All-Or-Nothing Thinking

All-or-nothing thinking—also known as black-and-white or dichotomous thinking—is a common cognitive distortion where experiences are viewed in extremes: success or failure, good or bad, perfect or worthless.

Cognitive distortions are exaggerated patterns of thought that are not based on facts and can result in people viewing things more negatively than they really are.

Anxiety doesn’t just affect how you feel – it can also skew how you perceive others’ feelings. This happens due to cognitive biases, hypervigilance to threat, and our mind’s tendency to jump to worst-case interpretations.