Today I want to talk about cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In specific, cognitive distortions. I talk a lot about identifying and challenging our thoughts, and cognitive distortions are a way to categorize our thoughts.

Cognitive distortions are essentially ways that our mind 🧠 convinces us of something that isn’t really true.

I’m going to go through a bunch of these over the next few weeks- let’s start with these two:

-Filtering- Filtering is when we take only negative details into consideration and filter out all positive aspects. For instance, if I said, “Driving is the worst!!! I hate everything about driving, the traffic, bad drivers, my commute...” 🚗 😤 I might be forgetting how much I enjoy sitting in my warm car and listening to podcasts👂🏻. I might also be forgetting how much I didn’t like riding the bus!

-Black and White Thinking- This is where we think in concretes- we’re perfect or we’re a failure. People are good 👍 or they are bad 👎. There’s no middle ground! When you place people or situations in “either/or” categories, with no shades of gray 🌫, you’re not allowing for the complexity of most people and situations. You hear this one so often in couples therapy, “They never wash the dishes!”, “I always do everything around the house!”. My black and white thinking alarm bells 🚨 go off every time I hear the word “always” ...wait, was that black and white thinking?? 😂

We’re all guilty of these from time to time, as you can see. Any one want to share another example?

September is Suicide Prevention Month, so today I participated in the #WhyNotChallenge- this challenge was aimed to create a million unique reasons to live! 💕

Part of the reason I became a therapist was exposure to people in my life who came to me with thoughts or plans for suicide. As a young person, I didn’t know how to best navigate these conversations but I knew I wanted to help!

Over my studies, I learned many myths about suicide. Here are two I want to dispel today:

1. Talking about suicide can make someone more likely to end their life: Asking someone if they’re suicidal will NEVER give them an idea that they haven’t thought about already. Most suicidal people are truthful and relieved when questioned about their feelings and intentions. Doing so can be the first step in helping them to choose to live.

2. People who talk about suicide are only trying to get attention: WRONG! Over 70% who voice they have a plan to kill themselves either make an attempt or complete the act. If you know someone who has a plan to hurt or kill themselves, the best thing you can do is help refer them to a therapist or agency to get help now!

Want to participate? It’s super easy: make a list of your own 11 reasons why you want to live. Then post it with the hashtag #WhyNotChallenge. Your list just might save someone’s life! Thanks @luna.ap.photography for this wonderful idea.

FEELING UNSAFE? The suicide hotline is always available. Call 1-800-273-8255 to reach the lifeline.

Anxiety feels real 😱, even though it may have no basis in reality, arising when we feel activated by a variety of different triggers.

As long as we continue to try to push away, avoid, or ignore our anxiety or panic, it will continue to hold us hostage.

Our experience of anxiety can change only when we learn how to listen to it, understand it, challenge our anxious thoughts, and replace those thoughts with new ones.

Mindfulness is the best technique for managing fear, anxiety, and panic, When we learn through meditation to allow thoughts to pass without believing all we think to be true, our experience of fear will shift! 

Your goal for today is to be present with you thoughts without reacting to them! 💕🌿