If your stress has become a disorder – whether low, moderate, or high, whether anxiety or depression – it is likely that you over-think and over-feel and over-react, and that your habits interfere with your enjoyment of life. A classic response to stress is ‘avoidant behaviour’ – where we develop habits of avoiding activities that … Continue reading
Tagged with social anxiety …
“Oh God, I’m shaking, I feel sick!” (the physiology of fight or flight / panic attacks)
Evolution produced us: today’s fabulous human beings. But… there are a few design flaws. And some primitive automatic responses we’ve been saddled with that often do more harm than good these days. But we can learn to understand and control them with CBT… What is ‘fight or flight’? When we perceive a threat, our bodies … Continue reading
The perils of MUSTERBATION (‘demand thinking’)
Do you suffer from musterbation? Is it always ‘must‘ and ‘should‘ and ‘ought‘ with you? This is a phrase coined by the renowned father of CBT, Albert Ellis. Musty thinking is a classic recipe for general anxiety and unhappiness. In psychotherapy it is also known as inflexible ‘DEMAND THINKING’, and ‘RULES FOR LIVING’. Let’s take … Continue reading
The Vicious Circle of Negative Automatic Thinking
When we are stressed and anxious, our Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs) assault us involuntarily… the thoughts go round and round… they become more and more unhelpful and destructive – they cause us to ‘feel’ distressing emotions – this prevents us from doing things we wish we could/would – and of course procrastinating gives us even … Continue reading
“Why don’t men ask me out on dates?” A CBT view…
So – you haven’t had a ‘boyfriend’ for a long time? Maybe you get hit on sometimes, but men don’t ask you out on dates? Maybe you think it’s not fair, as you think that you are smarter or prettier or more stylish or whatever than other women you see in relationships? What’s that about? Maybe … Continue reading
Is Your Shyness actually Social Anxiety? (Shining a little CBT light on the subject…)
Check out this post to see if you suffer from social anxiety… Are you desperately uncomfortable when attention is on you? Do you shake with nerves or blush? Most people experience some form of shyness, but others are so immobilised by the fear of being judged negatively that they can barely function and develop avoidant … Continue reading