When stress becomes a disorder it causes a shift in ‘thinking’ and the lens you evaluate the world through (how you explain the world to yourself) distorts – either low, moderate or high. You’re not making everything up, you’re not seeing pink unicorns, but your filter goes gray and veers towards an exaggeration of the … Continue reading
The perils of perfectionism with the female executive. Rising to the top of the corporate world is inarguably harder for women than men. Breaking through the layers of glass ceilings often means that just like Ginger Rodgers, you have to do everything that Fred Astaire does, but backwards and in heels. And you want it … Continue reading
Accessible science and data through visuals: update your ‘stress in the workplace‘ information by checking out this infographic on work related disorder stats. It was created by the Eastern Kentucky University’s Bachelor of Science in Occupational Safety Program, and is such extensive outsourced research it could reasonably apply to any Western country. Enjoy… (LINKS: Click … Continue reading
In the interests of continuing to be a magpie that picks up shiny accessible cognitive science, and packages it in tasty bites for you to add to your ‘thinking skills’ – I have transcribed a number of ‘quotes’ by the character of Dr. Daniel Pierce, a crime-solving genius neuroscientist in the TV show Perception. The … Continue reading
Think about your thinking… a new fast introduction to cognitive science for civilians: From the moment you are born, you collect experiences and build memories that help you to evaluate and navigate the world. (Evaluation, filtering, perception). Your brain uses these experiences to build neural pathways – automatic information chains of data in your brain – which … Continue reading
Advances in neuroscience are changing the world of psychology and how we understand and manage the way we explain the world to ourselves. This post is an introduction to the neuroscience of memories and our central nervous system, for better skills in self management – change your brain through ‘learning and doing’. Each of us moves through … Continue reading
Neuroscience is changing psychology models and how we understand and manage our lives. With traditional CBT back in the day, it was all about thoughts causing feelings which cause behaviours – but in this ‘third wave’ of up to date CBT, which learns and adapts as new science informs us, it is just as important … Continue reading
Cognitive science tells us that when stress becomes a disorder it causes a shift in thinking – so that our attributional style (ie the way we explain the world to ourselves, also known as our ‘explanatory style‘) becomes distorted and stretched out of proportion, which can cause us (and those around us) more upset than … Continue reading
A quick and powerful Cognitive Behavioural Training theory and application worksheet for great well being. “People are not their behaviors, their behaviors are just something they do sometimes.” Do you often get angry at people? This lesson will help you to build awareness of how you are explaining people’s behavior to yourself, and to consider whether you … Continue reading
Interview: Public Speaking with Veronica Walsh by Today FM 31st May 2015 14:45 We’re all afraid of something… spiders, flying, heights, cats, mice… the list goes on and on. But for some people their fears are life-limiting & one of the most debilitating phobias out there is the fear of public speaking. It’s said that … Continue reading
Know your brain: The ‘third wave’ of cognitive behavioural training uses everything that has been proven to work to help people to literally learn wellbeing and new skills in self management, outside of the traditional model of psychology that was concerned with disease and sickness and focussing on a medical solution for chemical imbalances. THINKING: … Continue reading
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): is a type of depression that occurs during a particular season – usually winter – and is thought to be caused by a neurological anomaly due to the lack of light. Treatment has traditionally been with ‘lightboxes’ (light therapy / phototherapy), where sufferers are routinely exposed to artificial light that can … Continue reading
Become your own therapist through literally learning ‘how to be happy’ through applying rational thinking skills. Cool yourself down into a moderate calm thinker with the renowned and powerful Albert Ellis rational thinking table. Use it. Love it. If you accept the theory that our brains have been cobbled together by evolution, and are not … Continue reading
The ABC of CBT – think about your thinking – consider and discuss the following diagrams to link thoughts and feelings and behaviours : An example ABC showing how stress can cause dramatic distorted thinking, which can in turn cause dramatic distorted feelings and behaviours – do you do this in some … Continue reading
[extract from my Smart Skills for Students school presentation] What are you thinking? How are you explaining the world to yourself? WHO does that thinking make you? HOW does that thinking make you? Who do you want to be? How do you want to be? Take a look at this simple and beautiful extract from … Continue reading
New evidence based practical science says that when stress becomes a disorder, it ‘causes a shift in thinking’ – as if you had put negative crooked gloomy glasses on, and view the world through them instead of with rational thinking skills. Often, when people become stressed to the point where it is an actual disorder, … Continue reading
This post introduces you to the views of the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus, the ‘Buddha of the west’, to get you thinking about thinking. What does philosophy have to do with psychotherapy? Well, everything. Today’s so called third wave of CBT is ‘holistic’ and a philosophy for living. For all day every day. Dr Albert … Continue reading
A CBT tour of our amazing brain… Take a journey through the following links for accessible short posts explaining our brain’s chemical role in how we view and respond to events: Did you know that stress in childhood can literally restructure the brain so that the fear centre is strengthened and always on the … Continue reading
What is your self talk? Is it overly dramatic and causing you over upsetness? Modern psychotherapy does not believe that anxiety and depression are ‘just chemical’ – and it recommends learning how to develop awareness and management of your ‘attributional style’ – (how you explain the world to yourself through your thinking, either positively or … Continue reading
I really like the following list of Maslow’s characteristics of ‘self-actualizers’ as cited on the SimplyPsychology.org website. You can see a diagram of Maslow’s Heirarchy of Human Needs pyramid above, and then scroll down in this post to see the self actualization characteristics – it fits beautifully with the third wave of CBT’s cognitive reframing, … Continue reading
Do you have anxiety? Does your physiological response to ‘stress’ rule your life? So, modern evidence based psychotherapy and neuroscience tells us that when stress becomes a disorder, it causes a shift in thinking, and we develop distorted and negative bad thinking habits, which cause inappropriate emotional and physical and behavioural responses to everyday life. … Continue reading
A thought stopping technique: ‘Just Noting’ with Mindfulness The beginning of my work with clients is in building a foundation where we understand and can build awareness of how we ‘think’ – what our self talk is, and whether stress has become a disorder that has caused a shift in thinking to a distorted negative … Continue reading
Try an introductory one hour session for only €50 (inc homework): (Click HERE to go to my Irish website):
I’ve been reading an old (over 30 years old!) book by the founding father of CBT Albert Ellis – and thought you’d enjoy reading his introduction to the principals of CBT, and it’s genesis in philosophy. I have included links to relevant posts on my self help blog if you want to try out the … Continue reading
The following is an extract from the workbook used at the Science of Happiness Workshop for Schools – teaching practical well being strategies: A quick look at applying your new learning to cyberbullying: “Cyberbullying is any harassment that occurs via the Internet. Vicious forum posts, name calling in chat rooms, posting fake profiles on web … Continue reading
Let’s take a fresh look at the common ‘irrational cognitions’ or ‘unhealthy thinking habits’ that human beings with stress disorders are wired for. All of us do many of the thinking habits [listed at the end of this post] some of the time, but when stress becomes a disorder and causes a shift in thinking, … Continue reading
The third wave of CBT is holistic – taking the best practice from psychology today, and blending it with Eastern and Western philosophy, and the wisdom of the great intellectual thinkers through the ages – including acceptance, living in the present, and mindfulness. Taking the lead from that, this post introduces Mark Twain – writer, … Continue reading
A SHORT EXERCISE FOR MANAGING ‘EMOTIONAL REASONING’ “I feel bad, therefore it is bad…” Emotional reasoning is one of the most common bad habits. It is when we judge situations according to how we FEEL, not on evidence or rational thinking. But feelings are not facts… Do you fear that you use emotional reasoning too … Continue reading
Scroll below… and simply click on the images to open a new window for any of the following hi-res zoomable newsletters for corporate training, workshops, and private sessions. Some are old, some are new. Note: bespoke seminars and training can be put together for any psychological ‘brain training’ needs, call to discuss or to request a … Continue reading
See below a recent interview with me about ‘recession anxiety’. Click HERE to go to the Herald.ie’s original online article for easy reading – or download a full PDF at HeraldArticle – or click on images to enlarge…
Use this tracking thought form as a template to identify, to examine, and to challenge & dispute distorted thoughts and beliefs that cause us self sabotaging behaviour when communicating with others. (download as a PDF file: CommunicationsHandout)
Click to download as PDF: Irish Times article on CBT for Unemployed (Ireland) Contact Veronica Walsh at veronica@cbtandfeelinggood.com if you have any questions…. Choices_Feb13_18to25
The psychological impact of protracted unemployment can be devastating and possibly permanent. Losing a job often also means the loss of: structure, certainty, routine, security, social networking, a sense of contributing/belonging, confidence, and ultimately hope… And never having had a job, and living with unemployment, especially in disadvantaged areas, often creates a state of low … Continue reading
CBTandFeelingGood.com – CBT Handout/excercise – A Thought/Fight or Flight guide… FIGHT OR FLIGHT – So.. we now know your body joins in on the fun when you’re anxious and ‘seeing’ dangers and hazards everywhere … Exercise: use the following guide to journal and catch when situations and irrational thinking cause upsettness (emotional & physical), all … Continue reading
Let me preface this post by telling you that I adore a glass of wine, and I’m not suggesting adults shouldn’t choose to have a glass of wine at home – we’re just going to have an academic look at the science of this particular habit. It’s interesting – and the purpose of the post … Continue reading
Many of today’s mental health experts are recommending Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as a first choice treatment for pretty much all emotional disorders – stress, depression, anxiety, anger management etc.– rather than medication, or spending years undergoing the old style Freudian ‘shrink’ psychiatry. This blog is a free resource to help you to understand and … Continue reading
As a freelance trainer, I teach a workshop called ‘Making Choices’ for the unemployed. The flexible modules include theory and application of the latest proven methods and strategies for great psychological health (more specifically the self help components of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), and an introduction to MindMapping, a wholebrain colour and imagery mapping skill for … Continue reading
We all have an ‘inner critic’. And it’s voice is louder and ever present and insistent when we fall into anxiety or depression. You know, that voice inside our heads that constantly buzzes negative self statements, buried deceptively amongst the thousands of thoughts we think everyday. The one we use when we criticize and judge … Continue reading
