What if stress wasn’t something to fear but something you could manage with the right tools? Every day we are faced with pressures, challenges, personal responsibilities, and unexpected challenges, but our thoughts and reactions shape how stress affects us. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) provides powerful techniques that help you change your thought patterns and develop a healthier response to stress. 

Here are some effective strategies that you can start using today: 

Create a worry time 

It can be exhausting to constantly replay scenarios in your head, analyzing every possible outcome or thing outside of your control. Over time, this habit can increase stress making it hard to enjoy daily life activities. Choosing a worry time helps to alleviate some of that stress. Here’s how to start setting a worry time: 

1. Pick a consistent time each day (preferably not right before bed) to focus on your worries. Set aside about 15 to 20 minutes. 

2. Keep a journal or a list where you write down some of the worries that come up for you that day. When a worry arises, remind yourself “I’ll deal with this during my worry time.” 

3. When it’s time for your worry time, go through the list and ask yourself: Is this something that I have control over? If yes, start taking steps towards solutions. If not, acknowledge that it is out of your control and it’s best to let it go. 

4. Once your worry time is over, try something relaxing like listening to music, or doing something creative. 

Identify Cognitive Distortions 

Cognitive distortions are inaccurate or exaggerated thought patterns that shape how we interpret people, places and situations. The distortions often lead to stress because they create a negative perception of reality, which fuels emotional distress and unhealthy behaviors. When our thoughts are distorted, we tend to interpret situations as more threatening or overwhelming than they are. This way of thinking triggers the stress response in the body making it harder to stay calm and rational. Some common distortions include:

1. All-or-nothing thinking: This way of thinking involves viewing situations in extremes. This can make even the smallest issues feel like disasters, causing excessive stress. 

2. Catastrophizing: This involves assuming the worst-case scenario will happen.  For example, “If I mess up in this presentation, everyone will think I am a failure.” 

3. Mind Reading: This way of thinking involves believing you know what others are thinking without no real evidence. 

4. Overgeneralization: This involves making assumptions based on one negative event, for example, failing a test and then assuming that you are just bad at everything. 

5. Filtering: This way of thinking involves focusing only on negative aspects and ignoring the positive. For example, getting one negative comment on your post and ignoring all the other positive comments. 

6. Personalization: This way of thinking involves blaming yourself for things outside of your control and not considering other factors. 

Now that you are aware of certain cognitive distortions, the next step is to identify and challenge them. 

1. Start by writing down recurring negative thoughts. Which distortions do you notice more often? 

2. After identifying the thought, ask yourself whether your thought is based on a fact or an assumption. Ask yourself “Do I have any evidence this is true”? “Is there a more balanced way of looking at this”?  

3. The last step is to reframe the thought. Instead of thinking “I’m terrible at my job,” try “I made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean I’m incompetent. I can learn from this.” 

Behavioral Activation 

Behavioral Activation is another CBT technique that can be used to combat stress. It is based on the idea that our actions influence our emotions. When we stop engaging in positive fulfilling activities, our mood tends to decline, making it harder to break free from negative feelings. When stress takes over, it is easy to completely let go of activities that bring joy. Behavioral activation encourages you to engage in positive activities even when you don’t feel like it. Here’s how to start implementing this in your daily life:

1. Write a list of all the activities that make you happy. This can be reading, spending time with loved ones, going for a walk, coloring, or anything that brings you joy. 

2. Schedule at least one enjoyable activity daily. By scheduling it, you are prioritizing your mental health. 

3. Take small steps if you feel unmotivated. Even if that means scheduling the activity for 10-15 minutes. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s about taking any action no matter how small to break the cycle of inactivity.  

At Kind Mind Psychology, we understand how overwhelming stress can be, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Our therapists are trained in CBT and can help incorporate techniques like Behavioral Activation into your daily life to improve your overall well-being. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how therapy can support you, reach out to us today.