Treating Anxiety with CBT
Can Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Help With Anxiety?
If you suffer from anxiety, you know how debilitating it can be in your daily life. While medication and other therapies have shown some positive results, some people have had success with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
If you’re looking for effective anxiety therapy treatment, CBT may be the way to go. Read on to learn about this type of therapy and whether it can help you with your anxiety issues.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
CBT is an approach to talk therapy that helps people with all types of anxiety disorders. CBT will help you learn how to identify and change the negative thoughts and behaviors that are contributing to the anxiety symptoms.
The goal is to change your response to the stimuli that triggers your anxiety, rather than just trying to get rid of the symptoms themselves.
Is CBT Effective?
CBT is an effective anxiety therapy treatment, but the success of this therapy depends on a number of factors. Some people find that they experience relief from their symptoms after one session. Others may need to participate in many sessions with a therapist over a period of months before they feel better.
CBT is often combined with other treatments such as medications, relaxation training, and lifestyle changes in order to achieve the best results.
How Does CBT Help Anxiety?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that involves helping people understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
It is a common treatment for anxiety disorders.
If you find your mind full of anxious thoughts, it might stress you and make you feel overwhelmed. The feeling of being overwhelmed may make you overreact or avoid certain situations and people. Fortunately, CBT can teach you to manage, battle, and overcome anxious thoughts. This includes 4 steps:
Identifying the negative thought - A person with anxiety disorders tends to perceive situations as more dangerous than they really are. Controlling and changing these thoughts begins with identifying thoughts that trigger anxiety. The first step to identifying these thoughts is to ask yourself what you were thinking when you began feeling anxious.
Challenging the negative thought - The next step is to challenge the belief; questioning the evidence behind the thought and assessing the reality of the negative thoughts. Your therapist may also ask you to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of your thinking.
Replacing the negative thought with a realistic, helpful thought - This step entails coming up with a constructive way and helpful thoughts in a negative situation. Your therapist will assist you at first, but eventually, you will be able to replace your negative thoughts on your own.
Teaching Coping Skills - Along with teaching you to identify, challenge thoughts, and replace negative thoughts, CBT can also teach you how to react to different situations in a healthy way. CBT will do this by teaching you various coping skills that help you to calm yourself before reacting such as deep breathing, behavioral activation, and progressive muscle relaxation.
In conclusion, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety because it can target specific problems as well as teach skills for dealing with those problems outside of sessions. If you are interested in learning more about CBT and how it can help reduce anxiety, give us a call today (203) 581-0053.
