Cognitive behavioral therapy has been used by psychotherapists for years in order to relieve the symptoms of unipolar and bipolar depression. CBT is especially useful in treating the depressive phase of bipolar disorder, without the negative side effects of medication.
Science backs up these assertions, and those bipolar individuals who successfully use CBT can change the chemical processes in their brains, similar to the effect that psychiatric medication has. It can be said that thinking positive thoughts and using common sense can really improve your life.
So what are some tricks and tips that can help to fix your bipolar anxiety?
The first step is to realize that you have bipolar disorder. Denial won’t get you anywhere in regards to treatment. The basics of cognitive behavioral therapy work as follows:
Identify Undesirable Behaviors
First, you must identify behaviors that you believe are not normal and that you would like to change. For example, maybe you have a fear of flying, and if you get on an airplane you suffer an anxiety attack.
Quiet Your Brain
Second, you should try to control these irrational behaviors by calming yourself and getting emotion out of the picture. Try to think about a happy place or event, and try to get rid of distractions. Put the event in perspective and realize that it probably isn’t a big deal.
Develop Rational Thought Processes
Thirdly, you should make the list of why exactly these behaviors are undesirable or abnormal. You could make a list of all the safety features of airplanes, or look up the statistics of airplane deaths. In doing so, you will be using reason to defeat an irrational belief that it is dangerous to fly.
Practice Positive Behaviors
Lastly, you should put the rational beliefs that you have come up with in to practice on a small scale. To continue with the flying example, you could start to take short trips on airplanes, working your way up to a trip across the country. Take small steps in order to resolve negative behaviors.
Cognitive behavioral therapy really works if you take the time to use logic instead of emotion. You will soon find that cognitive behavioral therapy can be used by almost everyone, bipolar or not, in order to treat undesirable habits or irrational fears.