CBT, cognitive behavior therapy and REBT rational emotive behavior therapy:

[LightSun]

CBT, cognitive behavior therapy and REBT rational emotive behavior therapy. What do you know of these disciplines. How can they get you in touch with your internal thoughts, feelings and beliefs that are sub-consciously driven? In other words how to make the unconscious conscious. The result is we premeditate and take the wisest course of action versus simply reacting according to our base instinctual emotive state. How effective do you believe these disciplines are to a happier person and society?

'Definitions of Cognitive Distortions:' Which we subconsciously use in thought, speech and writing.

'Principles'

"The first principle of cognitive therapy is that all your moods are created by your "cognition's," or thoughts. You feel the way you do right now because of the thoughts you are thinking at this moment.

"The second principle is that when you are feeling depressed (or any other negative emotion), your thoughts are dominated by a pervasive negativity. What is even worse-you'll come to believe things really are as bad as you imagine them to be.

"The third principle. Our research has documented that the negative thoughts which cause your emotional turmoil nearly always contain gross distortions.

Thinking is a major cause of your suffering. So the premise here is you have an automatic and nearly unconscious thought. If you are experiencing emotional discomfort odds are you are thinking a distorted thought or one of the ten major cognitive distortions. You identify the distortion. You replace it with a rational response. Your emotional discomfort lessens.
Feeling Good by David D. Burns, M.D. (1980). [Cognitive Discipline of your mind]

1. All or Nothing Thinking : We think in all or nothing, black and white, right or wrong categories, rather than seeing things more objectively, calmly, rationally and from many angles of truth.

2. Over generalization : You pick out one fact, comment or event and make it the totality of your sum experience. Example: You made a mistake on a test, and think you always or always will make mistakes.

3. Mental Filter : You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like the drop of ink that colors the entire beaker of water. Ex. You get one bad compliment and it ruins your entire day.

4a. Mind Reading Jumping to Conclusions : You think you know what someone is thinking of you. Many times a negative label.

4b. Fortune Teller-Jumping to Conclusions : You anticipate that things will go bad for you.

5a. Magnification : You magnify your characteristics, attributes, and successes in your mind. The narcissism effect.

5b. Minimizing : You minimize other people's characteristics, virtues, successes, or attributes.

6. Disqualifying the Positive : You reject positive experiences by insisting they don't count for some reason or other.In this way you can maintain a negative belief that is contradicted by your every day experiences.

7. Emotional Reasoning: I feel it to be true so it must be true.

8. Should statements. Self explanatory. I should/ought/must/have to; they/he/she-ought/must/should/have to; the world or reality or life- should/ought/must/have to.

9a. Labeling: labeling, name calling, pejoratives of self or others

9b. Mislabeling-labeling: Involves describing an event with language that is highly colored and emotionally loaded.

10. Personalizating: You blame yourself for something not in your control. I.E. You feel responsible for another person's actions or feelings. Or you blame yourself for how an event or experience turned out, that was not to your liking.

The above 10 distortions are taken from David D. Burns; Feeling Good (1980).
[Second Source]
A New Guide to Rational Living by Albert Ellis, PhD. & Robert A. Harper PhD. (1961, 1975). ([Rational-Emotive, basically similar to Cognitive Disciplinary mind set].

'A Coping Mechanism'
"I tell myself, "Okay, either problem solving or refocusing. It is what you do namely refocus until a fire is spent. So I refocus on what I can do to take back a measure of control". Do what I can do and not necessarily, what I wish to do. I have a whole host of coping mechanisms in a tool kit. When and if I become triggered I try riding the storm of emotion out. It is, And this too shall pass. Maybe, tomorrow I will have a more pleasant day. It is rolling with the punches. I always am hoping always for the best.

In fields Cognitive Behavior C.B.T. and Rational Emotive Behavior R.E.B.T.

(1) There is an external event and there is a negative emotion.

(2) The cause of the emotional turmoil is not so much the event as our distorted perception of it.

(3) We identify the distortion.

(4) We replace it with a more realistic thought. Our emotional discomfort eases.

(5) We take realistic action.

The above is almost a mantra of the cognitive approach. As I said, I incorporated into my own philosophy. As far as getting out of dark places, there is a chemical component, which is not addressed. A tool kit for detecting our subconscious and detecting (Cognitive) Thought fallacies.

'Mindfulness' is absolutely in same realm. A 'Here and Now' approach is what psychologists and social workers do utilize. The 'Mindfulness' (Of the Buddhists) can be a parallel to the West's usage of being aware of our subconscious thinking, detect our cognitive (Thought) fallacies, and to replacing the fallacy (Stemming from the belief system + Defense mechanism + Fears) we have with a more reason orientated thought approach. ('Mindfulness' 'Self aware' are as well quite a bit synonymous in an orientation.

Yet we as a culture aren't aware of the terms. Further I am in an outrage (Of the ignorance of this fact) for children, our own kids just don't become taught these tool box for Happiness and a mental aware state and mind view. I am quite disturbed of a fact that we have not a clear conception of these (CBT, and REBT) tool kit of deciphering our thought discrepancies we possess. It is quite disturbing to one's sense of order upon training by firstly begin a log and catch these fleeting thoughts. Then watch in amazement (+ HORROR) when we truly begin discovering just the multitude of erroneous thought processing that goes daily and with no notice of the populace.

 

[Snow as White]

The amount of things that people in general aren’t aware of would fill horrifying warehouse after horrifying warehouse.

It’s easier to pop a pill. Blame our third grade teacher. Or the sky falling. Instead of looking inward into our abyss.

 

[LightSun]

"Do you deem yourself as being awake or self aware? Is there a way to awake and what is your chosen way, path or discipline? What is the benefit of being self-aware?

"Both Cognitive Behavior alongside Rational Emotive Behavior in the west psychology do practices akin a mindful Buddhist approach. All seek uncover our subconscious and make it become accessible in thought to make wiser conscious choice and decision. It is a part in the actualizing one's inner self to be conscious and awakened versus led by internal discrepancy of undisciplined auto thought as well behavior being directed by an unconscious.

All seek to uncover our subconscious and make it become accessible in thought to make wiser conscious choice and decision. Most of our behavior is automatic, therefore subconsciously driven in degree by distortions of thought, self, & reality. In a sense we are not awake yet. Both cognitive therapy and Buddhism imply that we really need to wake up by being more aware of how we think, speak and act. In this way we discover the falsehoods within us as they really relate to reality.

I use as a metaphor the engine light in a car. If it is on, it implies there is an internal problem. It is a reflection of unfinished business and unresolved conflict. Our emotions are triggered. This is an opportunity for growth however if we reflect and take pains to act with reason and not react towards reality in an irrational manner or by being negative. We in effect take personal responsibility and act with an internal locus of control. If we experience a negative emotion there are distortions and fallacies of thought and cognitive reasoning.

A goal is being more aware in both cognitive science and Buddhism. We become aware of our subconscious thought process and do not react blindly in an automatic fashion. We become more truly aware of both ourselves and reality and so grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We become awake and reach a heaven on earth, nirvana and personal self-actualization. The bottom line really we will become happier in life. I would recommend 'Feeling Good' by David Burns, 1980 to get into learned cognitive discipline.

 

[LightSun]

Albert Ellis, psychologist and psychotherapist, died this August Here are his list of ten Irrational Beliefs that are responsible for most unhappiness. He spent his career trying to get people to actively avoid them. The page numbers are from his book, A Guide to Rational Living.

(1) The idea that you must have love or approval from all the significant people in your life (101).

(2) The idea that you absolutely must be thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving or The idea that you must be competent or talented in some important area (115).

(3) The idea that other people absolutely must not act obnoxiously and unfairly, and, that when they do, you should blame and damn them, and see them as bad, wicked, or rotten individuals (127).

(4) The idea that you have to see things as being awful, terrible, and catastrophic when you are seriously frustrated or treated unfairly (139).

(5) The idea that you must be miserable when you have pressures and difficult experiences; and that you have little ability to control, and cannot change, your disturbed feelings (155).

(6) The idea that if something is dangerous or fearsome, you must obsess about it and frantically try to escape from it (163).

(7) The idea that you can easily avoid facing many difficulties and self-responsibilities and still lead a highly fulfilling existence (177).

(8) The idea that your past remains all-important and because something once strongly influenced your life, it has to keep determining your feelings and behavior today (187).

(9) The idea that people and things absolutely must be better than they are and that it is awful and horrible if you cannot change life’s grim facts to suit you (197).

(10) The idea that you can achieve maximum happiness by inertia and inaction or by passively and uncommittedly enjoying yourself (207).