Do you feel a sudden rush of anxiety wash over you in the middle of a conversation or meetup? Do you feel the urge to cancel get-together plans at the last minute because you couldn’t set foot out of your house? Are you desperate to find a way to control your overwhelming fear but cannot find any? If this happens to you, you have clicked on the right blog post.

Nearly 264 million people suffer from anxiety around the world, WHO says. This makes it one of the commonest mental health issues. So, how to manage it?

Our answer is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). What is it? How does it work? Will it resolve your anxiety? Will it make your life “normal” again? Keep reading to find out.

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a treatment method similar to psychotherapy. However, it is not so different because both therapies work on almost same principles. 

If you want to know about the actual brain activity… CBT re-wires your neural pathways. It uses your brain’s plasticity to change POVs about some thoughts. Triggering, hurtful thoughts. You can change your negative behaviours to situations when your thoughts change. 

As a result, your anxiety can lessen. A great thing about CBT is that you can learn its tricks. Then, you can use them to keep anxiety in control whenever you face triggering events. It is far more helpful than anxiety medicines. They have side effects and don’t relieve the symptoms for a long time.

Benefits of CBT for Anxiety

The very first benefit is that it doesn’t have side effects like the meds. Here are more:

• You can trust it because many researchers have proved its usefulness

• It teaches you long-term strategies for managing anxiety

• You can learn helpful skills for routine use

• Increases your ability to recognize and resolve negative thought patterns

• Improves emotional regulation and strength

• Encourages positive behavioural changes in your life

• You can benefit from it in both one-on-one and group settings

• It builds your problem-solving skills

• You have a low chance of slipping back into anxiety

• Therapists can use it in combination with other therapies for better results

• You can even take online sessions and feel the same effect as on-site sitting

CBT Techniques for Anxiety

CBT is a wholesome treatment method. It is quite practical and adaptable for whenever you face hurtful situations. You can reduce your anxiety symptoms with this therapy if you follow it religiously.

1. Cognitive Restructuring: It is a necessary step in CBT to recognize and resolve negative thoughts. Your therapist helps you find out exactly what you think in a negative situation. Then, you must think if your thoughts about a negative situation are really true… or you can change them into positive ones. 

Finally, you learn to replace your dark thoughts with better ideas. You can then go on and make your behaviour better too. The goal in this phase is to make you think positive.

Daily Life Example: You are worried about an upcoming presentation at work. You start thinking, “I am going to mess up. Everyone will laugh at me. They will think I am incompetent!” This can seriously mess up your work because discouraging thoughts pull up disappointing results.

Cognitive restructuring helps you recognize this negative thought and see if it will really happen or you can do better. Did you do badly at presentations before? If not, why do you think you will fail? These sane questions can replace your bad feelings with encouraging thoughts, “I have prepared well. I can ace this presentation.”

2. Behavioural Activation: Behavioural activation focuses on helping you take up the activities you left because of anxiety. This disorder makes you alone and isolated. This phase is all about how you can restart your life by doing things you enjoyed before.  

You can break the cycle of avoidance by scheduling and participating in these activities. It may improve your mood and reduce anxiety.

Daily Life Example: You love painting but have stopped because you were too anxious. Behavioural activation would help you set specific times to paint each week. 

You may increase the time gradually until you start painting as much as you did before this disorder. It will reduce your symptoms and build good feelings of accomplishment.

3. Mindfulness-Based CBT: Mindfulness-based CBT plus custom therapy helps you to pay attention to the present moment. The best thing? You don’t have to think about the past. 

So, you can become more aware of your real feelings without distraction. This method builds acceptance and pushes away anxious thoughts superbly.

Daily Life Example: You feel anxious about a birthday party next week. So, you don’t focus on those dark thoughts. Instead, you focus on your breath and find out exactly why you feel anxious. This can help you stay present and perhaps anxiety-free.

4. Progressive Muscle Relaxation: You relax your mind by relaxing your muscles in PMR. The benefit?  You can control your physical symptoms, i.e. palpitations or a “knot in your stomach”. 

As a result, you know what happens to your body when you get anxious. So, you can curb those reactions before your brain gets into a frenzy.

Daily Life Example: You practise PMR by sitting comfortably and gradually tensing and relaxing each muscle group after a stressful day at work. You start from your feet and move up to your head. This helps you release physical tension and feel more relaxed.

Related Read: Do I Have Anxiety?

Combining CBT and Hypnotherapy for Enhanced Anxiety Relief

A combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with hypnotherapy can be more useful to manage anxiety. It may double the effectiveness of each method. 

As a practitioner skilled in both CBT and hypnotherapy, I have seen firsthand how these therapies complement each other and benefit the clients so, so much!

Hypnotherapy guides you into a trance-like state. It opens your mind to suggestions. Your subconscious mind becomes more accessible so you can dig deeper… and realign your hidden negative beliefs and emotional responses because of those beliefs. 

Hypnotherapy can help you visualise positive results, build positive new thoughts, and reduce negative physical and emotional responses to triggering situations.

Benefits grow bigger when your therapist combines CBT and hypnotherapy:

1. Enhanced Relaxation and Focus: Hypnotherapy takes you into a state of deep relaxation. It helps you become more receptive to the cognitive restructuring of CBT. This relaxed state also builds your focus during therapy sessions.

2. Accelerated Cognitive Restructuring: Hypnotherapy can speed up the change of negative thoughts into positive behaviours. This can make cognitive restructuring more efficient and effective. As a result, your anxiety symptoms may reduce quickly.

3. Increased Emotional Resilience: The combined approach helps clients develop stronger emotional resilience. CBT gives you tools for rational thinking and coping strategies. On the other hand, hypnotherapy maintains these changes in your subconscious to make them more durable and automatic.

4. Improved Behavioural Changes: Hypnotherapy can increase the success of behavioural therapy in CBT. It calms your mind so that it can revisit disturbing thoughts to change them. Clients can practise and visualise successful outcomes in a hypnotic state, increasing their confidence and motivation to implement these behaviours in real-life situations.

5. Holistic Healing: It treats both your conscious and subconscious thoughts to replace them with positive behaviours. You can find and resolve the actual hidden causes of your anxiety. As a result, you recover faster.

I have observed that those clients who opt for holistic healing have a faster recovery. They feel more energetic. Also, they have more control over their thoughts and emotions. As a result, they return to their peaceful lives quickly.

Case Study: How Mark Conquered Social Anxiety with CBT

Mark was a young professional whose life was almost over because of social anxiety. His story, filled with resilience and growth, demonstrates the transformative power of CBT and Hypnotherapy in overcoming anxiety and embracing life more fully.

Mark’s story begins with the invisible yet powerful grip of social anxiety. Like many, he experienced intense fear and avoidance in social situations. He felt this anxiety because of the bad things that happened during his school years. He was bullied too much. 

Those painful memories made him second guess everything and everyone. He began to doubt even himself. It became a big roadblock when he grew older. He could not find good positions in his field. He could not speak up at work meetings, attend get-togethers, or have small talk. His avoidance behaviour reinforced his anxiety, creating a vicious cycle.

Mark’s journey toward overcoming social anxiety began with the decision to seek help. He recognised that his anxiety was holding him back professionally and personally. 

This self-awareness was the first critical step. You must accept the fact that your anxiety is destroying your life and you must find a solution to treat it… just like Mark accepted it.

He started a structured and supportive treatment plan with our professional CBT therapist’s help at MIHH. He went through cognitive restructuring to identify and change his negative thoughts. 

For instance, he often thought, “Everyone will think I’m stupid if I say something wrong.” Through CBT, he examined the evidence for and against this belief and gradually replaced it with a more balanced thought: “It’s okay to make mistakes; everyone does.”

Mark’s progress was remarkable. He began to see significant improvements with consistent practice and support. He could participate in meetings without overwhelming fear, enjoy parties, and even made some new friends. His success in managing social anxiety bettered his general well-being.

Mark’s story highlights the profound impact of CBT on social anxiety. By addressing both cognitive and behavioural aspects, CBT provides comprehensive tools for overcoming anxiety. If Mark’s journey resonates with you, consider exploring CBT as a viable option to manage anxiety and unlock your full potential.

In a Nutshell

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a treatment method similar to psychotherapy. It uses your brain’s plasticity to change POVs about negative thoughts and situations. It helps you to calm down immediately. You can learn its tips to manage anxiety in stressful situations. We combine CBT with hypnotherapy as a full-package treatment method.

Ready to Take Action? Book a FREE consultation with our Hypnotherapist now.

Read Next: Trauma Therapy: Definition, Types, Techniques, and Efficacy