Cognitive Therapy Stress Management
Change Your Thoughts
To Change Your Life!
With cognitive therapy stress management, you have the power to choose to be an optimist with thoughts of hope & happiness, or a pessimist with negative & unproductive thinking. And it can be easy to do! With Cognitive Therapy, treatment begins by learning to monitor your thoughts and assumptions; identifying distorted, dysfunctional, or simply incorrect, thinking and "reality testing" by checking these beliefs with others.
Also, by learning to discriminate between your thoughts and reality, you can begin to take control over incorrect thoughts.
Explaining our Core Beliefs
We can often be unaware of the extent to which our negative thought patterning repeatedly plays in our head like a broken record. More so, we can often remain unaware of the impact of this negative patterning on our conscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; and subsequent health, well-being and our stress levels. You can manage your stress levels by monitoring your thoughts. Some suggest that such thoughts which undermine our happiness and sabotage our achievements could have originated from some time earlier in our lives. Indeed, how many times have you said to yourself, "Geez, I sounded like my Mother when I said that!" If you are aware of this - great! This level of insight means that you can now do something about it. If not, then the first step in the Cognitive Therapy Stress Management treatment process is to become aware of your thoughts and one of the best ways to do this is start journalling. Take 10 minutes in your day to write down every thought that comes into your head. After you've done that a few times and get the hang of it, take every chance you get over the next week with the aim to take note of your thoughts and the content and positivity. When you notice a negative thought or one that is making you feel anxious or stressed, then use a simple process called "Thought Stopping". Just say "stop" or "next" to the offending thought, and then, in its place, add a positive, alternative thought. A perfect example of a negative mindset is the song by Nelly Furtado, "All Good Things (Come to an End)"; it’s a nice song to listen to, but the message it sends out doesn't convey much hope or positivity.
Toxic Thinking, Toxic Lives
Cognitive Therapy Stress Management sees that negative thoughts can be as toxic to the body as are poisons and pesticides. Why? Because this style of thinking results in negative emotional states, which flood our bodies with restrictive and protective chemicals designed to keep us safe and alive in the short term. But they ultimately result in health complications and dysfunction if exposed to them long term. Naturally occurring physical responses to the stress and worry caused by negative thinking include reactions such as the alarm reaction or "fight or flight" response. This reaction is designed to enable the body to defend itself from imminent physical danger. However, if you think negative thoughts for a long time, your body's fight or flight response can lead to physical pain, cognitive dysfunction, immune system weakness and digestive and metabolic complications.
The Power to Choose, Lies with You
Given what you now know, you have the choice to engage in positive, inspiring and motivational thoughts to relieve your stress whenever life gets in the road of having a good time. You have the power to choose to be an optimist with thoughts steeped in hope and happiness, or to be a pessimist grounded in negative and unproductive thinking. Which one do you think relates to good health? Cognitive therapy stress management has the potential to alter your world by correcting your belief system and putting a positive spin on your negative thoughts.
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