What does CBT mean?

CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In the USA it is known as Cognitive Therapy (CT) - but it is exactly the same approach. The components of CBT are:

• Cognition: This is just another word for thinking
• Behaviour: What we do or don’t do
• Bodily sensations: What we notice in our body and the sense we make of it.
• Emotion/feelings: The feeling(s) we have at the time (e.g. anxiety, fear, panic, anger, depression...)

The 'T' or Therapy bit of CBT focuses on addressing our difficulty by assessing and addressing each of the 4 components above. It is the most researched and endorsed approach for anxiety problems, recommended above all other approaches by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) for use in the NHS ( this guidance can be found on the NICE website).

 

How does CBT and this programme tackle stress / anxiety / panic?

Tackling cognition or thoughts:

• Cognition includes the thoughts we have: the words that go through our mind (e.g. “What if this all goes wrong?” “What if I make a fool of myself?” “I’m having a heart attack.”) and the images we have (e.g. seeing myself collapsing, people laughing at me....).
• There is nothing abnormal about cognitions we all have them. However, for some of us, our cognitions (thoughts) are more extreme, unhelpful and focused on catastrophe than those that other people have.
• In addition to the content of our thoughts, cognition also covers how we process and distort information. For instance, when we are stressed or anxious we tend to notice threats when other people wouldn’t, exaggerate the probability that some disaster will happen, and the consequences on us if it were to happen.
• This programme helps us to become more aware of our thinking – what helps and what doesn’t
• We learn how to challenge our unhelpful thinking, to test it out and become more confident

Tackling behaviour

• This is what we do or don’t do
• What we do when we are stressed to cope with it
• What we avoid: where we avoid, what we don’t do or say
• Some of what we do is helpful or at least we do it because it helps us feel better (less stressed or anxious)
• But, much of what we do keeps fuelling our stress as we never learn to face the situations and cope.
• This programme helps us recognise what we are avoiding, how we keep ourselves safe when in testing situations and what we are doing that is unhelpful in the long run
• We learn strategies which help us face up to situations in a stepped and manageable way.

Tackling bodily sensations

• When stressed and anxious we not only generate more intense bodily sensations, but we are on red-alert on the lookout for bodily changes
• We take these sensations either as a sign of impending threat in our bodily (e.g., collapse, heart attack, brain aneurysm…) or in this situation (e.g., this bus, this work meeting, this party, this lift…)
• The programme helps us understand that for the vast majority of us, these bodily sensations are normal, even though they may be currently distressing and unwanted
• We learn practical techniques for reducing the intensity of our bodily sensations and how to become less concerned with the sensations when they occur
• The programme includes three full-length physical relaxation techniques along with rapid versions to be used right when you need them.

Tackling emotion/feelings

• Call it stress, panic, phobia or fear it is really the same problem
• By applying the techniques contained in this programme which focuses on our thoughts, behaviour and body we learn to reduce our distressing emotions
• In doing so, we become more confident, less limited and more able. Now, isn’t that worth having?

CBT helps us to become more aware of our helpful and unhelpful thinking and behaviour. Then it gives us the tools address our unhelpful patterns systematically, helping us to learn to cope and be less limited by our thoughts and actions.

It's guaranteed

Remember, I'm so confident in this programme that I offer a 100% no quibble money-back guarantee if the programme doesn't meet your expectations.