Feeling stuck? Everyone has been there. Many people struggle with negative, untrue thought patterns. Many people are also learning that there is a difference between reality and how they think about reality. What if these thoughts were not true? What if you had options and a path forward even though you feel overwhelmed? In most cases, there are always options, and when people change their mindset, they are often able to make valuable changes in other areas of their lives.
“I learned to take those experiences that were difficult in my life and
in the adversity that I had overcome to use it for a positive change.”
—Dominique Moceanu
It is often easier to talk about positive change than to implement it. The reality is that changing negative thoughts into positive ones can be a difficult process, and many people are reaching out for help. They are finding the help they need by working with a therapist who utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
CBT is a method of therapy that has been proven to help a variety of people struggling with a variety of problems. Research showed that clients who underwent CBT experience long-term and substantial changes in their lives because they focused upon their own thoughts. For individuals who struggled with depression or anxiety, CBT provided as much relief as medication did. The focus of CBT is to equip individuals with cognitive and emotional skills that make a difference in their actions. Often, it’s benefits persist long after therapy ends. If you think that you could find value in working with a cognitive behavioral therapist, reach out to Thriveworks Marietta in Cobb County today.
Could I Benefit from CBT?
Specifically, mental health professionals have been known to utilize CBT as they treat…
- Mood swings
- Relationship issues
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Anger management
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Self-destructive habits
- Drug and/or alcohol addiction
- Child and adolescent issues
- General health issues
Thriveworks Marietta in Cobb county has therapists and counselors on staff who specialize in CBT. We are proud to offer this effective treatment, and if you are ready to confront negative thinking in your own life, then we are ready to help you in that process.
CBT: What Is It?
Cognitive behavior therapy is both practical and proactive. It is a therapeutic method that focuses upon a particular social, emotional, psychological, or relational challenge a client is facing. Individuals work closely with a therapist to change their own negative thinking and behaviors within the situation. The primary focus is not the other person or the circumstance, but the client’s own thinking and actions.
Certain, difficult people and circumstances can arise within people’s lives, but often, they have no control over those while they have significant control over the meaning they assign to these circumstances and relationships. CBT first seeks to identify negative, untrue thought patterns. Then, these can be adjusted with a more positive and true response.
One example of how cognitive behavioral therapy works is with insomnia clients. When people cannot sleep, they may tell themselves things like, “I will never sleep again.” This untrue and negative thought can raise people’s anxiety and contribute to the insomnia. Replacing this thought with a positive and true thought can help the problem. When people tell themselves positive, true things, their anxiety is often reduced. For example, insomnia clients can instead tell themselves, “insomnia responds to treatment. I am doing my best to stick to my sleep routine and give myself a good chance at a good night’s sleep. One bad night does not determine the next night’s rest.”
Cognitive Distortions—The Root Problem
These negative thought patterns have name: cognitive distortions. There are common cognitive distortions that plague people, causing or exacerbating problems in their lives. A few examples of cognitive distortions include:
- Polarized thinking imposes a black-and-white outlook upon the world. Everything is either good or evil; awesome or terrible; lovely or disgusting.
- Blaming looks for fault, even when none can be found or when assigning blame does not help the situation.
- Catastrophizing looks for the worst in every occasion. It magnifies any negative detail to be a sign that disaster is sure to come.
- Control fallacies happen when people take too much responsibility for a situation or they abdicate responsibility, feeling victimized by fate, luck, or the universe.
- Filtering sifts out any good or positive within a situation so that the focus is exclusive upon what has gone wrong. People who filter often dismiss evidence of anything favorable.
- Overgeneralization takes one event and universalizes it.
- Emotional reasoning equates how people feel about a reality with the reality itself.
- Personalization takes other people’s actions as direct reflections upon oneself. For example, if my friend cannot meet for dinner, then that friend must not care me (when maybe that friend just has to work late).
- Fairness fallacy compares one’s life to others, imposing an arbitrary standard of what people deserve and what is fair.
Schedule Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at Thriveworks Marietta
As you read through these cognitive distortions, did any sound familiar to you? If negative thoughts are plaguing you, know that changing them is possible. Thriveworks Marietta offers cognitive behavioral therapy that can help you transform your mind. When you contact our office, know that we accept most forms of insurance. We also offer evening and weekend appointments.
Let’s work together toward positive change. Call Thriveworks Marietta today.
Coping Skills, Self Esteem, Stress, Anxiety, Depression 
