Do you often have thoughts like, “I shouldn’t be eating this,“ or “I ate too much today, I need to eat less tomorrow.”? If so, you most likely have mentally restricted before. Mental restriction is exactly what it sounds like - putting limitations or shame around food you are eating in hopes to eat less.
So, first thing’s first… what are cognitive distortions? Cognitive distortions, a term first coined by David Burns in his 1981 book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, are negative ways of thinking that are inaccurate, misinformed, and designed to increase negative feelings about ourselves, others, and the world around us. Basically, cognitive distortions are up to no good and can contribute greatly to the development of (and worsening of) eating disorders.
