Mind Over Matter- Cognitive Therapy
I am a firm believer in the scientific research that says a person suffering from anxiety, panic attacks, depression and everything else that comes along with those illnesses and mental disorders can be treated totally without the use of pills. In some very extreme cases where nothing else works, pills may be necessary as part of the entire treatment plan but in most cases the only therapy that is needed is training a person how to shift their mindset from negative thoughts and feelings into positive thoughts and feelings. In other words- when you change the way you think, you can change the way you feel.
There is a famous quote that says “I think, therefore I am.” We can rearrange this quote around a little to better understand the basis of anxiety and panic attacks by saying “I think, therefore I fear”. What this means is that anxiety and panic attacks come directly from a person’s negative thoughts and feelings.
“I think, therefore I am”
~Descartes
Negative Thoughts + Negative Feelings = Panic Attacks
The mind is an extremely powerful thing even to the point of being able to make us or break us. The way we think about things has a strong influence on who we are and how we interact with situations and other people around us. The type of therapy that focuses on changing a person’s mindset from negative to positive is known as Cognitive Therapy.
Before you read any further let’s do a written exercise. Get a pencil and piece of paper and write down what thoughts bring on feelings of anxiety, worry and panic. If you’re not sure then just bear with me here and I’ll explain. When you’re having feelings of anxiety, worry or panic you’re telling yourself that you’re in danger and that something bad is about to happen. For example, if you experience panic attacks before you drive over a bridge, you’re probably telling yourself that when you get on that bridge it’s going to give way and you’re going to go plunging into the water or the ground below you. This is the negative thought that is bringing on the feelings of anxiety and panic.
So let’s go back to the written exercise. Try to think of the things or thoughts that bring on your anxiety, worry and panic and write these down. This is to identify the source of these negative feelings and then you can focus on changing your thinking from negative to positive.
The Vicious Cycle
When you start feeling anxious and worried, your bad or negative thoughts and feelings begin to build off of each other, continuously feeding each other and getting bigger in a seemingly never ending vicious cycle. These thoughts will seem completely realistic and rational to you, but the truth is they really aren’t. When you’re feeling anxious, you’re telling yourself things that simply are not true. This is what is known as neurotic anxiety.
There is a big difference between neurotic anxiety and a healthy fear. Healthy fear is a legitimate perception of real danger and is there to keep us from getting seriously hurt or even killed. Neurotic anxiety is based off of thoughts that are distorted and illogical. These distorted, illogical thoughts are identified as Cognitive Distortions.
Here is a list of Cognitive Distortions that will help you better understand why you’re feeling anxious, worried and suffering from panic attacks:
All-or-Nothing Thinking ~ You see the world in black and white. Example: If you’re not a COMPLETE success, then you’re a TOTAL failure.
Overgeneralization ~ You see one negative happening as a never-ending pattern of defeat. Example: “I’ll NEVER be able to learn a new job skill”. You’re already spelling out and claiming your defeat before it even happens. You’ve got you’re mind believing it already so it’s practically a done deal.
Mental Filter ~ Did you ever have a boss or loved one always point out what you did wrong about a task or a job and never pointed out what you did right about it? In other words, they focused entirely on the negative aspects of it and never acknowledged the positive aspects of it. Well this is similar to what you’re doing when you have this Cognitive Distortion. You’re hyper focusing on the one little negative detail about the whole situation and you totally ignore the positive things about it.
Discounting the Positive ~ You’re convinced that your achievements and positive qualities are insignificant.
Jumping to Conclusions ~ This one is pretty self-explanatory. You’re making an assumption about something before you even know the facts.
Example: You’re walking in the mall one day and you see a group of people laughing. You automatically assume that they’re laughing at you for some crazy reason when in reality they’re laughing about an inside joke that happened between them a week ago. This is known as Mind-Reading. Another example: You’re telling yourself that you’re going to make a fool out of yourself tomorrow while you’re giving that presentation at work. You’ve already condemned yourself to being an idiot in front of co-workers before it’s even happened. This one is known as Fortune-Telling.
Magnification and Minimization ~ You’re completely blowing your shortcomings way out of proportion and belittling your strengths.
Emotional Reasoning ~ Example: “I feel like a failure, therefore I must really be a failure”
Should Statements ~ Example: “I SHOULDN’T be so nervous to speak in front of this group of people. Everyone else is doing just fine and I seem to be the only one about to run out of the room in a panic. What on earth is wrong with me!?”
Labeling ~ This is an extreme form of Overgeneralization. You generalize from one little mistake or shortcoming and make it your entire identity. Example: You made one little mistake on an important test that hurt your overall score. Instead of identifying that as one little mistake on a test you identify yourself as one big, fat loser with a permanent imprint of a huge “L” on your forehead for all to see. It could have been one little “stupid mistake”, we all make them but you take this and label yourself as an overall loser in everything that you do.
Blame ~ You keep blaming yourself for something that happened and will not let it go. Continuously kicking yourself in the teeth or you go the extreme opposite and blame everyone else but yourself and continuously deny your own role in the problem. Do you see how this can be detrimental to your thoughts and actions?
Go over this list and identify the one or the ones that you can identify with and I will see you in the next post.
