Cognitive Therapy Anxiety

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a tool that we can use when dealing with anxiety disorders

CBT involves identifying and challenging negative thinking styles. By altering the way that we think, we can lessen the severity of our anxiety. This will, in turn, aid us to think even more positively and have a snowball effect on our mental well-being.

anxiety disorder treatment- negative thoughts

Some common thinking distortions are listed below

All or Nothing Thinking

Thinking in absolutes, as good or bad, with no middle ground. You might condemn yourself completely as a result of one negative event, for example, if you got turned down after an interview; 'I'm a failure. I'll never be able to get a good job'.

Catastrophizing

A magnification and exaggeration of the importance of certain events. You over-estimate the chances of disaster; a whatever can go wrong will go wrong attitude. One setback might be viewed as a never-ending pattern of defeat.

Personalizing

Taking the blame for rough events even when they have little or nothing to do with you. Whenever a negative scenario unfolds you immediately think 'This is my fault'.

Negative Focus

You concentrate on unfavorable aspects of a situation, paying little attention to the positive. You might focus on your failings, forgetting about your strengths.

Jumping to Conclusions

You analyse situations and come to pessimistic conclusions even in the absence of definite fact. You forecast that negative things will happen and attempt to predict the future

Abiding by Set Rules

A thinking style characterised by fixed rules and impractical assumptions, using the 'should, 'must', 'ought', and 'can't'. This can lead to unnecessary guilt and disappointment. The more strict these statements are, the more dejected, annoyed, unhappy or reprehensible you are likely to feel.

If you are reading through this list and thinking 'that sounds like me' then it is more than likely that these thinking styles have caused you to feel more anxious and reduced your quality of life

By challenging and altering these thoughts, which is the basis for cognitive behavioral therapywe can learn to overcome our anxiety disorder and live life to its full potential.

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