About one in five adults lives with some form of mental illness. It can be an extremely debilitating experience and challenging to live with. It is not possible to pinpoint any single cause for mental illness as there are often a number of contributory factors that align to cause someone to fall into a state of depression or anxiety.
The good news is that effective treatment for mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression is widely available. One of the recognized treatments for a mood disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Here is an overview of why CBT can be such an effective tool in combatting depression and anxiety.
What is CBT?
A short summary of what CBT offers would be to say that it is designed as a short-term therapy that sets specific attainable goals for the patient.
The therapy is often broken down into short sessions and the majority of patients tend to respond positively to CBT. They often see a noticeable improvement in their mood after just a few sessions.
Using CBT to treat depression is often seen as a win-win because it delivers short-term improvements and the resulting change in mood tends to last for the longer term.
That means a patient can feel better fairly quickly and enjoy a more positive mental health outlook going forward.
How does CBT work?
In general terms, CBT aims to reduce the amount of negative or unhelpful thoughts that you are having. Changing the way someone with depression thinks about things will help the person to transform into a more positive version of themselves.
CBT sessions encourage patients to talk about their depressive symptoms and reveal how they think depression is affecting them.
This talking therapy is good at pinpointing unhelpful thought patterns and negative beliefs. These thoughts can be reframed using CBT to change their outlook.
Does CBT work in isolation?
Although CBT is widely accepted as an effective way of treating depressive symptoms it is often used as part of a more holistic approach to helping someone improve their mental health.
Many people can benefit from CBT without using medication. However, it is considered to be most effective when used in conjunction with medications such as antidepressants.
The obvious advantage of CBT for those trying to avoid taking medication is that its impact can be felt long after treatment has concluded.
The best course of action is to talk to your chosen treatment center or health provider who can guide you through your various treatment options.
It is extremely common to experience episodes in your life where you seem to have developed a low or depressed mood that you are struggling to escape from. These negative feelings can have a detrimental impact on every aspect of your life. CBT has the capacity to release your mind from that thought process and allow you to adopt a more positive and happier mindset.
If you are feeling low or depressed it is well worth finding out about how CBT can improve the way you feel about life.
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