Why Is CBT Helpful For Treating Depression?
In the final installment of our series on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we’ll focus on its effective use in treating depression. Let’s first recap a little about CBT. It’s a short-term (20 sessions or less) form of psychotherapeutic treatment. The basic premise is to address the cycle of distorted thinking that leads to counterproductive thoughts and behaviors.
This can be especially helpful when you have negative beliefs about yourself — as is often the case with depression. Using in-person sessions and homework between sessions, CBT encourages and guides you to challenge black-and-white thought patterns, overgeneralization, and habitual thinking. As a result, it has become a popular choice for helping those struggling with depressive episodes.
Depression Basics
Depression is not the same as occasionally feeling down or feeling sad. It’s a diagnosable mental health disorder that impacts more than 5 percent of Americans at any given time. It can be caused by genetic factors, environmental events, trauma, another medical condition, the change of seasons, substance abuse, and more. Hallmark depression symptoms include:
Chronic sadness
Anxiety
No longer interested in activities that you once enjoyed (including sex)
Low energy
Sleep disturbances
Appetite and weight changes (gain or loss)
Irritability
Inability to focus
Explained body aches, pains, and tension
Digestive problems
Feeling guilty, hopeless, and worthless
Thoughts of death, dying, self-harm, and suicide
Why Is CBT Helpful For Treating Depression?
CBT has a stellar track record in the treatment of depression. Sometimes, it is combined with other treatments or medication but it is often the sole option. As touched on above, CBT teaches clients how to recognize the impact of their thoughts. Negative thinking can directly result in negative beliefs and thus, negative behaviors. To assist in this learning process, CBT patients will typically be asked to keep a journal.
In CBT sessions, the person with depression will:
Learn how to challenge thoughts that tell them they are worthless or that nothing they do will improve their life.
Develop coping skills to avoid hyper-focusing on bad memories and events, taking everything personally, or defaulting to worst-case scenarios.
Cultivate positive ways of thinking based on realistic perspectives
Build confidence, problem-solving skills, and an ability to accurately self-assess
Meanwhile, between sessions, the person will complete homework assignments along the lines of:
Journal keeping: As mentioned above, this becomes a real-time measure of one’s state of mind, worldview, triggers, solutions, and progress.
Gratitude practice: This can begin in the journal by listing daily events — big or small — that inspire gratitude. Gratitude practice has been shown to effectively counter habitual negative thoughts.
Consciously reducing worry: When engaging in an activity that has consistently provoked worry, the goal is to intentionally bar such thoughts from your mind. Focus on the task and stay present.
Adding joy to your schedule: Do not leave this to chance. Actively schedule activities that result in pleasure, joy, and fun. It doesn’t have to be a major event. What matters more is consistency. Do not let days pass in which you do not add smiles to your life.
Is It Time For Some CBT In Your Life?
The last four posts have served to highlight the many benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. No matter where you are in your life, there’s a good chance you feel stuck in some ways. It could be anxiety or depression. But it could also be any of a wide range of issues that need some adjustment. CBT has so many applications!
Therefore, if you have become curious about ways to enhance your quality of life, I invite you to reach out. Let’s connect for a free consultation so you can learn more about the possibilities of depression therapy.
