What CBT Teaches Us About Anxiety Treatment in Michigan & Strategies to Cope

You have probably heard of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) before, but do you know what it is, and how it relates to anxiety? Perhaps your therapist has mentioned it to address your anxiety, or you’ve seen it recommended online. However, it can be difficult to understand CBT and how it can help. Especially if you've never tried it before. So, what is it? And what does it teach us about anxiety?

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy that helps people identify and challenge negative thoughts or patterns of behavior surrounding their anxiety. It is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are all interconnected and can impact how we feel mentally. You can learn different strategies to help manage your anxiety through CBT, such as relaxation techniques or cognitive restructuring.

For example, suppose you struggle with social anxiety. In that case, CBT teaches you how to look at situations differently and challenge the negative thoughts or patterns of behavior that may be causing your anxiety in social situations. It also encourages you to find better ways to cope with your anxiety, such as breathing exercises or positive self-talk. By understanding how our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are all connected, CBT can help us recognize our automatic thoughts and replace them with more helpful ideas. This process can help by decreasing our anxiety and enhancing our coping skills.

What Does It Teach Us About Anxiety?

By helping us gain insight into our thoughts and behavior, CBT teaches us that our anxious feelings are valid and can be managed. It encourages you to understand and face your anxious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors instead of avoiding or suppressing them. It shows us that our thoughts, emotions, and behavior all have an influence on each other. These links between them allow us to challenge them surrounding our anxiety. This way, we can modify our thoughts and reduce our anxiety symptoms.

CBT also teaches us that anxiety is normal, to some extent, and that it doesn’t have to be a debilitating experience. It helps us learn tools and strategies to manage our anxiety at the moment so that we can start to address the issue more effectively. However, CBT can also help when anxiety is more severe, as it can help us to identify and challenge the underlying beliefs or internal messages that might be causing our anxiety.

How Does CBT Therapy in Michigan Help?

CBT helps with anxiety by teaching us how to identify and manage our anxious thoughts and beliefs. It helps us understand the link between our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. For example, one part of CBT is the CBT Triangle. This tool helps to identify thoughts and feelings and how they influence our behavior, which are the three main parts of CBT. This tool can help you recognize your anxious thoughts and feelings and how they’re impacting your behavior.

By recognizing these anxious thoughts and feelings, you can develop better coping strategies and find tools to help deal with your anxiety. This includes challenging your anxious thoughts and replacing them with more positive ones so that your behavior aligns with your goals.  You can learn to identify and manage your anxious thoughts and feelings through CBT therapy in Grand Rapids, MI.

It can help you identify and challenge your anxious thoughts and beliefs and develop better coping strategies. This therapy teaches us that anxiety is a normal part of life and can be managed by understanding our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. CBT can help us reduce our anxiety and live more fulfilling lives with proper support and guidance.

Begin CBT in Michigan

Anxiety can be overwhelming, but with the right help, you can manage your anxiety and feel more in control. CBT is an effective way to understand your anxiety and take steps to manage it. At Unity Counseling, one of our CBT therapists can help you to understand and alter your negative thinking patterns. This way, you can start to feel more in control of your anxiety and develop coping strategies that work for you. Don't let your anxiety stop you from living a fulfilling life.

If you are interested in working with one of our CBT therapists or learning more about how CBT can help you, follow these steps:

1. Reach out and schedule an appointment
2. Get set up with one of our CBT therapists
3. Start your journey towards better understanding and managing your anxiety!

Other Mental Health Services Offered at Unity Counseling

At Unity Counseling, we understand that you may struggle with more than just anxiety. That's why we offer a variety of mental health services to help you address any issues in your life that may be causing distress or preventing you from living your best life. As part of our mental health service offering, our team offers counseling for teenagers, anxiety counseling, depression counseling, and grief counseling. We also offer services, including couples counseling, LGBTQ+ counseling, CBT, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and mindfulness. We understand that making in-person appointments can be difficult, so we are happy to offer online therapy in Michigan. Feel free to learn more by visiting our blog or FAQ today!