Self-Help

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a widely-used psychological treatment that addresses the interconnection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. One of the essential strategies within CBT is behavioral activation, a technique aimed at helping individuals overcome depression and anxiety by increasing engagement in positive activities to boost motivation. In this article, we’re going to unlock the concept of behavioral activation, how it works, and how you can implement it in your life or therapeutic practices.

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Anxiety can be a crippling force in our lives, impacting our mental health, productivity, and overall well-being. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective approach for managing anxiety. This therapy focuses on identifying and challenging negative thought patterns and behaviors to improve emotional regulation. In this article, we will delve into some key CBT breathing techniques that can help individuals cope with anxiety.

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If your goal is to be happy, it’s useful to know how far you’ve come.

As the old saying goes, if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else. With happiness, it’s important to know what your current level of happiness is so that you can measure how effective therapy is over time.

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Assertiveness is a crucial interpersonal skill that involves expressing your thoughts, feelings, needs, and opinions in a respectful and direct manner, while also respecting the rights and boundaries of others. It’s finding a balance between being passive (not expressing yourself) and aggressive (expressing yourself at the expense of others).

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If you’re feeling like your life is spinning out of control, it’s time to take charge. But not in the way you think. In fact, before you actually make any changes, you need to begin with being brutally honest with yourself. I don’t mean paying attention to all of the lies you tell yourself about your self-worth or your limitations. Instead, you have to know what you’re feeling, without spinning out of control in a panic. Trust me – this will feel worse before it gets better. But in the end, you’ll gain the critical skill of self-awareness that will ultimately change everything in your entire approach to life.

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Everyone always hears that advice that talking about problems can help. However, most people really believe that it might be best to say as little as possible about most things. As a result, coming to see a psychologist to “talk about issues” is something that many people resist doing until they absolutely have to. Understanding a few issues can help with this important task.

[Read more…] about I Don’t Want to Be Here: Talking Only Makes it Worse!

Have you ever noticed how other people seem to get in your way, cause more problems, or just seem to be so stupid and incompetent that it “makes your blood boil?” Having to deal with such people, and situations, is very upsetting. It seems like “there are so many of those incompetent people” out there. Understanding how to deal with these situations is critical to your own health.

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The dynamics of shame and embarrassment are central issues in the development of the self in those individuals who have come from dysfunctional families. Understanding a few issues can be helpful in making changes so that these fears will lose their great power in your life.

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We all want to be fair, kind and loving to the people that we care about. Sometimes that means going out of our way for them. At other times, it means putting up with a certain amount of crap. In the long run, we hope and bet on the odds that it’s worth it for our relationship to have a little give-and-take. However, giving out love without any personal boundaries can be extremely dangerous and carries extreme risk to our own sense of self and others.

[Read more…] about Consequences of Not Having Personal Boundaries

In order to understand how to best talk with your doctor (or psychiatrist, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or other medical provider), you need to know one very important concept: Your doctor wants to help you!

[Read more…] about How NOT to Talk to Your Doctor