How Do CBT and DBT Help Me Manage My Mood?

How do CBT and DBT Help Me Manage my Mood?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) are both evidence based treatments for depression and anxiety. They have shown to be very effective in helping individuals to manage their moods and regulate their emotions.

CBT focuses attention on how our thoughts or interpretations of events can directly influence our moods, emotions and behaviors. CBT enables an conscious exploration of how common cognitive distortions, or Unhelpful Thinking Styles, can impact the way that we experience events. It focuses attention on how often it is not the event itself that causes our distress, but rather the way that we interpret this event or think about ourselves that triggers our difficult reactions.

Using effective tools such as thought records which help us to identify our negative thought patterns about a triggering event and notice how this impacts our mood. It encourages us to find evidence that may disprove a negative interpretation, and then develop a more balanced realistic interpretation that can help shift our mood and emotions.

CBT also encourages Behavioral Activation, a practical tool for over-coming the inertia that depression can bring. By not relying on motivation to change our behaviors, rather simply activating it can become evident that the motivation often arises after the increase in activity. Some like to call this the “Just do it” skill.

DBT provides a range of practical and effective tools for managing the complexities of emotions. It focus on the dialectical – the balance of two seeming opposites such as emotional mind and logical mind – to access the Wise Mind, and practice “walking the middle path” in challenging circumstances.

DBT shares some important elements with CBT, with skills such as Check the Facts. And it provides coping strategies for regulating difficult emotions, managing more challenging distress when it arises, as well as tools for maintaining healthy boundaries, communicating with others assertively and effectively. At the heart of DBT is mindfulness, with focus on staying grounded in the present moment in order to enhance awareness.

The combination of CBT and DBT coping skills have proven to be very practical and effective therapies for helping individuals struggling with symptoms of depression and anxiety, to overcome feeling overwhelmed with difficult emotions and finding pathways towards coping with and resolving challenging circumstances.