Share this
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Effective Anxiety Depression Treatment
Last updated 04/07/2022
Here is a great tool if you suffer from anxiety or depression written by a medical professional who had his own issues. It’s all about retraining your brain from those negative thoughts you may have. Cognitive behavioral therapy.
Before the summer began I purchased a stack of books. The plan was to read these during the summer. However I finished my website designer course and did some changes to the blog.
This blog contains affiliate links (ADS) meaning I earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Thanks you so much!
Tulsi Mint Tonifying Eye Gel - $36.00
from: The Ayurveda Experience AD Known in Ayurveda as an ‘adaptogen’, Tulsi supports a calm and relaxed functioning* of day-to-day activities
The purpose is to support with managing depression and anxiety. Therefore, this workbook contains many forms to express your thoughts and feelings along with activities to do.
These are your task through the 7 weeks. You are able to glimpse patterns in your behavior. Thus, you know what areas you wish to work on.
You may know that anxiety and depression can affect your quality of life. For instance, some may avoid situations all together. As well as others just uncovering task difficult or even impossible to get through.
Forms can be found here to download
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
I have briefly touched on this subject in my BFRB post. Let’s take a peep at what CBT actually is. So CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Basically, the idea of how you think (cognitive), how you feel (emotion) along with how you act (behavior) all interact. Your thoughts determine your feelings as well as your behavior. More importantly, your negative and unrealistic thoughts can lead to distress and problems. For instance situations you’d rather not have.
According to research CBT Is the most effective treatment for depression and anxiety disorders (including BFRB). It is an umbrella term for a combination of therapies including behavior therapy and cognitive therapy. In addition other specific types are included without “CBT” in their names.
Some examples:
- Exposure and Response Prevention for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Prolonged exposure for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Dialectical Behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder
- Panic Control therapy for panic disorder
CBT Psychotherapeutic Treatment
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a kind of psychotherapeutic treatment assisting people to learn how to identify and reform their thoughts. These are patterns that are destructive or disturbing. Most importantly these return a negative influence on your behavior and emotions.
Focus is on reversing the automatic negative thoughts. These thoughts can add to and worsen conditions like anxiety and depression. That is to say they shift your mood.
What Conditions Does CBT Nurture?
CBT can be a treatment for conditions such as:
- Addiction
- Anger issues
- Anxiety
- BFRB
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
Certified Organic Bergamot Essential Oil is a refreshing, citrus scent to uplift one's mood.
|
AD
Cognitive behavioral therapy has been discovered to help others cope with these:
- Breakups
- Chronic pain or severe conditions
- Divorce
- Grief and loss
- Insomnia
- Low self-esteem
- Problem relationships
- Managing stress
Acknowledging Negative Thoughts
In other words knowing how one’s thoughts, feelings and situations affect behaviors. This can be a difficult task. However this leads to discovery and insights essential to the treatment process.
Setting goals
Setting goals can deliver an important path to recovery from mental illness. This aids you in creating changes to improve your health and life. Furthermore your CBT therapist can teach you how to develop these skills by focusing on the process.
Problem Solving
Problem solving another skill to learn involves identifying and solving issues that come up from life stressors (big and small). Practicing stress relief is essential to your overall health. Most importantly recognizing these stressors can decrease any negative impact for psychological and physical disease.
Self-monitoring
Also called journaling is an essential tool of CBT such as this workbook. You are keeping track of behaviors, feelings and thoughts to share with a therapist if you like. For instance, an eating disorder could involve jotting down your eating habits along with any thoughts or feelings connected.
AD
AD
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Principles
According to PhD Gillihan here are the basic principles of CBT.
Time Limited
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is specially designed to present the most benefit in a possibly short period. Usually about 10 to 15 sessions this brings down cost and patients suffering. Thus shorter treatment can motivate your focus to accomplish the most out of your work.
Evidence Based
Techniques adapted by the therapist have been well tested in research studies. In this way therapists can determine the length of treatment for the condition and how the patient can benefit. Moreover through observation the therapist can gather what works and doesn’t work then adjust treatment accordingly.
Goal Oriented
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is all about creating goals and focusing on them. This is done through tracking your progress. Therefore being mindful of whether treatment is addressing your goals is important.
Takes Teamwork
The therapist (CBT specialist) doesn’t fix but works with you because you are the specialist of you. Treatment can only be successful when you supply your information truthfully. So writing down your thoughts and feelings will aid in reaching your goals.
Structured
Your treatment plan consists of creating a roadmap of goals and how to achieve them. This CBT structure keeps building as sessions done earlier provide a foundation for later treatments. Likewise the workbook starts out on identifying these negative thoughts and by week four it’s about changing these thoughts.
Focused on now
CBT is more about your present than past. This may be different with other therapies. However it doesn’t mean your past is ignored rather emphasis is on transforming your recent thoughts and behavior.
Treatment is Active
With this treatment you must be involved and tackle your goals. In order to achieve progress you and your therapist must actively engage. Thus you have a plan to work out each week in the workbook.
Required Skills
Techniques are learned to heal and manage your issues. You start to recognize your thought patterns. In other words this is the beauty of the workbook to express yourself.
Takes Practice
New skills demand to be practiced to get the most benefit. The more time you spend on this the better you do. So you have to take what you learn and actively apply this in your day.
Create Goals to Start
The big question is what brought you to this step of taking action. You browse your lifestyle including relationships and general health. Ending than with writing out your daily activities list.
Being Active
Week two is looking at your behavior. You take stock of your values and do something about them. In conclusion there is a Values and Activities form to fill out.
Acknowledging Your Thoughts
And week three is getting down with those thoughts. More specifically recognizing why your mood changes. You scan your common thoughts and fears. In short, each chapter ends with a check in. I found it very helpful to summarize my thoughts and activities.
Stopping Negative Thoughts
The fourth week you really analyze these unhelpful statements that pop in your head. There may be no evidence to support the thought. For instance, now you are starting to view recurrent errors in your thinking.
Managing Your Time
Therefore, week five looks at your activity list and your time spent on task. Depression and anxiety can throw your schedule totally out of whack. In conclusion, hopefully you identified, prioritized and planned your task out.
Wrapping it up
I found this workbook very useful in recognizing my thought patterns with my own anxiety. It was beneficial to write these thoughts and feelings down along with doing the activities. More importantly the journaling alone is therapeutic.
If you suffer from depression or anxiety this is a self-care method for a better life and understanding. Some may feel better just doing this alone while others may desire assistance from a therapist. Still it is a great tool to have aboard in your treatment. You can do this!
Follow!
Mary is the founder of All About Our Skin. Former esthetician and CPC. Enjoys researching skincare and has been studying our skin for the past fifteen years.
