Today I want to share some things I have learned through CBT. You learn the way you think affects the way you feel. Oh how true. We can all relate. Sometimes our thoughts can be biased and negative when we are going through something. With this method you learn to identify the automatic negative thoughts. You do this with what they call thought records. It helps us to think in a more fair and balanced way to process things. Remember, as humans we are creatures of habit. So with practice anything can become second nature. Depending on where your at emotionally, once you achieve success you will appreciate the time and effort it took to get there. That doesn’t mean you stop practicing those principles just because they finally worked. We can have things that come up to give us off days, that affect our mental health.
We all have automatic thoughts. We just need to develop our thoughts so that we produce positive automatic thoughts. Remember it’s one day at a time. One thing at a time. The best time that we were told to do a thought record is shortly after you notice a change in how you feel. Of course, that may not be practical. It is called life. Just do it as soon as you can. It is suggested to make a note of the date and time. Record where you were . Summarize what was happening just before you noticed a change in how you were feeling. Rate the scale of 0-100%. If you have more than one emotion rate each one individually.
You will learn to thinking more accurately. Not talking about just fun thoughts. I feel I had a nervous breakdown while serving in the military. So applying these things with my thoughts and emotions controlling my mind was like fighting a never ending war. After my break through using meditation music, it has been easier to apply these things. Some things may take a while to work for you. Just because it doesn’t work the first time and second time, doesn’t mean it never will. I am speaking from my experience.
We were told things like, if a friend thought this about themselves, what would you say to them? What facts or evidence do they feel makes them feel it is true? Have they notice times when it didn’t seem true? Have they thought of more helpful ways to think about themselves or the situation they found themselves in? Have they applied ways of thinking to help them achieve their goals? Then see if you can answer them and how they relate to you. I also have another website called , “bringgodbacktoamerica.com.” If you want to look for a more spiritual way of getting help in addition to this.
