Make Decisions Like a Ninja

September 17th, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

Decision making can be difficult when we’re struggling with a strong emotion and can be problematic when we’re coping with depression and anxiety. Pros and Cons is a flexible, easy to use and effective CBT skill that can improve our decision-making skills and increase confidence when making decisions. Pros and Cons can be helpful in the following areas: 1. Distress Tolerance: Comparing the Maladaptive coping mechanism to the Adaptive Coping Mechanism 2. Life Skills (exercise, medication compliance, eating well): Comparing, for example, Working Out v. Netflix. 3. Social Anxiety: Comparing Avoiding a Social Event v. Attending 4. Depression: Getting out of …

Challenging Irrational Beliefs with the Continuum Technique

August 30th, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

The Continuum Technique is a tool used in CBT to help people challenge irrational beliefs about themselves or the world around them. It’s a pretty simple tool that acts as a contrast to harmful beliefs that we simply accept as true or allow to remain unchallenged. We’re going to apply the technique to a hypothetical situation that some folks with OCD may be able to relate to. This example involves someone who believes that contamination is going to create a threat to their baby which can then lead to reduced affection, touch, and play. The belief we are going to challenge is: …

Nightmares

June 24th, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

Nightmares are not something you may have to live with. There are both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic options that may help reduce nightmares. The DBT and CBT protocols involve a combination of relaxation exercises, writing the nightmare out (with a different ending) and imagining the nightmare (with the new ending) before sleep and throughout the day. If the nightmares are related to PTSD or a trauma event an additional option includes EMDR which is specifically designed to help those with traumatic memories eliminate or reduce the distress associated with the memories and change their thinking about the trauma. CBT and DBT …

All the small things…

June 23rd, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

One really effective strategy to getting through an episode of depression and anxiety is behavioral activation and it’s really not that complicated. It usually involves looking at some of the things we let go of and, in some cases, picking the least overwhelming task then doing a small task within the task. For example, just do one basket of laundry today. Do that for a few days and eventually shoot for two. What normally happens is that we feel a little more productive, gain momentum and end up doing more without having to set a formal goal. This is also …