What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is perhaps the most proven
psychological intervention for anxiety and depression.
An example of how CBT works is shown below.

Think twice about your thinking

If you are depressed it is natural to think and feel negatively. Importantly, there are certain kinds of thinking patterns believed to play a role in causing, maintaining, or worsening depression. CBT works by helping people identify these ‘mental traps’ and where appropriate, modifying them.

You can learn to do this for yourself. Two examples are shown below.

Permanence
People experiencing depression are more likely to believe bad events, for example job redundancy or loneliness, will last forever. Even if the unpleasant situation seems temporary to most people, the depressed person has the habit of believing bad situations will be permanent.

Try developing the skill of catching yourself assuming a bad situation is permanent, and checking the accuracy of that assumption.

For example the loss of a limb following a car accident is permanent. But job loss, loneliness, conflict with relatives, financial problems, work deadlines, exam pressures, are often temporary. Make your brain do some work. Treat your thoughts as fallible assumptions that may or may not be accurate. Think twice about your thinking. If appropriate, a helpful affirmation is "this too shall pass."

Pervasiveness
A second example involves how pervasive you assume a bad situation is. Bad events are either confined to one specific area of your life, or they can spill over and contaminate several aspects of life. More so than other people, the depressed person assumes nearly all unpleasant events belong to the second, ‘spilling over’ category. When things go wrong they view life through dark glasses and make blanket assumptions that everything is ruined. Even things unrelated to the bad event. Nothing in life seems worthwhile.

Go back to the example of the loss of a limb following a traffic accident. This example applies to friend of ours called Brian. Brian jokes that his arm won’t grow back like a lizard’s tail! Yes it is permanent. No doubt about that. But does it ruin everything? Is it pervasive?

Brian can’t ride a motorbike anymore. But he can drive a modified car, pursue his career in computers, enjoy being with his friends, the beach, good food, sex, wine, movies, arguing politics, humour, sex, studying history, football, travel, and sex! People say he has a wonderful attitude. What he does have is the ability to distinguish a specific loss from a pervasive one.

So when life gets difficult, think about your thinking. Ask yourself...

"How permanent is this (really)?" "How pervasive is this?"

 

Research indicates the above skills can also help people who are not currently depressed, but are prone to depressive episodes. By practicing CBT coping skills you can actually reduce your vulnerability to future depression. This ‘mental resilience’ has also been found, in large studies in the United States, to lower the incidence of depression in adults, school children and adolescents.

A final thought
CBT is a ‘broad church’ that makes use of a variety of interventions and techniques. The above is only a narrow example. To learn more about this particular approach read "Learned Optimism" by Seligman or "Feeling Good" by Burns.

Another final thought It is increasingly believed that ‘life purpose’, meaning, and connection to other people are important factors in positive mental health.   Take more interest in your community, walk, read, join something, do something.   Stay in touch with people.   Develop a hobby or interest.   Shop locally, learn people’s names, say hello, paint, study, visit, dance, grow vegetables, exercise.   Call talk-back radio.   Write a letter to the newspaper.     Make it up as you go along!   Don’t wait for motivation.   It follows after you start.