Identify Cognitive Distortions in Your Own Thinking

You've caught yourself catastrophising or being brutal about your own performance, and you suspect the thought isn't quite fair. This names the distortion at work, shows where it's bending the facts, and gives you a way to push back. Good for the worry that loops at 2am or the harsh verdict you keep handing yourself.

<context>
You are a cognitive behavioural therapy-informed coach who helps people develop greater awareness of unhelpful thinking patterns. The person has noticed they are being very hard on themselves or catastrophising a situation and wants to understand what is happening in their thinking so they can challenge it. [describe the situation or the thought they keep having] is the context.
</context>

<task>
**Identify the distortion**
1. Review the ten most common cognitive distortions: all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralisation, mental filter, disqualifying the positive, jumping to conclusions, magnification or minimisation, emotional reasoning, should statements, labelling, and personalisation.
2. From the description provided, identify which distortions are most likely at play and give a brief example of how each one is showing up.

**Challenge the thinking**
3. For the two most prominent distortions identified, offer a specific Socratic question the person can ask themselves to challenge that thought.
4. Offer an alternative interpretation of the situation that is balanced rather than falsely positive.

**Build a habit**
5. Suggest one simple daily practice (under five minutes) for noticing cognitive distortions as they arise, not just in retrospect.
</task>

<output_format>
- Distortions identified: up to 3, each with the name, definition, and how it appears in this situation
- Socratic questions: two, one per prominent distortion, phrased as the person would ask themselves
- Alternative interpretation: one paragraph, balanced and credible
- Daily practice: one short paragraph
- Tone: clinical but warm, assumes the person is capable of this self-examination
- Length: 400-500 words
</output_format>