It doesn’t, at least in my experience. Great. I’m now aware I am feeling like shit. Don’t feel like shit don’t feel like shit don’t feel like shit. Welp still feel like shit and now I’m preoccupied trying to convince myself otherwise.
CBT is great for figuring out what you are feeling but it sucks with dealing with it. This is where acceptance based therapy works well.
I feel like shit! Am I supposed to feel like shit? Would a rational human feel like shit here? They would? Maybe I’m not such a pile of shit after all, and just a human
There are 3 parts to the process. It sounds like you got stuck between 1 and 2.
Identify what is actually going on. Feeling shit is a compound feeling breaking it down into subsections helps a lot. E.g. I’m crap and socialising and miss people. Or I’m anxious about money.
Identify what needs to be done, internally to alter the behaviour/feeling.
Implementing that in your day to day life.
I’ve had a few attempts at CBT over the years (ADHD). 2 were completely useless, the 3rd helped a lot. We managed to chunk some of my issues down into small enough pieces I could crush them.
You would be surprised how much traction you can get by just actually taking the first step.
E.g. I’m a geek and, after moving, wanted to join a local makerspace. Unfortunately there wasn’t one. I could have lamented the lack of one. Instead, I put the call out to see if anyone else wanted to start one. The task looked daunting and overwhelming. It was amazing how much effort others were willing to join me in applying to the problem. We’ve been going strong for a decade now, and it’s provided a positive outlet to many.
That’s normally what the B in CBT is for. The therapist is supposed to work out some strategies with you that make you feel like shit less, a behavioral repertoire that you can use on your own and that is independent from the cognitive part. I personally found this the hardest thing to do in CBT, and it was probably the thing that helped me the most long term (because let’s face it: no amount of therapy will make me an all-sunshine glass-half-full kinda guy, and really that’s okay).
Also what should not be forgotten is that no therapy will fix things, that are outside your control. Especially health, finances… etc. If you are doing terribly because you have cancer, or something, no amount of talking will make it go away. It really is just strategies how to face the fact and not to crumble into sand. But sometimes there just are no strategies that help.
It doesn’t, at least in my experience. Great. I’m now aware I am feeling like shit. Don’t feel like shit don’t feel like shit don’t feel like shit. Welp still feel like shit and now I’m preoccupied trying to convince myself otherwise.
CBT is great for figuring out what you are feeling but it sucks with dealing with it. This is where acceptance based therapy works well.
I feel like shit! Am I supposed to feel like shit? Would a rational human feel like shit here? They would? Maybe I’m not such a pile of shit after all, and just a human
There are 3 parts to the process. It sounds like you got stuck between 1 and 2.
Identify what is actually going on. Feeling shit is a compound feeling breaking it down into subsections helps a lot. E.g. I’m crap and socialising and miss people. Or I’m anxious about money.
Identify what needs to be done, internally to alter the behaviour/feeling.
Implementing that in your day to day life.
I’ve had a few attempts at CBT over the years (ADHD). 2 were completely useless, the 3rd helped a lot. We managed to chunk some of my issues down into small enough pieces I could crush them.
What needs to be done?
The mass slaughter of the Epstein class.
I think I could be happy then.
Break it down. What about the Epstein class is actually the problem. What solutions could be applied. How would you break down going about it?
Break it down further into useful goals, then create actionable steps you can take to tackle the various sub points.
It sounds like you’ve failed with breaking the problem down stage. That is a massive, unsolvable task.
It’s like the question “How do you eat an elephant?”, A: “One bite at a time”. You can’t just shove the elephant in your mouth and hope not to choke.
By God you’re right.
I’ve been so foolish. I’ll get right on all of this. I need a notebook…
You would be surprised how much traction you can get by just actually taking the first step.
E.g. I’m a geek and, after moving, wanted to join a local makerspace. Unfortunately there wasn’t one. I could have lamented the lack of one. Instead, I put the call out to see if anyone else wanted to start one. The task looked daunting and overwhelming. It was amazing how much effort others were willing to join me in applying to the problem. We’ve been going strong for a decade now, and it’s provided a positive outlet to many.
That’s normally what the B in CBT is for. The therapist is supposed to work out some strategies with you that make you feel like shit less, a behavioral repertoire that you can use on your own and that is independent from the cognitive part. I personally found this the hardest thing to do in CBT, and it was probably the thing that helped me the most long term (because let’s face it: no amount of therapy will make me an all-sunshine glass-half-full kinda guy, and really that’s okay).
Also what should not be forgotten is that no therapy will fix things, that are outside your control. Especially health, finances… etc. If you are doing terribly because you have cancer, or something, no amount of talking will make it go away. It really is just strategies how to face the fact and not to crumble into sand. But sometimes there just are no strategies that help.
Try DBT instead
I’ve tried CBT, DBT, REBT, and ACT. ACT and Stoicism are what helped me the most - CBT and DBT the least.
For me IFS works wonders
Tried that too - that one’s actually really nice. I just didn’t like that it feels somewhat mystical.