11 Dysfunctional Beliefs that People Hold

Albert Ellis's "Irrational Beliefs"


1. I believe that it is necessary for me to be loved or approved of by virtually every significant person in my life.

2. I believe that I should always be throughly competent, adequate and achieving in all possible respects in order for me to consider myself worthwhile.

3. People absolutely must act considerately and fairly and they are damnable villains if they do not. They
are their bad acts.

4. It is awful and terrible when things are not the way one would very much like them to be.

5. Emotional disturbance is mainly externally caused and people have little or no ability to increase or decrease their dysfunctional feelings and behaviors.

6. If something is or may be dangerous or fearsome, then one should be constantly and excessively concerned about it and should keep dwelling on the possibility of it occurring.

7. One cannot and must not face life’s responsibilities and difficulties and it is easier to avoid them.

8. One must be quite dependent on others and need them and you cannot mainly run one’s own life.

9. One’s past history is an all-important determiner of one’s present behavior and because something once strongly affected one’s life, it should indefinitely have a similar effect.

10. Other people’s disturbances are horrible and one must feel upset about them.

11. There is invariably a right, precise and perfect solution to human problems and it is awful if this perfect solution is not found.