How to use Cognitive-behavioral Therapy

Muhammad Abubakar Mir
4 min readApr 21, 2022

CBT is a therapeutic technique for a variety of mental and emotional health concerns, including anxiety and depression.

CBT is intended to assist you in recognizing and challenging problematic thoughts as well as learning practical self-help skills. These methods are intended to make instant improvements in your quality of life.

Anyone who needs help challenging harmful beliefs that are hindering them from achieving their goals or living the life they desire can benefit from CBT.

CBT seeks to demonstrate how your thoughts influence your mood. It teaches you to think about yourself and your life in a more positive light. It is founded on the belief that negative thinking is a habit that can be broken, just like any other habit.

CBT is used to treat a variety of mental health issues, including:

1-anxiety

2-Social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder are examples of anxiety disorders.

3-depression

4-low self-confidence

5-concerns that are illogical

6-hypochondria

7-Smoking, drinking, or using other drugs are all examples of substance abuse.

8-gambling addiction

9-disordered eating

10-insomnia

11-issues in marriage or relationships

12-a variety of emotional or behavioural issues among children and teenagers

Anxiety can be treated using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. Anxiety is a protective mechanism that can also help you perform better in stressful situations. The rush of tension that commonly occurs before a job interview or a big race, for example, can help you perform better.

However, for some people, anxiety is a more universal sense. This means that no matter what you’re doing, you’re always on high alert or afraid. This can be quite distressing and interfere with your day-to-day activities.

If your anxiety starts to interfere with your ability to function, it’s critical that you start learning techniques for dealing with anxious feelings. This is where cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help. It focuses on altering the thought and belief patterns that are linked to and trigger anxiety.

Treatment of depression using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
People who suffer from depression may have persistent negative sentiments about themselves, other people, and the world. This negative thought habit can become routine, and you may not realize when your judgment of yourself is unreasonable or unfair.

CBT can help persons with depression by equipping them with the tools they need to question negative thoughts and replace them with more realistic and positive ones.

CBT is also used to treat a variety of other psychological issues. Other forms of therapy may be recommended in some circumstances in order to achieve the best results. For more information and guidance, consult your doctor.

Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in CBT
CBT focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact to affect a person’s quality of life. For example, social phobia (extreme shyness in social circumstances) may stem from the belief that other people will always find you uninteresting or foolish. This idea may make you feel quite uneasy in social circumstances.

This could result in trembling, sweating, an elevated heart rate, or other uncomfortable sensations in social circumstances. Negative feelings (such as embarrassment) and negative self-talk (‘I’m such an idiot’) may then overwhelm you. With each negative experience, your anxiety of social situations may grow.

Treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
The specifics of your treatment will depend on the nature of your problem. CBT, on the other hand, usually contains the following:

Assessment — this may entail completing out questions to help you describe your problem and highlight troubling symptoms. You will be asked to fill out questionnaires on a regular basis so that you and your therapist can keep track of your progress and identify any problems or symptoms that require additional attention.

Personal education — your therapist may provide written resources (such as pamphlets or books) to assist you in learning more about your specific issue.

The adage “knowledge is power” is a cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy. A thorough understanding of your specific psychological issue will enable you to discard unwarranted fears, reducing anxiety and other negative feelings.

Setting objectives — your therapist can assist you in making a list of what you want to get out of treatment (for example, you may want to overcome your shyness in social settings). You and your therapist come up with practical solutions to assist you achieve your objectives.
Strategy practice — you and the therapist practice your new techniques together. To replace unhealthy or negative self-talk, you could role-play tough social settings or realistic self-talk (how you say to yourself in your brain).

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Muhammad Abubakar Mir

🇵🇰 | Studying Clinical Psychology | Interest in Science, Psychology, Politics, and Criminology. For enquiries:-192520015@gift.edu.pk