Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a
type of psychotherapy that looks at
How you think about yourself, the world and
other people
How what you
do affects your feelings and thoughts
By making
links between what we do, think and feel, CBT can help
us make changes in the way we think ("Cognitive") and the way we act ("Behaviour)".
Making changes in what we think will affect what you do and feel, and
changing what we do, affects the way we think and feel. Making these
changes then can help us feel better.
Whilst it is is helpful to discuss the past and understand how our pasts have influenced
our lives and how problems have arisen, CBT
mostly focuses on looking for ways to improve your
mental wellbeing now.
CBT says that it's not the event which
causes our emotions, but how we interpret that event - what we think or what
meaning we give that event or situation.
For instance, if someone you know passes
you in the street without acknowledging you, you can interpret it several ways.
You might think they don't want to know you because no-one likes you (which may
lead you to feel depressed), your thought may be that you hope they don't stop
to talk to you, because you won't know what to say and they'll think you're
boring and stupid (anxiety), you may think she's being deliberately snotty
(leading to anger). A healthier response might be that she just didn't
see you.
Another example
may be someone who's depressed might wake up in the morning and think:
"This is going to be another awful day", "I'm going to mess up again", or
"What's the point of anything?", which will make them feel even more depressed
(feelings), and may prompt them to pull the covers over their head
and stay in bed (behaviours). It's very likely that this will increase
their negative thoughts, which in turn will increase the feelings of depression,
and make them even less likely to get out of bed. A vicious cycle is the
result - continuing to think and act the same way will help maintain our
depression (diagram below), or anxiety.
CBT can help you to break these vicious cycles of negative thinking, feelings and
behaviour. When you see the parts of the vicious cycle
clearly, you can change them - and therefore change
the way you feel. It
can also be helpful to look at the way our thoughts and feelings affect our bodies, and
the physical sensations we can experience.
Different
emotions are often associated with particular types of thoughts:
CBT aims to get you to a point where you can "do it yourself",
and work out your own ways of tackling problems.CBT
has often been described as guided self-help, and this website will help you
access more information about CBT, and how it can help particular conditions.
There is an introductory CBT self-help course
where you can work through a basic therapy programme.
The following
self-help steps will
enable you, with or without the help of a therapist or mental health
professional, to gain some useful insights and begin to address and work through
your problems.
