• September 30, 2024
• Uncategorized
• Jeffrey Aviles

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most common modalities for helping with anxiety. Because anxiety is such a prominent problem, there are a variety of treatment and management options to choose from, but it’s important to find what works for you. 

That starts by understanding how those different options combat anxious thoughts and boost your mental well-being. 

CBT has become such a standard in the mental health industry because of its effectiveness. But, if you’ve never heard of it or you’re looking for more information on how it can truly make a difference for you, let’s take a look at a few different ways that CBT helps anxiety.

1. It Helps You Identify Harmful Thought Patterns

Anxiety is often fueled by the “what ifs” of a particular situation. When you start to let it take over your thoughts, you might live in constant fear of the worst-case scenario, or find yourself worried about what will happen if you take one path over another. This vicious cycle is hard to recognize and even harder to escape. 

CBT helps you recognize negative thought patterns that are perpetuating your anxiety. When you understand the areas of thinking that are harmful and creating problems, you can take active steps to re-evaluate them.

2. Challenging Negative Thoughts

When you’ve identified your negative thought patterns, you’ll learn strategies in CBT that can help you challenge them and take your thoughts back to a realistic state. One way to do this is to face your fears. CBT often utilizes exposure therapy to help you realize that the things you’re worried about might not be as bad as they seem. 

CBT can also help you break down your thought patterns into smaller pieces. When they aren’t as large and looming, they’re less likely to feel overwhelming, and you’ll have a better chance of taking control of your anxiety. 

3. Healthy Coping Mechanisms

It’s not uncommon for people with anxiety to look for ways to cope with their symptoms. Unfortunately, that can sometimes lead to unhealthy behaviors and habits, like risk-taking, self-harm, or substance abuse. 

CBT can encourage you to participate in healthy coping mechanisms, like mindfulness, meditation, and journaling. These are great ways to ground your thoughts and learn to relax.

4. Identify Triggers

Even if you recognize negative thoughts, it’s important to understand where they come from or what’s making them worse. 

CBT helps people with anxiety identify their triggers. When you know what causes your anxiety to get worse, you can avoid those situations or learn how to manage them so they don’t seem so powerful.

5. More Confidence

Finally, CBT can help those struggling with anxiety to be more assertive. That might not seem like a coping skill, but when you’re in a mental battle with anxiety, assertiveness makes a big difference. It can boost your confidence and self-esteem, and make it harder for negative self-talk and anxious thoughts to take over. 

More assertiveness and confidence won’t just make it easier to fight back against anxiety. They will boost your mental health altogether so you can open yourself up more and tackle situations that might have been challenging in the past. 

Like any type of therapy, CBT isn’t for everyone. However, it has an extremely strong track record and is often a fantastic way to break the cycle of negative thoughts so you can start taking control of your mental well-being. 

Anxiety doesn’t have to hold you down forever. Feel free to contact me for more information or to set up an appointment soon. I’m happy to answer any questions or help you get started on the healing process so you can find freedom from anxious thoughts.