Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on how the way we think
and behave affects the way we feel.
Imagine you have an important online meeting and just before you are due to join, your internet connection drops. How would you respond?
Here are examples of two different responses:
Response 1:
THOUGHTS
This is a disaster! I'm going to look so unprofessional. The internet dropping will sound like an excuse. My team will think I'm just not prepared. Everything always goes wrong for me!
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
Rush around, cursing. Try to restart computer, restart the router and phone IT support at the same time. Snap at the technician on the
phone.
Stress, anger, frustration, impatience, panic.
Feel hot, increased heart rate, sweating, knot in stomach, faster breathing, tension in shoulders and jaw.
Response 2:
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
That's odd. I hope I can get it fixed in time.
These things happen. I'm sure they will understand. I can send my contribution by email when the connection is back.
Try reconnecting. Look into dialling in as another option.
Contact a colleague to let them know about the situation. Make cup of tea while waiting to see is the connection returns.
Mild annoyance, calm.
No noticeable changes
Learn The Skills to Change Your Response with CBT
We can't always change or control situations, but with CBT, we can learn to change the way we respond to them. This then helps us improve the way we feel. The four areas we've looked at - the way we think, behave, feel emotionally and physically - are all inter-related. This means that a change in one areas affects the others too.
EMOTIONS
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
PHYSICAL
(Adapted from Padesky, 1986).
The internet dropping may seen insignificant as a single event. But when we are stressed, anxious, or low in mood, we can tend to repeat unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. We can get stuck in vicious cycles and the associated emotions.
CBT helps us by breaking these vicious cycles by changing the way we think and behave through structured exercises. This helps us learn coping strategies and improve the way we feel.
CBT is backed by clinical research and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a number of mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and depression.
If this sounds like an approach you would benefit from, book an Initial Consultation with us now get started with your CBT journey.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on how the way we think
and behave affects the way we feel.
Imagine you have an important online meeting and just before you are due to join, your internet connection drops. How would you respond?
Here are examples of two different responses:
Response 1:
THOUGHTS
This is a disaster! I'm going to look so unprofessional. The internet dropping will sound like an excuse. My team will think I'm just not prepared. Everything always goes wrong for me!
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
Rush around, cursing. Try to restart computer, restart the router and phone IT support at the same time. Snap at the technician on the
phone.
Stress, anger, frustration, impatience, panic.
Feel hot, increased heart rate, sweating, knot in stomach, faster breathing, tension in shoulders and jaw.
Response 2:
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
That's odd. I hope I can get it fixed in time.
These things happen. I'm sure they will understand. I can send my contribution by email when the connection is back.
Try reconnecting. Look into dialling in as another option.
Contact a colleague to let them know about the situation. Make cup of tea while waiting to see is the connection returns.
Mild annoyance, calm.
No noticeable changes
Learn The Skills to Change Your Response with CBT
We can't always change or control situations, but with CBT, we can learn to change the way we respond to them. This then helps us improve the way we feel. The four areas we've looked at - the way we think, behave, feel emotionally and physically - are all inter-related. This means that a change in one areas affects the others too.
EMOTIONS
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
PHYSICAL
(Adapted from Padesky, 1986).
The internet dropping may seen insignificant as a single event. But when we are stressed, anxious, or low in mood, we can tend to repeat unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. We can get stuck in vicious cycles and the associated emotions.
CBT helps us by breaking these vicious cycles by changing the way we think and behave through structured exercises. This helps us learn coping strategies and improve the way we feel.
CBT is backed by clinical research and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a number of mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and depression.
If this sounds like an approach you would benefit from, book an Initial Consultation with us now get started with your CBT journey.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on how the way we think
and behave affects the way we feel.
Imagine you have an important online meeting and just before you are due to join, your internet connection drops. How would you respond?
Here are examples of two different responses:
Response 1:
THOUGHTS
This is a disaster! I'm going to look so unprofessional. The internet dropping will sound like an excuse. My team will think I'm just not prepared. Everything always goes wrong for me!
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
Rush around, cursing. Try to restart computer, restart the router and phone IT support at the same time. Snap at the technician on the
phone.
Stress, anger, frustration, impatience, panic.
Feel hot, increased heart rate, sweating, knot in stomach, faster breathing, tension in shoulders and jaw.
Response 2:
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
That's odd. I hope I can get it fixed in time.
These things happen. I'm sure they will understand. I can send my contribution by email when the connection is back.
Try reconnecting. Look into dialling in as another option.
Contact a colleague to let them know about the situation. Make cup of tea while waiting to see is the connection returns.
Mild annoyance, calm.
No noticeable changes
Learn The Skills to Change Your Response with CBT
We can't always change or control situations, but with CBT, we can learn to change the way we respond to them. This then helps us improve the way we feel. The four areas we've looked at - the way we think, behave, feel emotionally and physically - are all inter-related. This means that a change in one areas affects the others too.
EMOTIONS
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
PHYSICAL
(Adapted from Padesky, 1986).
The internet dropping may seen insignificant as a single event. But when we are stressed, anxious, or low in mood, we can tend to repeat unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. We can get stuck in vicious cycles and the associated emotions.
CBT helps us by breaking these vicious cycles by changing the way we think and behave through structured exercises. This helps us learn coping strategies and improve the way we feel.
CBT is backed by clinical research and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a number of mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and depression.
If this sounds like an approach you would benefit from, book an Initial Consultation with us now get started with your CBT journey.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Stress
Stress is something we are all likely to be able to relate to. The World Health Organisation (WHO) named stress as the epidemic of the 21st Century. It is something more of us are struggling with and can include work related stress and burnout.
CBT can help us identify our stress triggers, consider our current response to them and learn how to cope in ways that are more helpful for us.
What is Stress?
We experience stress when we feel under pressure. This can result from the demands of our life feeling out of balance with our perceived ability to cope. Sometimes we can feel this way if we lack resources that would help us cope, such as finances, time, control or support from others.
Stress can be helpful and motivating in small amounts but when high or sustained over longer periods of time, it can have a negative impact on our health and wellbeing - both physically and mentally.
Stress and Mental Health
Stress is not a mental health condition itself. But if we remain stressed for extended periods of time, stress can affect both our physical and mental health. Prolonged stress can make us more vulnerable to anxiety, depression and burnout.
Stress is often associated with negative events but it can also be triggered by positive things too. This might include starting a new job, getting married, moving house, having a baby or going on holiday. So even if things are celebration-worthy, it can be helpful to keep an eye on our stress levels.
Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety can feel very similar. This is because they both activate the body's stress response which triggers a number of physical changes aimed to prepare us to fight, freeze or flee from a threat. Here are some of the things you may notice in your body when you feel stressed:
Headaches
Ringing in ears
Muscle tension
Blurred vision
Dry mouth
Increased heart rate
Tight chest
Sweating
Nausea, stomach cramps
Urge to use toilet
Shaking muscles
Pins and needles
Evolution and Modern Day Stress
Our stress response helped us survive threats, like predators, when we were hunter-gatherers. But in modern life, our threats are very different and don't usually need the physical action our body prepares us for.
Common modern day threats, or stressors, can include:
Work pressures. This may include high workload, tight deadlines, lack of work-life balance, and a lack of control or support at work.
Relationships. This may include people at work or in our personal lives such as managers, colleagues, parents, partners, friends or children.
Increased pressure or responsibility. This may be at work or at home. Examples could include a promotion, performance reviews, team restructures, a change in housing, lifestyle or finances.
Health problems. This may be concerns about our own health or the health of those we care about. Changes in our health may impact a number of other life areas.
Usually, when struggling with stress, it is related to a combination of things. You might relate to several of the above and be able to think of even more things.
How CBT can Help with Stress
We can't always change the situations that trigger stress, but we can learn to change our response to them. In CBT, we recognise that we all have unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. We work together to identify yours in the context of the stress you are experiencing. Once we understand these, we can work on making positive changes so you can respond to stress triggers in a way that is more helpful for you. By learning how to deal with stress, we can manage - and even protect ourselves - from some of the health issues caused by stress.
We work through exercises and strategies for stress to help you manage. This may include relaxation techniques and mindfulness practices. The aim is for you to develop a tool kit that helps you cope, both now and in the future.
Is this how you're feeling right now? If so, we're here for you.
Contact Us now and we can take the first steps towards you lightening your load and regaining a sense of balance.
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