Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks: A Workbook for Managing Depression and Anxiety

As you think back to when you started this program and the work you’ve done since then, let’s return to the CBT model and see how the pieces fit together.

you may be at a point where you can begin to dismiss thoughts more efficiently, without going through the full evidence-finding exercise. It’s usually helpful to have something to say in response to the thoughts.

It’s unlikely to get rid of our fears, but once we realize our fears probably aren’t warranted, we tend to be more willing to confront them directly.

little investment in behavior change can go a long way. Doing the right kinds of activities tends to have an antidepressant effect.

“Someone’s lying about me again.” Other possibilities include: 1 “There go my thoughts.” 2 “Okay, back to reality.” 3 “Thank goodness that’s not true.” 4 “Not everything you think is true.”

CBT addresses both thoughts and behavior. We could start with either one, but most often CBT begins by addressing behavior.

When we do the right kinds of activities, we feel better. But what makes an activity “right”? The short answer is that it needs to be rewarding to you—it has to give you something you value.

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“I just decided to treat it as an opportunity, and to lean into the anxiety instead of trying to make it go away. And really, what was I gonna do? Not give the presentation? So I just said to myself, ‘This is not a comfortable situation for me, and I have no idea how it’s going to go. Let’s see where this takes me.’ And it went all right. I was ter