It's important to be honest about 'things'. If you struggle with mental health, say you struggle. If you've been in therapy or are currently in therapy, talk about it.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy ("CBT")
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, is something I’ve come to learn more about and want to share here. It’s a talking therapy based on the idea that how we think about situations affects the way we feel and behave. When we begin to see a situation in a negative light, it can impact how we feel emotionally, and that often changes the way we may respond or act.
What CBT Focuses On
CBT focuses on the relationship between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It helps us to understand that changing how we think about things, can help us change how we feel – and ultimately, how we behave. It’s a treatment that teaches coping skills for dealing with difficult situations, combining cognitive therapy (what we think) with behavioural therapy (what we do). As part of CBT, therapists may also introduce tools like breathing exercises, visualisation, meditation, and mindfulness. These techniques can help calm the mind and create space for more balanced thinking.
While CBT can be helpful for managing day-to-day challenges, it’s important to remember that it doesn’t address everything. It doesn’t work on deeper family issues, which can have a significant impact on someone’s overall health and wellbeing. Those kinds of challenges often need a different kind of support.
CBT addresses Current Issues
We support ourselves through the process. The difficulties with CBT are that it only addresses current problems and specific issues. Any underlying mental health issues as part of an unhappy childhood are not addressed in CBT sessions.
Conclusion
Cognitive therapy focuses on the individual’s capacity to be able to change how they see the world, through their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Through the process, we should be able to connect with ourselves in a way that can effect change. I do well through the process but there's a part of me that may always struggle because 70% of my brain that's damaged deals with impaired emotions. Although I find it difficult to let go of certain things, I have found CBT therapy to be the most effective.
I have heard of CBT but I have also been dealing with another thing called DBT which I had always thought was more for people with Borderline Personality Disorder, but actually has more to do with life skills.
I haven't really studied the differences between the two, but I imagine that's something I should get around to very soon, so that I can understand the differences.
People have no idea what it's like to deal with the issues that we deal with, unless they have to deal with those themselves that is what it comes down to.
What I have learned over the past 6 months or so, is that the only person I can really change is myself. I can't change anyone else and the way they think, so I need to give up even trying.
Thanks Randy. Sadly, I haven't heard of DBT. Any form of therapy is there to help us find ways to cope. I hope it's helpful Randy.
For us to be able to cope, we must understand our experiences and with the right tools through therapy, we can elicit change.
I agree though that unless we walk in another person's shoes we can never know what they deal with.
I have heard about CBT but don't know much about it. I guess all that matters is that it helps.
If it helps an individual cope better in situations which have caused anxiety or stress then it is a very useful tool, for you especially in view of the extent of your brain damage.
Yes, thank you I find this particular therapy helps well because I deal with anxiety. But with any form of counselling we must put in the work to find ways through, so that we can deal with our issues.
Therapists are there to help give us the tools, but it must be us who elicit the change.