“I am worthless.”

“Life sucks.”

“Nothing will ever change.”

“I can’t.”

Each one of these sayings are things that just fuel the progression of depression… 

Cognitive behavioral therapy has the ability to help treat depression. 

First things first. What is this therapy? 

“CBT is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing negative thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors to improve mental health and well-being.”

The idea is that those negative thoughts you have while you’re in a depressive episode can be changed or altered into something more positive. 

The steps are relatively simple when laid out, but can be challenging when put into motion. This is why this kind of therapy is typically done with the help of a therapist. 

Step one: Identify the thought and challenge it

When you are experiencing depression, your thoughts may drift to negative ones such as the ones we listed above. A lot of the time, with depression, those thoughts can seem as normal as breathing because that is what your mind is completely consumed by. 

With CBT, the idea is that you begin to recognize those thoughts. 

Once you are able to identify and pinpoint those negative thoughts and sayings in your head, you can begin the process of challenging them. 

  This means that you look at the thought and decide if it is really true and/or worth thinking. 

For example: “Life sucks.”

Does life actually suck? Or are you having a bit of a hard time right now? Are you putting in any effort to make your situation better? Do those around you know what you’re feeling and can they help you?

This is the point where you really start to evaluate those negative thoughts and emotions.

Step two: Replacing negative thoughts

In step one, you find those negative thoughts and evaluate if those thoughts are valid or worth thinking.
NOTE: most of the time they are neither.

Once you’re able to pinpoint the thought, you can start to find another way to think it. 

If you have a recurring thought, you will eventually be able to recognize the thought and know that it is a bad one. Therefore giving yourself the chance to change/reroute the thought. 

For example: “I am worthless.”

Once you recognize that thought and know that it is a negative outcome of your depression, you can think otherwise of the thought. 

Instead of “I am worthless.” say: “I am having a hard time right now, but I am still capable of change and getting through those hard times because I am strong.”

Knowing what or where those thoughts come from can also help with the process of healing.

Step three: Changing behaviors

Now that you have gone through steps one and two, you can begin the process of physically changing things in your life. 

This can be a combination of steps one and two, but in more of a physical sense. 

Taking a look at your life and noticing that many of your day to day activities are just making your depression worse or simply putting you in a stalemate, may be the key to changing your outlook on life. 

Some ideas to change this are:

• Get out of your normal routine
• Do the activities you enjoy more
• Get more physical active
• Be with those people who lift you up, not tear you down
• Journal about your heavy thoughts

These are all steps that are taken with CBT. The idea of this therapy is to reroute your thoughts from negative ones to more positive ones. Or at least help you recognize those heavier and darker thoughts. 

Many therapists are trained to help with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help treat depression. 

Reach out to a therapist or your own therapist today to see if this may be the best next step for you.