CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. According to the American Psychological Association, "CBT assumes that cognitive, emotional, and behavioral variables are functionally interrelated (1)."
Why is it important to learn about CBT?
According to Medical News Today: "Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term therapy technique that can help people find new ways to behave by changing their thought patterns. CBT rests on the assumption that the way people think and interpret life’s events affects how they behave and feel."
Simply put: The way that we think influences the way we feel. The way we feel influences the way we act. And the way we act reinforces the thoughts that we have. This emphasizes how powerful our mind is. The thoughts we hold in our minds can affect and influence our reality.
CBT can help a person make positive changes to how they feel and act. It can also equip people with coping strategies that help them deal with challenges. Research shows that CBT can support people with mental illnesses like depression, panic disorder, and various other health conditions. There is also growing evidence that it can help relieve chronic pain.
What can CBT do?
During a course of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a person can learn the following:
1. develop an awareness of automatic, unhelpful thoughts
2. challenge underlying assumptions that may be unhelpful
3. distinguish between facts and unhelpful thoughts
4. develop a more helpful way of thinking and seeing situations
Psychologists created the first CBT models more than 50 years ago as a Trusted Source to treat depression. There are now models for a wide range of conditions, including the following:
- panic disorder
- post-traumatic stress disorder
- generalized anxiety disorder
- insomnia
- social anxiety
- substance abuse
- addiction personality disorder
- phobias
- eating disorders
The goal of CBT is to change the way we frame our thoughts. Its goal is for one to learn to "recognize one's distortions in thinking that are creating problems and then to reevaluate them in the light of reality" (2).
Someone suffering from anxiety or depression can have thoughts that become a statement of some deeper truth.
These negative or self-limiting thoughts can lead down a path of overthinking. This can trigger physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that can disrupt one's daily activities if not handled properly. What we must remember is that a thought is just a thought. It is not necessarily true or factual and doesn't inherently hold any value beyond what we ascribe to it.
If you are struggling with negative and self-limiting thoughts, feel free to reach out. Our mental health coaches are here to help.
Check out our website for more on CBT and visit our Community Hub which is full of mental health tips, insightful reads, and mindfulness gems!
Sources:
1. American Psychological Association
2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles
If you are struggling with anxiety or your mental health in general, please feel free to reach out to our licensed mental health coaches.
Once you find what treatment works best for you, life should be a lot more enjoyable and a lot less daunting.
