Whenever she thought
about air travel it gave her nightmares, jitters, any news of plane crashes or
accidents and she would lose sleep, she would get extremely anxious even when a
loved one took a flight. Would Cognitive Behavioral Therapy help her?
Cognitive behavioral therapy was invented by a
psychiatrist, Aaron Beck, in the 1960s. Beck realized that the link between
thoughts and feelings was very important. He invented the term automatic
thoughts to describe emotion-filled thoughts that might pop up in the mind.
Beck found that people weren’t always fully aware of such thoughts, but could
learn to identify and report them.
Cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to
improve mental health. CBT focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful
cognitive distortions and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and the
development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems.
It is a common
type of talk therapy (psychotherapy). One has to work with a mental health
counselor in a structured way, attending a limited number of sessions. CBT helps
one become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking so you can view challenging
situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.
CBT often
includes:
- ·
Learning
about your mental health condition
- ·
Learning
and practicing techniques such as relaxation, coping, resilience, stress
management and assertiveness
CBT can be
an effective tool ― either alone or in combination with other therapies ― in
treating mental health disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) or an eating disorder.
CBT is
appropriate for people of all ages, including children, adolescents, and
adults. Research also indicates that CBT can be delivered effectively online,
in addition to face-to-face therapy sessions.
It is
based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and
actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap
you in a vicious cycle.
CBT is a
useful tool to address emotional challenges. It can help to:
- ·
Manage
symptoms of mental illness
- ·
Prevent
a relapse of mental illness symptoms
- ·
Treat
a mental illness when medications aren't a good option
- ·
Learn
techniques for coping with stressful life situations
- ·
Identify
ways to manage emotions
- ·
Resolve
relationship conflicts and learn better ways to communicate
- ·
Cope
with grief or loss
- ·
Overcome
emotional trauma related to abuse or violence
- ·
Cope
with a medical illness
Read more
about CBT
http://cogbtherapy.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-exercises
This post
is a part of April
Blogging from A To Z Challenge
You can
find all my posts here.
