CBT techniques to help your mindset
4 ESSENTIAL CBT TECHNIQUES
PROVEN STRATEGIES TO TRANSFORM YOUR MINDSET TODAY
Mental health is an essential part of overall health. Your mindset affects not only your mood but even physical attributes like blood pressure, heart rate and gastrointestinal functioning. Mental health may be the single best predictor of a happy, fulfilled life, yet not all of us are born with healthy coping skills and emotional literacy. Whether you have a mental health disorder or just want to add more tools to your life skills toolbox, CBT techniques can help.
WHAT IS COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY?
Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the relationship between thoughts and behaviors. It began taking shape in the 1940s thanks to the contributions of several psychologists and is globally recognized today as an effective strategy for treating mental disorders and for overall self-improvement. CBT strategies are often used to treat conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD and addiction.
At its core, CBT is based on the belief that we control how we perceive and react to events. That’s what CBT techniques are all about. If take coaching session with me I can teach you more about Cognitive behavioural therapy. ‘ people are not disturbed by events but by the view they hold about them.’ This principle is at the heart of nearly all emotional and behavioral change. It can be challenging because you may believe that it’s what has happened to you that makes you feel how you feel and do what you do in the here and now. I hope that by questioning this you will learn what you are currently believing may be stopping you from empowering yourself to move forward with your life.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY TECHNIQUES
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a wide field with many different subsets. All CBT techniques have a few things in common: they are solution-oriented and involve taking action and responsibility for your own emotions and behavior. Your feelings are caused by events, situations or other people. Think of a past event that you think made you feel and do something. By this logic the only way you can change your feelings now is to wish the event had not happened for example I was sexually assaulted it affected my mental state until I see it in a different light my behaviour changes. Maybe you believing that the past, or situation or person causes our feelings today, means that no one would ever be able to move forward or to change their perspective. Or have hope of ever changing anything. Imagine what it would feel like to be rejected and it felt hurtful every time.
Rejection = hurt
As example, when you experience rejection you might feel hurt. However, if you believe that your feelings are caused by others, you may believe that being rejected by someone is the cause of your hurt feelings. But, in fact different people may feel differently about the experience. Why do different people feel differently? Let’s think of what we do and assume that situation or people make us feel and behave as we do.
Someone criticised you = you start avoiding them.
This behaviour is not healthy.
You are largely responsible for the way you feel and behave. The way you think about something affects how you feel and how you behave.
PRACTICING MINDFULNESS
Many CBT strategies are related to mindfulness. One of the most common cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Re-framing negative thought patterns. This involves identifying your limiting beliefs – the negative thoughts you hold about yourself – and replacing them with empowering beliefs. Learning how to recognize and stop negative thoughts before they’re able to affect your behavior is one of the top goals of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Other CBT techniques for mindfulness include relaxed breathing: Breathe in for 5 seconds, hold it for 20 seconds and then exhale for 10 seconds. Do this 10 times, focusing on each breath. You’ll feel relaxed and energized. Priming is another powerful addition to your daily routine – Tony himself starts every day with 10 minutes of priming.
There are many more ways to relax, from meditation to whatever works for you and you could transform your life.
SCHEDULING ACTIVITIES
For those who are depressed or anxious, it can seem like a herculean effort just to get out of bed or leave the house. Scheduling activities, also called behavioral activation, is one of the most beneficial CBT techniques for such people. But those who are able to get to work and go about their lives can still benefit from scheduling activities, because the key is to do things that are good for you.
Everyone knows the benefits of exercise– more energy, longer life, better mood and more. But not everyone does it. Finding exercise you enjoy and penciling it into your busy schedule is essential to a happy life. When you do that, you’re using the CBT technique of scheduling activities. Actions like volunteering, gardening, having dinner with a friend and even cleaning your house count. So get out there and use your time for something positive.
SETTING ACHIEVABLE GOALS
This cognitive behavioral therapy technique is also known by its clinical name, successive approximation. It means taking large tasks that seem overwhelming and breaking them down into smaller steps. Every successive step gets you closer to achieving the larger goal, and you gain confidence as you complete the more achievable tasks.
The concepts of SMART goals and chunking are closely related to successive approximation. Setting SMART goals is the process of taking a big objective and creating action items that are specific, measurable and achievable, among other requirements.Chunking is a time management method that can help you reach those goals by breaking down your day into manageable blocks of time. Combined, these two techniques provide powerful ways to achieve all you want in life.
EXPOSURE TO FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCES
This CBT technique is used for several different disorders in different ways. To treat panic and anxiety, the person is purposely exposed to something that triggers them. Treating OCD involves exposure to the event or feeling that causes the compulsive behavior. It’s even used to recall and stop nightmares. The exposure will start small and then build up as the person realizes that nothing bad happens to them.
Exposure is one of the best CBT techniques you can incorporate into your everyday life. Stimulate personal growth by exposing yourself to situations and events that make you nervous: public speaking, for example, or a party where you don’t know anyone. If you’re not growing, you’re dying – and exposure is the ultimate strategy for growth.
The more you say affirmations that work for you and start to believe the affirmation your behaviour will start to change more as time goes on.
If you struggle with depression I highly recommend using cbt to help yourself. Watch this video 👇
Depression
Cognitive symptoms are the changes in thinking that go along with low mood. Low mood can cause a person to think in a negative way, and to focus on the worst side of things. Some common depressed cognitions (thoughts) include:
- “This is hopeless”
- “There is no point trying”
- “This is going to be terrible”
- “I’m a failure”
- “I should have…”
- “They don’t like me”
- “I can’t do it”
- “I’m not good enough”
Cognitive symptoms (thoughts) can keep depression going. Low mood can cause negative thinking, which can pull mood down even further - and so the cycle continues.
Thoughts can also affect changes in behaviour, as described below.
Behavioural symptoms
Behavioural symptoms are the changes in behaviour (what you do or don’t do) that go along with low mood.
Some common depressed behaviours include:
- Generally doing less.
- Staying in bed for long periods, even when awake.
- Withdrawing from family and friends.
- Not doing activities that used to be enjoyable.
- Increasing alcohol or substance use.
- “Comfort” eating.
- Not answering the phone or checking emails, messages or mail.
These behaviours are understandable in depression. It's natural that a person who feels very tired might do less, if they think “there is no point trying”, or “I can’t do it”. Low activity levels can result in even lower mood.
Low mood can sometimes make us feel very guilty about our behaviours, leading to negative thoughts such as, “I’m lazy”, or “I should/shouldn’t have done ______”,
The different symptoms, mentioned above, can affect one another and keep a low mood going. You can see this in the diagram below:
Action Plan
- Learn to notice and identify symptoms of depression.
- Put together my own experience of depression, which includes:
- Unhelpful thoughts,
- Unpleasant physical sensations and feelings, What I do or don’t do .
- Make an appointment with my doctor to discuss low mood and rule out any physical cause.
- Have a read through the Tools & Tips available for this lesson.
- Set a time to complete the next cbt lesson.
Comments
Post a Comment