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ArchiveAugust 18, 2026Rookie
Case File · Distortion · No. 031

Daily Casefile · Distortion

The Withered Patch

4 min

Read the monologue below, then identify the cognitive distortion at work — or decide there is none. Select the distortion and the exact phrase that signals it. This is a puzzle, not a diagnosis or advice; the speaker is a fictional, invented person.

The scene

A back garden where a neighbour's shared plot has stopped producing

In the differential

  • Personalisation
  • Should-statements
  • Emotional reasoning
  • Overgeneralisation
  • No distortion — a reasonable reaction

Play today’s Distortion.

This case first aired on August 18, 2026. A fresh distortion runs every morning — same rules, five minutes, one solution.