Anti-Stress Plan

By this point, you’ve learned all about the nature of stress, techniques for dealing with acute stress, and lifestyle changes for dealing with chronic stress. You have all the tools you need. Now it’s time to put it into action by creating a plan to deal with the stress in your life. Step 1. Identify … Read more

Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are exaggerated or irrational thinking patterns, often negative,that can distort your perception of reality. They’re also called “distorted thinking’or” thinking traps’ or ‘twisted thinking. These are biased thoughts about yourself, others, and the world. Cognitive distortions negatively skew your interpretation of reality, which can cause, amplify, and reinforce negative moods. Cognitive distortions are … Read more

What is CBT?

 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy, also called talk therapy.The CBT approach is backed by scientific evidence from over 1,000 research studiesand is considered the gold standard of evidence-based therapy. It has been shown to help with a variety of issues, like difficulty sleeping, relationshipproblems, anxiety, and depression. CBT is not what … Read more

Labeling

Taking one characteristic of a person and applying it to the whole person. Attributing a person’s behaviors to their character or personality rather than thinking it’stemporary or just for one event. A person who labels takes all-or-nothing thinking to an extreme level, where in addition to blaming oneself or others, they will also attach a … Read more

Overgeneralizing

Making a very broad conclusion based on one event; taking one situation andexpecting the same result to happen in all future situations. A person who overgeneralizes may View one or a few unpleasant incidents as a never-ending pattern of defeat. Example: He dislikes my artwork so I bet everyone dislikes my artwork. Tip: Be specific … Read more

Filtering Out Positive

Only focusing on the negative aspects of an experience while ignoring the positives.A person who filters out the positive may focus only on information that confirmswhat they already believe in. Example: He didn’t like the chicken I made for dinner but loved the vegetables and dessert, so I feel that my cooking skills are terrible … Read more

Other-Blaming

Blaming others or holding other people responsible for things done to you that they may have little or no control over. A person who other-blames may view certain negative situations as entirely the fault of others and overlook ways in which they are contributing to the problem. Example: She should have been more careful when … Read more

Self-Blaming

Blaming yourself or thinking you’re personally responsible for a situation that you have little or no control over. A person who self-blames may view any negative situation as a direct consequence of their perceived incompetence. Personalization may lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy. Example: I was late to work because of a road … Read more