Mental health

Upd: 19.10.22

Table Of Contents

How Does CBT Work?

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) seeks to change how you think and behave to manage your problems. The goal is to help you break free from negative behavioral patterns and thoughts that keep you trapped in your situations.

The cognitive component focuses on how your thoughts affect your feelings and behaviors, while the behavioral part focuses on how your actions affect your thoughts and feelings. But cbt for weight loss techniques is also very practical! CBT is unique because it addresses current issues rather than past ones. In subsequent sections, you’ll explore the impact of CBT on your health and lifestyle.

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a potent form of psychotherapy that helps patients tackle false beliefs that affect their moods and lead to negative behavior. A form of talk therapy, CBT has been used to treat several forms of mental illnesses.

What Principle Underlies Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Psychiatrist Aaron Beck first developed CBT in the 1960s. It is designed to help people with difficulties such as depression and anxiety. This kind of therapy is based on believing that emotions result from cognitive processes and that cognition can be changed to reduce emotional distress.

Nowadays, the principle underlying CBT is that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected. Therefore, cbt changes negative thoughts into positive ones to improve mood and reduce anxiety.

People with depression often have negative thoughts about themselves, their environment, and their future. They also tend to have a negative view of their ability to control things in their life. Cognitive therapy helps them change these beliefs to lead more fulfilling lives.

What Are the Core Beliefs in Cbt & How to Identify Them?

Core beliefs are the beliefs we hold for ourselves, our world, and others. Our experiences and feedback from others often shape them. Our experiences can also create them.

The core beliefs of cbt medical abbreviation are:

  1. The present situation can be changed.
  2. The individual has personal control over their feelings and actions.
  3. The individual’s feelings are based on their thoughts, not on the world or other people.
  4. Thoughts determine how we feel, but not the other way around.
  5. People can learn to change the way they think about things by changing what they say to themselves in their minds (self-talk).

There are many ways to identify core beliefs. However, psychologists say the first step in identifying core beliefs is identifying the specific behaviors you want to change.

The next step is to identify your core beliefs to answer the questions:

  • How do you react when someone disagrees with you?
  • Do you believe that people are inherently good or bad?
  • What are your thoughts on death and dying?
  • What do you think about money and wealth?

What Does CBT Stand for in Psychology?

A lot of people ask, “what does CBT stand for?” The simple answer is that CBT is a form of psychotherapy that seeks to improve the psyche of an individual using refined therapy techniques. It is a painless and highly effective way to deal with mental health issues. 

Also read – Psychology of Weight Loss

CBT Vs. Psychotherapy 

CBT and psychotherapy have a lot in common. However, there are slight differences. The significant difference between them is that CBT is a short-term treatment while how long does traditional psychoanalysis typically take.

Psychotherapy covers many options, including CBT, and is reputed to improve mental health. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a great way to tackle mental health problems. It focuses on managing your response to your current issues. Here are some of the benefits of CBT:

  • It helps manage mental health disorders like depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and phobias
  • Aids the prevention of mental health relapse
  • It helps you learn how to handle stressful life events
  • It enables you to deal with loss, grief, or emotional trauma
  • It helps teach you better ways to communicate with others

What Does Cbt Treat and How It Work With Various Approaches 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can treat various mental health problems, including anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

It has also been shown to help treat phobias, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder (BPD), bipolar disorder, and more. 

There are many approaches to CBT, but they all have the same goal: helping people identify negative patterns in their thoughts and feelings.

There are many approaches to CBT. Some of them include:

  • Cognitive therapy.
  • Behavioral therapy.
  • Interpersonal therapy.
  • Psychodynamic therapy.

Types of CBT

Below are some of the types of CBT:

  • Exposure Therapy

First on the list is exposure therapy used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias. This cbt stand for patients identifying their triggers and learning how to avoid them. As part of the control, patients undergoing exposure therapy will be exposed to these anxiety triggers and allowed to confront them. Successful patients can then be discharged.

  • Exposure and Response Prevention

Exposure and response prevention, or ERP, is a form of CBT exposure therapy where therapists help you confront your fears and triggers. In such a controlled environment, patients learn to resist the urge to flee. ERP is great for managing the symptoms of OCD.

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Mindfulness-based stress reduction, also known as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, is a form of CBT that uses trusted mindfulness techniques to affect behavioral changes. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: What to Expect

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: What to Expect

You can expect how to do cbt on yourself at least once a week. You will be required to take 5-20 sessions, each typically lasting 30-60 minutes.

First Session

During your first session, your therapist will work with you to determine your feelings and the effects these have on your thoughts and behaviors. After the talking session, your therapist will provide you with clarity on the areas you can change and give you some practice exercises to help you make these changes. 

Subsequent Sessions

During subsequent sessions, your therapist will evaluate your progress and point out other areas of improvement. At the end of the sessions, you will have learned how to manage your issues and stop them from negatively affecting your life. 

Also read: How to Meditate for Weight Loss

Techniques How to Use Cbt for Weight Loss Long Term

A weight-loss study found that people who used CBT were more likely to lose weight than those who didn’t use it. The participants who used CBT lost an average of 12kg over 16 months, while those in the control group only lost an average of 4kg over 16 months.

The goal of CBT is to change the way you think about eating. There’re some cbt techniques for weight loss:  

  • Recognize your food triggers

It can be hard to know what might trigger you to overeat or binge eat, but there are some common culprits. A big one is emotional eating. This means you turn to food when feeling stressed, sad, or angry. Some people also overeat when they’re bored or tired.

Another common trigger is stress eating – eating in response to feelings of stress and anxiety. This can happen because you want some comfort from the pressure of the day or because the physical act of chewing and swallowing makes it feel like time is going slower than usual.

Awareness of these triggers is essential because they are often the root cause of binge eating.

  • Develop a plan for when you feel like overeating

Ensure you have healthy snacks, so you don’t need to buy unhealthy food when you feel like overeating.

Plan out your meals for the day so that you know what’s coming and won’t be tempted by unhealthy food choices.

Write down what your triggers are so that when they happen, it’s easier for you to figure out how to avoid them.

  • Keep a food diary

A food diary is a written record of what a person eats over time. The goal is to identify patterns in the person’s diet and habits, such as eating too much or too little, eating at the wrong time, or skipping meals.

Keeping a food diary is an excellent way to maintain a healthy diet. It helps people identify their eating and how it affects their health.

It can help you to make healthier choices about the foods you eat, it can be used to track your progress towards weight loss goals, and it can also be used as a way of monitoring your overall health.

You can use cbt for the weight loss app to control them.

  • Track your thoughts and feelings about food

It is crucial to track your thoughts and feelings about food. This will help you make better decisions about what you are eating.

This technique is based on the idea that we eat more when we are bored or unhappy than when we are happy, so by tracking our thoughts and feelings about food, we can better understand what leads us to overeat and make better decisions in the future.

  • Use mindfulness to make healthy choices

Mindfulness has been proven to help with weight loss by reducing stress, reducing the risk of overeating. Mindfulness also helps us make better choices about what we eat, drink, and do for recreation.

Focus on all your senses when you eat. Notice the colors, smells, textures, and flavors of your food.

Notice how you talk when having conversations with others or even yourself inside your head. -Practice mindful living: Be present with everything that is happening at this very moment.

How to Prepare for a CBT Session

Now that you have decided to try cbt techniques for weight loss, here’s how you can prepare.

Get a Therapist

Your journey starts with finding a great therapist. You can get a referral from your health insurance, doctor, and other trusted sources. 

Get Ready for the Cost

CBT sessions will set you back a few bucks, so get ready to cover it. Some health insurance plans only cover limited sessions a year. So, it is wise to discuss rates and preferred payment options early on and make sure you can afford it.

Be Open

The essence of CBT sessions is to get things off your chest, so come with an open mind and be ready to talk about your feelings. You can discuss each session with your therapist to get a sense of your progress.

What are the Benefits of CBT?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a great way to tackle mental health problems. It focuses on managing your response to your current issues. Here are some of the benefits of CBT:

  • It helps manage mental health disorders like depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and phobias
  • Aids the prevention of mental health relapse
  • It helps you learn how to manage stressful life events
  • It helps you deal with loss, grief, or emotional trauma
  • It helps teach you better ways to communicate with others

Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Treat Depression?

Yes, cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the proven therapeutic methods of treating and managing mental health conditions, including depression. CBT helps patients discover their triggers for depression and deal with them.

How to Do Cbt Therapy at Home in Your Everyday Life

One of the easiest ways to do CBT therapy at home is by using a journal. Keep a daily journal, writing down your thoughts and feelings. This way, you can look back on your ideas when you were feeling better and see how they compare with the ones you have now.

Another way to do CBT therapy at home is through visualization and relaxation techniques. This technique aims to help you focus on the present moment and take time for yourself.

The last way to do CBT therapy at home is by using self-help books or reading material on the internet about how to cope with anxiety and depression.

Moreover, cbt stand for being done at home by following specific steps:

  1. Make a list of your problems and the situations where you feel it most intensely.
  2. Notice your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during these situations.
  3. Write down what you would say to yourself if you could take an outsider’s perspective on your situation.
  4. Identify any patterns or themes in your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that might help explain why the problem occurs for your times or in these situations.
  5. What would you like to do differently? What alternative ways of thinking about the situation might work better for you?

Final Thoughts

CBT is great for sorting through your current feelings and helping you improve your behavior. The sessions help you work through your feelings and improve your mental health. Take the quiz today to get started.

Emmanuella Uka - Copywriter
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Emmanuella Uka is a passionate researcher, creative writer, and SEO expert. She prides in delivering top-notch content that effectively fulfills the writing purpose. She is versatile across a wide range of niches, and topics. Emmanuella Uka is currently married with 2 kids and lives in the United States of America.

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Kimberly Tytyk is a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach (INHC) and a Certified International Health Coach (CIHC). Following decades of personal experience transforming her personal health and achieving remission of autoimmune thyroiditis and PCOS, Kimberly completed her formal coaching training in 2021 at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Her passions include deep nutrition, holistic and balanced living practices, regeneration, community-building, and finding bliss — usually in a cuddle with her husband and dog.