They're like bugs in your mind: they may not crash the system, but they quietly affect emotions and decisions. Identifying them is the first step to fixing them.

10 Common Cognitive Distortions

Below are David Burns' 10 cognitive distortions. This test assesses your tendency for each:

Type	Description
All-or-Nothing Thinking (AON)	Your world is absolute—black or white, no gray area.
Overgeneralization (OG)	You believe bad things never end, or treat one failure as permanent—"I always mess up!"
Mental Filter (MF)	You only see the negative side of things and completely ignore the positive.
Discounting the Positive (DP)	You insist your achievements or good qualities don't matter.
Jumping to Conclusions	Mind-reading: assuming everyone judges you negatively. Fortune-telling: assuming everything will end badly. Jumping to negative conclusions without evidence.
Magnification and Minimization (MAG/MIN)	You either blow one thing way out of proportion or shrink its importance to nothing.
Emotional Reasoning (ER)	Your reasoning comes from feelings: "I feel like a fool, so I must be one."
"Should" Statements (SH)	You constantly tell yourself what you should, must, or have to do.
Labeling (LAB)	When things go wrong, you call yourself "a fool" or "a loser" instead of admitting you made a mistake.
Blame (SB/OB)	Self-blame: you blame yourself whether or not it's your fault. Other-blame: you ignore your own role and keep blaming others. You look for who's at fault instead of solving the problem.

How It Helps

The test shows your scores across all 10 distortions. AI will interpret your top 2–3 and offer actionable cognitive reframing tips.

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Medical Disclaimer The content provided by Fixmd.io is for informational and practice purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in a mental health crisis, please seek professional help immediately.