cbt – Kim's Counseling Corner

Sorry for not having posted in a while. I have been busy! I’m missing my blog though and planning to get back into regular postings next week, so stay tuned! 🙂

I do have a new resource to share with those of you who use Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral therapy in your practice, and for those who are not therapists, but try to use more “positive thinking” in your every day life. The website is appropriately called Cognitive Therapy Guide. I liked this template on How to Write a Thought Record.

So this is a short post, but like I said, I’ll see you next week!

Many therapists at some point in their practice, myself included, espouse the idea that people can make a choice about how they feel and how they respond to circumstances. For example, when I am getting ready for the day tomorrow, I can proclaim that I choose to be in a good mood and when something does not go as planned, I can choose to respond positively and rationally. Psychology Today even has a blog post out titled Stress Is a Choice: How to Give Up Getting Worked Up. It’s a great post that highlights how people can choose whether they will feel stressed. As I was reading this piece, automatically nodding my head in agreement, I paused and thought “Boy, I wish it were as easy as it sounds. I would be stress free and happy 24/7!”

Cognitive behaviorist believe whole-heartedly that your thoughts will directly affect your mood. Let’s say you have a co-worker who is always in a negative mood in the morning. If you think to yourself, “Her mood ruins my morning every day,” then you will feel frustrated and crabby. If you think to yourself, “Her bad mood sure does make for a hard day for her. I’m glad I choose to be happy,” then you will feel less frustrated and probably happy!

First let me say that I strongly believe in the cognitive behavioral thearpy techniques and apply it in my own life, as well as teach it to my clients. However, I also think you should get a disclaimer first. The truth is, choosing our moods, thoughts, and behaviors is not easy! In fact, it takes a lot of practice and mental energy, especially in the beginning. There are so many factors that affect our moods (or so we are led to believe) that it often feels like you are constantly playing defense against the environment. There will always be factors out of your control, such as your c0-worker’s mood, or whether the printer jams when you have a deadline to meet. The goal is to make your responses thoughtful, and then emotional, rather than emotional first. Secondly, recognize that there are circumstances which are extremely difficult to nearly impossible for one to choose their thoughts or mood. These can include serious mental illness, hormonal imbalance, and substance use.

Before I get emails about the simplistic manner in which I presented Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I must mention that this therapeutic intervention entails so much more than this post give credit. For more information, you can visit PsychCentral and the National Association for Cognitive Behavioral Therapists.

To answer the title of this post… Yes, I believe it is possible to choose our mood in most normal every day circumstances. Remember, practice makes for more success!

What about you? Do you think this concept works?