Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a therapy that focuses on the way people think and act in order to help them overcome their emotional and behavioural problems.
 
CBT has some very straightforward and clear principles and is a very sensible and practical approach to problem solving.

Some CBT practices seem very simple, causing some people to question how something so simple can be so effective in helping someone overcome their problem.

Problem solving doesn’t have to be complicated and just because it seems simple, it doesn’t mean it’s easy!
 
The effectiveness of CBT for various psychological problems has been more extensively researched than any other psychotherapeutic approach and its reputation as a highly effective treatment is growing, for example several studies have shown that CBT is more effective than medication alone in treating anxiety and depression.

Studies also shows that people who use CBT to overcome problems such as depression and anxiety, stay better for longer periods and that they are less likely to relapse compared to those who use other psychotherapeutic approaches.
 
Below are some of the problems CBT has been shown to help:
 
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Anger Problems
• Social Phobia
• Relationship Problems
• PTSD
• Panic Disorder
• Phobias
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Eating
• Disorder
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Chronic Pain
 
The Thought – Feeling Link

 
It is a common assumption that if something happens to you, the event makes you feel a certain way.

Take for example a situation in which your partner treats you inconsiderably. You may well think that it is their behaviour that has made you angry and that their behaviour makes you behave in a certain way, like sulking for instance.
 
The CBT view of this emotional disturbance (in this example anger) is that it is the meaning you attached to the event and the particular beliefs you hold about the situation that are largely responsible for your emotional disturbance and not the event itself.

So it’s not your partner’s attitude and behaviour that makes you angry, it’s the certain beliefs and thoughts that lie between the event and your feelings and behaviours. 
 
Thoughts and feelings
 
Whenever we experience a mood there is a thought connected with it that helps define our mood.

Our thoughts are our interface to the outside world and our attempt to make sense of what is going on.

Different thoughts and interpretations of an event can lead to different moods in the same situation.
 
It does not mean that our thoughts are wrong when we experience intense moods it just means that we are more likely to discount or disregard the information that contradicts our own beliefs.

Recognising when we are thinking in distorted ways is the first step towards a more balanced thinking process.
  
Thoughts and behaviours
 
Sometimes our behaviours might seem disconnected from our thoughts, like when we seem to be on auto-pilot.

However they are closely connected and this is why it is difficult to do more than one or two things at once.
 
Throughout the day we may repeat well-rehearsed behaviours over and over.

Perhaps we always give in when someone disagrees with us. We are not aware of the thoughts guiding out behaviours because out actions have become routine.

However, when we decide to change or to learn a new behaviour, thoughts can determine whether and how this change occurs. For example, our expectations affect our behaviour. This is illustrated in the famous saying ‘If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right’  
 
Thoughts and physical reactions
 
Thoughts also affect out physical reactions. Imagining a frightening scene can lead to a rapid heart rate for example.

Athletes use the link between thoughts and physical reactions and coaches give them inspirational speeches in the hope it will get the athletes ‘Fired up’ and increase the flow of adrenalin. 
 
What is the thought / environment connection?
 
You may be wondering why some people are more prone to certain thoughts and moods than others. Some portion of the difference may be biological or genetically inherited.

But we also know that environmental experiences can powerfully shape the beliefs and moods that colour our lives. 
 
Is changing the way you think the only way to feel better?
 
Even though identifying and changing thoughts is a central part to CBT, it is often equally important to make physical, behavioural and environmental changes.

For example, if you have been anxious for a long time you probably avoid the situations in which you become anxious.

Part of dealing with this anxiety is learning to relax, (physiological change) and to cope with perceived changes so you stop avoiding, (behavioural changes).

People do not usually overcome anxiety until changes in thoughts are accompanied by changes in avoidance behaviour.

Behavioural experiments are used to re-enforce learning and to challenge the validity of dysfunctional thoughts.
 
To help you feel better it can be helpful to make changes in your environment, reducing stress, learning to say no to unreasonable demands made by other people, spending more time with supportive people, addressing harassment at work, for example, are all environmental changes that help you feel better.

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This article is part of a free excerpt from the ebook program Overcome Depression, by Richard Green, PhD.