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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Effectively Alleviates Anxiety In Teens And Adults

By Stephen Daniels

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Published: 10Mar2012
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Anxiety is a debilitating condition that affects the mind, the emotions and the body. Psychologists see it manifest in many forms: obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias and others. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most common subtypes of the affliction. Characterized by chronic worry, near-constant nervousness and tension, GAD can affect adults as well as teens. Because it is diffuse and not attached to a specific situation such as a phobia, it colors one's entire life, making normal life extremely difficult.

Despite its imposing grip on one's life, there is a way out. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT for short, has been proven to be incredibly effective in helping people regain their normal sense of self. In the mid 1950s, Albert Ellis developed Rational Emotive Therapy as an alternative to psychoanalysis. Origins of this forerunner to CBT trace back to the Stoic philosophers of Ancient Greece and Rome:

"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them." - Epictetus

Since then, theorists and practitioners including Aaron Beck, Dr. Maxie Maultsby, Jr. and, more recently, Marsha Linehan have made important contributions to the method, helping to make it what it is today.

The goal of CBT is to help patients realize how their own negative thoughts - called cognitions - fuel their anxiety, and to objectively look at how their behavior and situational reactions set off their anxiety. Beliefs held, in some cases for one's entire life, profoundly affect how one sees the world. In general, those who suffer from anxiety hold irrational and/or unrealistic beliefs that must be supplanted before positive change can occur.

The treatment is broken up into two sections: cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. During the first section, the therapist helps the patient identify cognitive distortions, which are a kind of assumption resulting from negative thoughts. For instance, if someone believes they will appear awkward and strange at a party (negative thought), he might erroneously assume everyone will hate him because of his awkwardness. A prediction of the worst-case scenario and jumping to an irrational conclusion are the distortions resulting from the initial thought.

The basic outline is to identify negative thoughts, and to learn to challenge them and replace them with positive ones. The last step can be very difficult, for the negativity might be reinforced by lifelong patterns. Because of these hardened belief systems and patterns of self-negating behavior, it's vital that one actively participate in their therapy, which involves individual and group sessions as well as homework. CBT often demonstrates results after just a few months, but only if the patient works at it.

Curing depression isn't simply a matter of taking medication - that only covers up the symptoms for a short period of time. Similarly, trying to motivate oneself to calm down or not get anxious is trickier than it sounds, for the causes of anxiety are usually deeply rooted in one's psyche. In addition to being a major disruptive force in daily life that affects thoughts and emotions, anxiety can have physical implications as well. Tension, edginess, insomnia and stomach problems are quite common among those who suffer from anxiety issues.

People suffering from GAD have the same worries as other people, only theirs are more intense and largely inseparable from their daily lives. Psychologists can help people of all ages overcome this chronic disorder. The cognitive behavioral therapy will help a person recognize the relationship between his thoughts and behaviors and his anxiety. Together with a regiment of regular exercise and relaxation techniques such as meditation, it's possible to see the world in a whole new, positive light.

If you or someone you know is suffering from anxiety, author Stephen Daniels highly recommends the expertise of Manhattan CBT therapists for treatment of emotion regulation problems. The counselors there specialize in the use of CBT, MBCT, and DBT in working with their patients.

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