Overcoming Anxiety with CBT: A Step-by-Step Guide to Regaining Control
Anxiety is an emotional state that can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and even frightened. But with the right strategies, it’s possible to overcome anxiety and take back control of your life.
An example of these strategies is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a highly effective form of therapy that has helped many people to overcome their anxiety and lead happier, more fulfilling lives. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at CBT and give you a step-by-step guide on how to use it to overcome your anxiety.
Understanding Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive behavior therapy is a therapy practice that helps with negative thought patterns and behavior identification. The treatment is built on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interrelated; therefore, by altering our negative thoughts, we can rewire our emotions and behaviors for the better.
Characteristically, cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the present rather than the past, giving it a vote for being a practical and solution-focused therapy. So, how does this help with overcoming anxiety? We address this in five simple steps ahead.
Identify your negative thoughts
The first phase of using CBT to overcome anxiety involves identifying your negative thoughts. These negative thoughts often contribute to feelings of anxiety and can be difficult to recognize at first. However, when you take the time and pay attention to your thoughts when you’re feeling anxious, you will notice a pattern in your thinking.
Ask yourself what you’re thinking of when that feeling of overwhelm, fright, and stress creeps up on you, and whatever thoughts come into mind are what you’ll identify as your triggers-ensure you jot them down for reference.
Challenging your negative thoughts
Once you’ve identified your negative thoughts, the next step is to challenge them. Ask yourself if the thoughts are realistic or if they’re based on assumptions or interpretations. Try to find evidence that supports or contradicts your views and consider alternative explanations.
By challenging your negative thoughts, you begin to change the way you think and feel. Halfway through this exercise, you’ll realize that most of your fears and negative beliefs are irrational or unjustified.
Changing your behaviors
The next step is changing your behaviors. One way to go about this is to replace your negative thoughts with positive ones. Alternatively, you can choose to face your fears head-on by gradually exposing yourself to scenarios that make you anxious.
Confronting your fears like this teaches you that you can cope with your anxiety and that it’s not as scary or as overwhelming as you may have thought. This can also help to reduce your stress over time and give you a sense of control over your feelings.
Practicing self-care
It’s important to practice self-care when you’re working to overcome anxiety, so ensure that you’re prioritizing your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Some of the frequently encouraged self-care rituals include exercising, sleeping, eating well, and spending time with loved ones. It is also recommended that you learn and adopt relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or yoga into your daily life, as they significantly help reduce anxiety.
Getting Professional Help
Last but not least, consider reaching out to a professional for guided CBT sessions. Remember, while the practice can be an effective anxiety management tool, CBT is not a one-size-fits-all approach. If you’re struggling with severe anxiety, it’s always best to seek professional help from a licensed therapist who can provide individualized treatment. This is where an anxiety therapist in your area of NYC (or elsewhere relevant) will come in useful. There is a wealth of information available online allowing you to make an educated decision about the best therapist for your needs.
A therapist trained in CBT techniques for anxiety will take you through the entire process of identifying and challenging your negative thinking while helping you incorporate behavioral change and self-care practices. The best part of it all? You get to do all that at your own pace!
Bottom Line
Anxiety is a debilitating condition; however, with the right tools and strategies, anyone can overcome it. CBT is one of the highly effective and practical forms of therapy that can help people get through anxiety.
By recognizing and challenging negative thoughts, cognitive behavioral therapy will assist you with changing your behavior and anxiety coping mechanisms. More importantly, always remember that you’re not alone; help is always available, and with time, patience, and a little bit of work, anyone can overcome anxiety and regain control of their life.
