Skill #24 How to Create the Life You Want, One Small Change at a Time
In this section we’re going to talk about how to create the life you want. But before we do that, let’s talk about the big picture of how to create change. The tiny choices we make over and over create our character, influence our mood, and determine our quality of life. When those choices involve […]
Skill #23 Self-Deception: The Problem of Not Knowing You Have a Problem
If you don’t know you have a problem, is it possible to change it? Yes, it is. And in this post, I’ll show you how. “You’re never upset for the reason you think you are.” Today we’re going to talk about self-deception. Self-deception is the problem of not knowing that you have a problem. If […]
Skill #22 Cognitive Dissonance: Mind the Gap
Cognitive dissonance is when we have a gap between what we believe is right and what we are doing. You can do all the coping and meditation and self-care you can handle, but if you don’t figure out cognitive dissonance, you’re not going to feel good. There is no substitute for integrity when it comes […]
Skill #21 Mindfulness for Anxiety
The skill of mindfulness shifts your perspective on emotions. You’ll learn how to get better at soothing anxiety, how to process sad feelings, and how to quiet negative self-talk. Mindfulness combined with CBT has been shown to work as well as medication at treating depression and anxiety, but without the side effects. And it’s more […]
Skill #20 Intrusive Thoughts and Overthinking: The Skill of Cognitive Defusion
Do you ever find yourself overthinking a situation or battling intrusive thoughts? This post will teach you the skill of cognitive defusion, which will help you separate yourself from your thoughts so that you can look at them rather than through them. Intrusive Thoughts You have a million thoughts a day, but you don’t even […]
Skill #19 How to Change How You Think: Cognitive Distortions Part 2
This post is part two of our discussion on cognitive distortions. If you haven’t already, go back and read part one, where I cover the 10 common cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions happen when our thinking gets twisted or exaggerated. But most of the time we don’t notice that we’re thinking this way. It often feels […]
Skill #18 Cognitive Distortions Part 1 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques
Cognitive distortions are thoughts that aren’t actually true but feel true. Is there anything you can do about these thoughts? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help you change how you feel by changing how you think. The first step is to learn what cognitive distortions are and notice when you’re using them. https://youtu.be/aAVGyRMS3gE “It is in […]
Skill #17 Reframing Negative Thoughts
You can change your negative thoughts by learning the skill of reframing. In this post I’m going to teach you a technique that therapists use in almost every session but you probably didn’t know about. And when you learn how to do it yourself, you can change how you think and feel. Our negative thoughts […]
Skill #16 Change How You Think to Change How You Feel: Neuroplasticity Fundamentals
Neuroplasticity shows that your brain can change. When you change how you think you can physically change your brain’s structure and chemistry. And that means that when you change how you think, you can change how you feel. When you change how you think, you change how you feel. In this post you’re going to […]
Skill #14 How to Turn off the Fight/Flight/Freeze Response With Grounding Skills for Anxiety
Grounding is a really important skill to have if you experience dissociation, anxiety, panic attacks, or flashbacks. Grounding strengthens the parasympathetic response (which is our body’s ability to return to calm effectively). This counteracts the fight/flight/freeze response. The more you practice it, the stronger your ability to turn on that parasympathetic response in your nervous […]