The word "cognition " means thoughts or perceptions. Cognitive Therapy is based on the simple idea that your thoughts and attitudes- and not external events-create moods." "
When we are upset we tend to see the world in negative or passimistic way. When we feel depressed we may see it as hopeless and unsound, "If we feel anxious and panicky, He wrote, " You may think what if I lose control and crack up?"
A sentence, A phrase or even a paragraph can have different meanings considering the way you feel or perception on it. " I really like you, you are a neat person," can have different ways of interpretations. Some people may think as pleased, others may feel guilty or even embarrassed.
He wrote, " It's because of the different ways they might think about the compliments. If you feel sad, you're probably thinking, Ah, Dr Burns is just saying that to make me feel good." Or " He's flattering me, he is trying to get something from me," Or others may think, " Gee, Dr. Burns likes me. That's great."
"YOU CAN CHANGE THE WAY YOU FEEL"
There are people who are told " You are too moody". Why do they hear that? Can we change our moods?
Mood come from thoughts of distortions. They are reflections of our inner thoughts and feelings. The way we think mirrors in our behaviors and moods. Circumstances around us are always influencing us in various ways. Suppose we are " On a plane , or a train, or in a traffic jam, "The situations we are in have impact on us. We get pouty or angry or other distortion happen. " Considering effort and persistence are sometimes required to snap out of a bad mood."
To change the way we feel we should understand our moods. "Every negative feeling results from negative thought"
" Sadness and depression result from thoughts of loss," frustration " results from unfulfilled expectation" or anger " results from unfairness. " You tell yourself that someone is treating you unjustly or trying to take advantage of you."
Negative feelings are not always bad, sometimes they can be " Healthy and appropriate". " Learning when to accept these feelings and how to cope with a realistically negative feeling is just as important as learning how to rid yourself distorted thoughts and feeling."
Because of these thought patterns , the behavior that are reflected are sometimes accepted depending on our customs, culture and background. " It is natural to get dissapointed" if you are having urguments or loss something that you wanted". It's not good to keep it to yourself. " If you have to give a speech or start a new job or ask your boss to give a raise, you will probably feel nervous" He wrote " I believe these experiences give us the opportunity to growth for intimacy, and for a deeper comprehension of what it mean to be human"
HOW TO DIAGNOSE YOUR MOODS
To diagnose our moods we have to understand " How professional classify emotional problem"
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: " Obsessions are persistent, intrusive, non sensical thoughts that you can't shake out of your head " " Compulsion is realistic act that we do repeatedly. Thus the obsession is " Repetitious, frightening thought and compulsion is the repeated action that results from the thought."
The most common kind of obsessions are " violence, contamination or doubt".
Bipolar Disorder:
Bipolar depression" have two poles-Highs and Lows. " A person may go down into deep depression........suddenly depelop an abnormal and potentially dangerous mood elevation." It swings from mania to depression and back again"
Mania is an "Extraordinary " state where manic patient jumps from topic to topic and hyper in their actions. They may think joyous like King of the world or Low as a beggar.
It is necessary to realise and predict the repeatation. It takes practise to identify those feelings and deal with them in positive ways. " Sometimes bad moods are triggered by a negative memory or fantasy that comes out of the blue." That's why we need to be specific and accurate to identify them.
There are four steps to identify the distortions and get outcome in positive way.
Step one: Is to identify the upsetting situation" : Jot down the things that are upsetting you, How and (what) are you feeling unhappy about?"
Step Two: Record your negative feeling :- Write down in simple words how you feel that describe the negative or upsetting situation best like ' Sad, anxious, guilty, frustrated, hopeless," Rate each negative feeling on a scale from 1 to 100 for " Least to most".
Step three:- Use the triple column technique:- " Use the triple column technique- Make your response with your" Rational thoughts". Make sure....they are convincing and valid."
Step four:- Outcomes- This is the result of previous steps. " When you rationalize it, it has positive feeling and beliefs and negative or distortions are greatly reduced.
The Vertical arrow technique:- " First, identify a negative thought that is upsetting you", rationalize it and put an arrow and write down the new improved second thought, " What would it mean to me?" These may go as follows
1. "If i don't study harder, i may blow the exam" , consequently
2.If i blow the exam, i may fail the course
And so on. As you go down and answer yourself, " What would it mean to me? Why would it be upsetting to me?
Cost benefit Analysis:- Another useful way is to weigh your thought is to find advantages and disadvantages. "When you feel angry, anxious or guilty, you can ask yourself, How will it help me? How will it hurt me? " to feel this way.
Ten Ways To Untwist Your Thinking:- There are ten ways to untwist your thoughts. They are
1. Identify The Distortions- Pin point the cause of distortion.
2.Examine the evidence:- " What is the evidence for this thoughts?"
3.The Double- Standard Method:- " Have a self critical thought," ask yourself would i say this to a close friend?.......Why not be equally encouraging to yourself?"
4.The Experimental Technique- " The purpose of the experimental technique is to test your thought" and to push yourself to the next elevation.
5.Thinking In Shades Of Grey:- " Remind yourself that things are usually some where between 0 and 100 percent instead of insisting they are one way or the other."
6.The Survey Method:- Ask yourself," Would other people would agree that this thought is valid. "
7. Define terms:- Define it in your way and say that it doesn't exist. Label like " Fool, loser winner, jerk or inferior person are useless abstracts".
8.The Semantic Method:- This method is an effective way to combat, " Should statements". You could also say, " It would be nice." or "It would be preferable"
9. Re- Attribution:- " One antidote to personalization is re- attribution that is to revalue the thoughts by asking yourself, " What other factors may contribute to this problem?"
10. Cost-Benefit Analysis:- You can weigh the advantages and disadvantages of your thoughts.
The more you use these technique the more you get used to the patterns and day by day they improve.
HOW TO OVERCOME FEARS,PHOBIAS, AND PANIC ATTACKS:
These techniques can be useful against fears,phobias, and panic attacks.
1.Experimental Method: Test your beliefs of what your distortions are. If you could do the things that can't be done while you think you have it, that proves that you really don't have it.
2. Paradoxical techniques: Exaggerate your fears instead of running away from them. That is to get over whelmed by it.
3.Confront your fear: "Expose yourself to what ever you are afraid of instead of running away and letting your fear cripple you."
_ Gradual Exposure: You expose yourself gradually and to the situation and back off when anxiety is too great.
_ Partnership Method: Tell somebody to walk ahead of you and meet the person to a certain distance, increase the distance day by day.
4. Daily mood Log: " Write down the negative thoughts that make you anxious or frightened. Identify them and replace them with realistic thoughts. "Tell yourself that things will turn out reasonably well."
5. Positive Imaging: "Substitute with reassuring and peaceful images. Read religious books, Listen to calming musics.
6.Distractions: Distract yourself with intense mental activities.
" The Feeling Good Handbook"- By
Dr. David D. Burns
When we are upset we tend to see the world in negative or passimistic way. When we feel depressed we may see it as hopeless and unsound, "If we feel anxious and panicky, He wrote, " You may think what if I lose control and crack up?"
A sentence, A phrase or even a paragraph can have different meanings considering the way you feel or perception on it. " I really like you, you are a neat person," can have different ways of interpretations. Some people may think as pleased, others may feel guilty or even embarrassed.
He wrote, " It's because of the different ways they might think about the compliments. If you feel sad, you're probably thinking, Ah, Dr Burns is just saying that to make me feel good." Or " He's flattering me, he is trying to get something from me," Or others may think, " Gee, Dr. Burns likes me. That's great."
"YOU CAN CHANGE THE WAY YOU FEEL"
There are people who are told " You are too moody". Why do they hear that? Can we change our moods?
Mood come from thoughts of distortions. They are reflections of our inner thoughts and feelings. The way we think mirrors in our behaviors and moods. Circumstances around us are always influencing us in various ways. Suppose we are " On a plane , or a train, or in a traffic jam, "The situations we are in have impact on us. We get pouty or angry or other distortion happen. " Considering effort and persistence are sometimes required to snap out of a bad mood."
To change the way we feel we should understand our moods. "Every negative feeling results from negative thought"
" Sadness and depression result from thoughts of loss," frustration " results from unfulfilled expectation" or anger " results from unfairness. " You tell yourself that someone is treating you unjustly or trying to take advantage of you."
Negative feelings are not always bad, sometimes they can be " Healthy and appropriate". " Learning when to accept these feelings and how to cope with a realistically negative feeling is just as important as learning how to rid yourself distorted thoughts and feeling."
Because of these thought patterns , the behavior that are reflected are sometimes accepted depending on our customs, culture and background. " It is natural to get dissapointed" if you are having urguments or loss something that you wanted". It's not good to keep it to yourself. " If you have to give a speech or start a new job or ask your boss to give a raise, you will probably feel nervous" He wrote " I believe these experiences give us the opportunity to growth for intimacy, and for a deeper comprehension of what it mean to be human"
HOW TO DIAGNOSE YOUR MOODS
To diagnose our moods we have to understand " How professional classify emotional problem"
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: " Obsessions are persistent, intrusive, non sensical thoughts that you can't shake out of your head " " Compulsion is realistic act that we do repeatedly. Thus the obsession is " Repetitious, frightening thought and compulsion is the repeated action that results from the thought."
The most common kind of obsessions are " violence, contamination or doubt".
Bipolar Disorder:
Bipolar depression" have two poles-Highs and Lows. " A person may go down into deep depression........suddenly depelop an abnormal and potentially dangerous mood elevation." It swings from mania to depression and back again"
Mania is an "Extraordinary " state where manic patient jumps from topic to topic and hyper in their actions. They may think joyous like King of the world or Low as a beggar.
It is necessary to realise and predict the repeatation. It takes practise to identify those feelings and deal with them in positive ways. " Sometimes bad moods are triggered by a negative memory or fantasy that comes out of the blue." That's why we need to be specific and accurate to identify them.
There are four steps to identify the distortions and get outcome in positive way.
Step one: Is to identify the upsetting situation" : Jot down the things that are upsetting you, How and (what) are you feeling unhappy about?"
Step Two: Record your negative feeling :- Write down in simple words how you feel that describe the negative or upsetting situation best like ' Sad, anxious, guilty, frustrated, hopeless," Rate each negative feeling on a scale from 1 to 100 for " Least to most".
Step three:- Use the triple column technique:- " Use the triple column technique- Make your response with your" Rational thoughts". Make sure....they are convincing and valid."
Step four:- Outcomes- This is the result of previous steps. " When you rationalize it, it has positive feeling and beliefs and negative or distortions are greatly reduced.
The Vertical arrow technique:- " First, identify a negative thought that is upsetting you", rationalize it and put an arrow and write down the new improved second thought, " What would it mean to me?" These may go as follows
1. "If i don't study harder, i may blow the exam" , consequently
2.If i blow the exam, i may fail the course
And so on. As you go down and answer yourself, " What would it mean to me? Why would it be upsetting to me?
Cost benefit Analysis:- Another useful way is to weigh your thought is to find advantages and disadvantages. "When you feel angry, anxious or guilty, you can ask yourself, How will it help me? How will it hurt me? " to feel this way.
Ten Ways To Untwist Your Thinking:- There are ten ways to untwist your thoughts. They are
1. Identify The Distortions- Pin point the cause of distortion.
2.Examine the evidence:- " What is the evidence for this thoughts?"
3.The Double- Standard Method:- " Have a self critical thought," ask yourself would i say this to a close friend?.......Why not be equally encouraging to yourself?"
4.The Experimental Technique- " The purpose of the experimental technique is to test your thought" and to push yourself to the next elevation.
5.Thinking In Shades Of Grey:- " Remind yourself that things are usually some where between 0 and 100 percent instead of insisting they are one way or the other."
6.The Survey Method:- Ask yourself," Would other people would agree that this thought is valid. "
7. Define terms:- Define it in your way and say that it doesn't exist. Label like " Fool, loser winner, jerk or inferior person are useless abstracts".
8.The Semantic Method:- This method is an effective way to combat, " Should statements". You could also say, " It would be nice." or "It would be preferable"
9. Re- Attribution:- " One antidote to personalization is re- attribution that is to revalue the thoughts by asking yourself, " What other factors may contribute to this problem?"
10. Cost-Benefit Analysis:- You can weigh the advantages and disadvantages of your thoughts.
The more you use these technique the more you get used to the patterns and day by day they improve.
HOW TO OVERCOME FEARS,PHOBIAS, AND PANIC ATTACKS:
These techniques can be useful against fears,phobias, and panic attacks.
1.Experimental Method: Test your beliefs of what your distortions are. If you could do the things that can't be done while you think you have it, that proves that you really don't have it.
2. Paradoxical techniques: Exaggerate your fears instead of running away from them. That is to get over whelmed by it.
3.Confront your fear: "Expose yourself to what ever you are afraid of instead of running away and letting your fear cripple you."
_ Gradual Exposure: You expose yourself gradually and to the situation and back off when anxiety is too great.
_ Partnership Method: Tell somebody to walk ahead of you and meet the person to a certain distance, increase the distance day by day.
4. Daily mood Log: " Write down the negative thoughts that make you anxious or frightened. Identify them and replace them with realistic thoughts. "Tell yourself that things will turn out reasonably well."
5. Positive Imaging: "Substitute with reassuring and peaceful images. Read religious books, Listen to calming musics.
6.Distractions: Distract yourself with intense mental activities.
" The Feeling Good Handbook"- By
Dr. David D. Burns