What is CBT and How Does it Help Anxiety?
CBT has two parts - cognitive and behavioural. The whole idea behind this therapy is that it is our minds that are the source of anxiety and more precisely our beliefs, which are affected by our past experiences, affect how we feel, and thus influence our behaviour.
One of the most widely used and effective treatments for anxiety is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). If you’ve seen a therapist in the past, it is likely that they have used some form of CBT with you – since it is something that can make a major difference for anxiety symptoms. In this article we will talk about what is involved with CBT, and break down its parts – as well as explain how it helps with anxiety symptoms.
How does it work?
CBT has two parts – cognitive and behavioural. The whole idea behind this therapy is that it is our minds that are the source of anxiety and more precisely our beliefs, which are affected by our past experiences, affect how we feel, and thus influence our behaviour. When we are in situations that we believe to be frightening or negative, we likely feel anxious or worried, and are less likely to do the things we normally do – we’re much more likely to stay at home or avoid the source of the anxiety. A good example is if you started a new school, and you believed that you were unlikeable or that you would be treated poorly by the other students – you might feel anxious, distressed and unhappy, and you might end up not attending school, staying home or finding other ways to avoid it.
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy works by exploring the beliefs that someone holds and unpacking these, questioning whether they are necessarily true , whether there might be some different outcomes to starting a new school, and trying to find the most likely explanation. So with the new school example, someone might believe they will be bullied because this happened to them in the past, but this could be a false belief! They may well have great experiences and meet new people who change their lives for the better.
Cognitive therapy is focused on helping us to question some of our automatic, negative thoughts and give us a much more realistic view of the world
The cognitive part of CBT focuses on helping us understand that our minds aren’t always right – in fact, our minds are trying hard to protect us from getting hurt or upset – but often they lead us to feel unnecessarily anxious or worried about things that we don’t need to worry about. Cognitive therapy is focused on helping us to question some of our automatic, negative thoughts and give us a much more realistic view of the world – as well as the ability to question what our minds are telling us. It also helps us to understand the effect our thoughts have on our emotions – and that negative, rigid thoughts often lead to us feeling hopeless, anxious and overwhelmed – where as flexible, curious thoughts tend to help us feel more positive and brave.
Behavioural Therapy
The behavioral part of CBT follows on nicely from the cognitive part, in that it encourages people to change their behavior and do what needs to be done – no matter how they are feeling. Researchers believe the behavioral part of CBT to be important – after all, it is the change in behavior because of our thoughts and feelings that causes the most distress in people (eg. skipping school, avoiding social situations, leaving a job). Behavioral therapy works on the idea that the worst thing we can do if we’re suffering from anxiety is to act in an avoidant way – and rather that we should focus on engaging in behaviors that help us to feel better and normal.
Behavioral therapy works on the idea that the worst thing we can do if we’re suffering from anxiety is to act in an avoidant way – and rather that we should focus on engaging in behaviors that help us to feel better and normal.
Behavioral activation is one of the key ideas of behavioral therapy, and encourages patients to plan their day with enjoyable and stimulating activities – with the idea that even if they don’t feel like engaging at first, people will start to feel better once they begin and might find that their anxiety reduces the more they are in this different environment.
Why does it work for anxiety?
CBT is really useful for anxiety, since it gives people the opportunity to unpack the beliefs and thoughts behind the feelings of anxiety. For most people, understanding where those anxious feelings come from, and putting together the puzzle of triggers and past experiences can help enormously – since their anxiety is no longer a mystery, and they can be aware of when it might be creeping up. It also clarifies the link between thoughts and feelings, which can be extremely helpful.
Finally, the behavioural part of CBT helps to reduce avoidance behaviours. Research tells us that avoidance is one of the main things that keeps anxiety going – after all, when we avoid a person, place or thing, we never get the chance to learn that it is not dangerous after all. CBT encourages us to make that link between how we feel and our behaviour, and encourages us to take some risks and stay in these anxiety-provoking situations – so that we can learn that there was nothing to worry about.
How can I find a CBT therapist?
Finding the right therapist for you can be a challenge, but fortunately it is a great time to be looking, since many therapists have online profiles and you can find one that suits you. You can find some advice about how to find a therapist here. Mind Ease also has some useful CBT exercises that you can try if you are curious about this concept – our CBT exercises are designed for people who are experiencing anxiety, and can be helpful in identifying negative thoughts and their impacts on our emotions and behaviours.
If you’d like reliable relief from anxiety, you can install Mind Ease for free here.
