CBT: What is it and is it Right for Me?

It’s Tuesday morning and you are waiting for a call from the woman you met at this month’s networking event. An hour before, you get an email “sorry to do this last minute, can we push this to another day?”. Another barrier, another setback, another day with no progress. “I am never going to get a new job if I can’t even network!”. Your sense of anxiety reignites, your hopelessness grabs hold and adds this experience to the pile of disappointments and rejections that have been building up. “I am not good enough for this anyways”, “I shouldn't expect this call to have been any different from the rest”.

Sound familiar? This situation and so many others like it, happen on a daily basis to us all. What was in reality a minor setback became a major leap to the conclusion that this person was “never going to get a job.”  We don’t usually recognize the leap we have made and continue to leap and jump until we finally notice that we can’t seem to find relief from our negative emotions. 

Agenda

This blog post explores how to identify those cognitive distortions and discusses alternatives to managing our stress, anxiety, and lack of control through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

First Things First

Let’s keep things realistic. Our minds can take us down all different paths, often leading to worst-case scenarios and through many different what-ifs. It is ok if you find yourself in this position. Like we mentioned above, you are not alone in engaging in these thoughts!

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

So, how do we better manage this and keep ourselves from spiraling? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is a treatment that can help. The greatest part about CBT is that the tools you learn are meant to be used outside of the therapy room and help you manage challenging situations in your daily life. 

CBT skills can be relied upon in the vast majority of situations life throws at us and are intended to be used through the various stages of your life. Unlike some other forms of therapy, with CBT, patients take an active role in their treatment to set and accomplish their goals. If you want to feel empowered and are looking to add tools and skills to your toolbox, read on to learn more. 

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an evidence-based practice based on the notion that our thoughts are interpretations of situations and these thoughts influence our emotions and our behaviors. 

The pattern between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors is a cycle. Our automatic thoughts are often productive, healthy and in harmony with the way we like to function in everyday life. However, there are automatic thoughts that prove to be more harmful and unproductive. These thoughts may be influenced by various cognitive distortions, which create inaccurate thoughts that reinforce negative thoughts or emotions.

Cognitive Distortions

There are many cognitive distortions that we may have picked up over time and use without realizing it. Some include all or nothing thinking, negating the positives and focusing on the negatives and mind-reading- when you assume you know what someone else is thinking. When engaging in CBT we begin to look at our thoughts to identify if they are helping us or actually harming us. 

If you are thinking- how do I know if a thought is helpful or harmful? Again you are not alone! It is hard to identify our thoughts and whether they are helpful or harmful because sometimes our thoughts can be both. 

For instance, some thoughts may help you stay organized, help you push your career forward, keep you in shape, and even keep you safe from putting yourself in harmful situations. It is no wonder you hold onto these thoughts tightly. 

However, if you notice that some thoughts that are helpful are the same ones that cause you distress, cause tension in your relationships or create issues for you at work or in your life, these may be harmful patterns that need some adjustment. 

Maladaptive thinking patterns can cause emotions like anxiety, hopelessness, and depression. They can also lead us to engage in behaviors that attempt to quickly alleviate these feelings but actually cause more harm and distress over time. 

If left unaddressed, these negative cycles get stronger and stronger and it is harder to find relief. But, what if there was a way to reframe these thoughts and cycles and get rid of the negative but keep the positive?

Reframing

CBT can be used to understand if in fact you are experiencing harmful cycles of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and work towards replacing them with a healthy alternative. 

When building new productive patterns, we challenge our existing thoughts and distortions through active exercises done both in and outside of the therapy room. Each client is provided with tangible skill-building exercises that helps them achieve their goals and take an active approach to managing their mental health. 

Is this Treatment Right for You?

CBT can be used to treat a wide range of issues including but not limited to anxiety, depression, OCD, panic disorders and perinatal mood disorders. I highly recommend learning CBT skills with a trained therapist that can address your individual needs. 

If you are faced with overwhelming thoughts and feelings, I hope that learning more about CBT has been helpful and sparked an interest in understanding the ways therapy can fit your needs.