January 24, 2018

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Help You

Written by Rachel Eddins

Woman getting Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

What are you living with?

Anxiety? Depression? Something that you can’t name but feel deeply every day?

Does it keep you from resting well at night? Has it been a long time? Are you ready for a change?

You don’t have to “cheer up”, “get over it,” or” shake off” your pain for others.

You don’t have to live without hope.

If you’ve been struggling to find the help you need, please know that you no longer have to continue on without help. It’s time to look at how to best treat your mind and alleviate your suffering.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often an excellent place to start feeling better.

CBT is a proven and an extremely effective treatment for a host of mood and behavioral disorders.

This therapeutic method helps temper recurring and unproductive thought patterns that tend to drag you down and keep you stuck.

CBT has been shown to provide significant mental, emotional and physical relief as it shows you how to uncover negative, unproductive, and dysfunctional thinking. Your therapist will help you see how your thoughts impact your choices, mood, and physical wellbeing.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy also can also lead to a host of benefits in a wide variety of arenas, like these:

With your commitment and solid expert support, you can see lasting changes and improved relationships take shape. As a result, more hope will bloom and the better you’ll feel.

How the “ C” in  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Help You:

You don’t have to be told that your thoughts are deeply connected to the way you feel. However, you may only be experiencing the negative aspect of that link as your current thought patterns get in the way of your happiness, amplify your sadness, and increase the numbness you experience.

To make healthier changes, you and your CBT therapist will work to employ your thoughts differently and more positively. First, you’ll consciously examine and identify the ideas, perspectives, and thoughts that encourage your negative emotions. As you evaluate them, you’ll learn to challenge their logic and veracity. And then, armed with clarity and self-awareness, you can begin to retrain the way you think.

For example, consider thoughts like, “I’m such a failure,” and the reactive emotions that come with it. Automatically, your mood is likely to spiral downward immediately. However, with CBT  at your disposal, you’ll be more able to replace that unproductive  thought with another like, “I wish things had gone differently, but now I’ve learned what not to do.”

As you learn to rein in your thoughts, examine them and either verify or dismiss them, you’ll likely find that you are less affected by anxiety, shame, powerlessness and more. Acceptance can take hold and take back some of the headspace once occupied by perpetual disappointment, discouragement, and low self-esteem.

You’ll likely begin to feel more empowered and excited to live your life on your own terms as time goes on.

How the “B” in  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Help You:

The actions you take or refuse to take, are important.

The behavioral component of CBT focuses there. Your work looks at ways to assist your understanding of how what you do affects your mood. Then, you can take charge of your own actions, amend your behavior, and subsequently learn to better soothe the symptoms of what ails you mentally, physically and emotionally.

As a team, you and your therapist can work to pin down how easy or difficult various activities are for you to accomplish and master. As you master more and more activities, your self-esteem will improve as will your outlook.

CBT is worth the effort

At first, you may think you can’t reach out. You may feel too embarrassed, let down by the past, or just too exhausted to contemplate what comes next. It’s okay. Just summon enough energy to reach out for help by phone or email.

The process of changing your mind will take time and diligence. But don’t give up. Take the first step. You can experience relief. The freedom you could regain from negative thoughts and isolation are worth the first move.

Life in Houston, or wherever your new confidence takes you, is waiting for you. Free your mind one thought at a time. Enjoy fully whatever comes next. Consider the possibilities of CBT.

Call us today at 832-559-2622 and let us help match you with a therapist, or click here to schedule an appointment online.

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