Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) consists of two components: the cognitive part (our thoughts) and the behavioral part (our actions and behavior). CBT focuses on how changing the way we think and changing the way we act can change the way we feel and help us feel better. We’ve looked at the cognitive aspect of CBT. […]
Category: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Change How You Think, Change How You Feel With CBT
One of the basic premises of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is that our thoughts determine our moods and emotions and how we feel. And if we can change our thoughts and change the way we think, then we’ll also change the way we feel, and as a result improve our moods, calm our emotions, and […]
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CBT and Exposure Therapy for Anxiety
When we’re anxious about something, it’s natural to want to avoid it. But avoidance is only a short term solution. Eventually we to need to face our fears. And the longer we’ve been putting something off due to anxiety, the more anxiety we’ll feel when we have to do it. Or we may be able […]
All or Nothing Thinking
All or nothing thinking is a type of cognitive distortion in which we see things in black or white terms, with no shades of grey in between. Things are either all good, or all bad. We’re perfect or we’re a failure. If we don’t accomplish all that we’ve set out to do, we’ve done nothing. […]
Problem Solving and Action Plans in CBT
In CBT we focus on changing our thoughts and behaviour in order to change the way we feel. But sometimes we experience a difficult or unpleasant emotion and our thoughts about our situation are accurate, and we’re behaving in a reasonable manner. When that’s the case, changing our thoughts or behaviour may not have much […]
The Difference Between Pain and Suffering: The Two Arrows
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) uses the parable of the two arrows to explain the difference between pain and suffering. This video takes another look at the interrelationships between thoughts, feelings and emotions, behaviors, and body sensations from that perspective. And it teaches us how to respond to unpleasant and painful experiences in ways that don’t […]
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Physical Symptoms and Body Sensations in CBT
Physical symptoms and body sensations are the last of the four aspects of our experiences that we talked about in The ABCs of CBT. Our physical symptoms and body sensations affect our thoughts and behavior, and they’re closely related to our emotions—we often feel our emotions in our bodies. Because of this connection between body […]
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Acceptance in CBT
Acceptance isn’t emphasized in CBT, but it’s often the best way to respond to unpleasant experiences that we can’t change or control. Acceptance can be a difficult concept to grasp. The videos below, from my Online MBCT Course, help explain acceptance. But if you have trouble understanding the difference between acceptance and resignation, you’re not […]
Emotion Regulation
In CBT we focus on managing our moods and emotions by changing our thoughts and behavior. But there are some emotion regulation strategies from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) that are also helpful in addressing our emotions. We can’t control our emotions, but we can influence our emotions and how we feel. In this video we’ll […]
Opposite Action: Behavior and Emotions
Opposite action is a behavioral therapy concept from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Opposite action teaches us to change the way we feel by acting opposite to the way our emotions are telling us to act. Although it’s not technically CBT, opposite action is a great way to improve our moods, emotions, and how we’re feeling […]