Quote:
Originally Posted by velcro003
That is in my opinion, the simplest way to put how CBT works. That you recognize your negative thoughts, change them to positive ones...and if you work on it hard and long enough, you will come to believe the positive ones.
What I don't get is why you suddenly would believe "I have great qualities" suddenly? Just because you told yourself so? I think it can sort of work, but there was a reason why you thought of yourself negatively in the first place, and how do you un-learn that?
So....lets hear thoughts on this!
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I think your definition of CBT is inaccurate. In CBT, we are learning to recognize when our thoughts are irrational (rather than negative), and we learn to replace our irrational thinking with rational thinking (rather than positive). It may seem like a minor distinction, but I don't think it is. The use of "positive" thoughts gives a mistaken impression of a certain Pollyannaishness (hows that for a word
) surrounding CBT. That has not been my experience at all. It isn't about changing thoughts "suddenly" either. It's a process like all therapy techniques are a process. And you do explore why you came about those irrational thoughts in the first place. That's very important to understand; it's part of the way you counter irrational thinking.