Cognitive therapy is a very active and direct type of therapy that works by changing negative thoughts that cause emotional distress. Although there are many kinds of cognitive therapy that go by different names, they all focus on your thoughts and beliefs as a primary cause of your symptoms.
This type of therapy works well in treating depression, anxiety, and panic disorders.
Experts who study and use cognitive therapy believe that depression is caused by:
For example, your spouse may be mildly upset with you, or your boss may say he wants to see you. If you link self-defeating beliefs with a negative view of reality, you may leap to the conclusion that your spouse no longer loves you or your boss is about to fire you.
If you have the belief that you should be perfect and never make mistakes, you will probably be very critical of yourself, even over the most minor matters. You may tend to blame yourself for everything. You may think you are a failure in everything you do. Even a simple mistake can lead to negative thoughts that leave you feeling hopeless and awful.
The goal of cognitive therapy is to break this cycle by stopping these negative thinking habits and replacing them with more realistic ones. You and your therapist will work as a team to test the logic of your thoughts. For example, your therapist may help you examine your belief that you should be perfect. Is it reasonable to expect that of yourself? What has been the result of that belief? What is likely to be the result of it in the future?
You and your therapist will work together to help you to accept that life is a balance between good and bad events, and that your outlook affects your feelings and actions.
Changing negative attitudes and beliefs takes a lot of work but it can be done. Cognitive therapy can change your entire outlook on life.
