Procrastination Contents Reasons to procrastinate. 1 To avoid failure. 2 To avoid success. 2 To avoid the imperfect. 2 To avoid losing your identity. 2 To avoid losing control 2 To avoid feeling lonely \abandoned. 2 To avoid doing demeaning tasks. 2 To avoid distress. 2 What maintains procrastination. 2 What gets in the way of tackling procrastination. 3 Your identity. 4 How procrastination can be helpful 5 Steps to Change. 5 Preparing to change. 5 Understanding. 5 Motivating. 5 Troubleshooting. 5 Changing procrastination. 5 Approach. 5 Plan Preparation. 6 Plan Implementation. 6 Feedback\Learn ..read more

  How to change thoughts   I have a thought, for instance  “I'm a loser” and I want to change it, as it causes me distress through my emotional and behavioural response to it.   Arguing with the thought wont always be successful as you might hold the belief not due to evidence but rather its function. In other words I want to punish myself so that I seek to motivate myself by trying to overcome it. Likewise there can be so many pieces of evidence for and against you wont ever resolve this, by argument. Arguing with a belief can also be self defeating as it highlights the si ..read more

  Working with distressing worry     Introduction You might have a worry that you know isn’t helpful. With this worry, there can be a tendency to use your fight or flight systems as if they were an external threat. As you fight with worry, you might argue with it, tell yourself not to worry, or give yourself evidence why you don’t need to worry and the worry continues. As you go into flight mode with worry, you might try to distract yourself, or numb yourself somehow with food or drink or drugs. Whilst sometimes these strategies can be useful, oftentimes the worry doesn’t go awa ..read more

 Working with distressing thoughts and feelings     Introduction You might have distressing thoughts, unwanted thoughts or feelings. Thoughts that if someone else said that to you, you wouldn’t like, critical ones maybe. There might be unpleasant emotions around, anxiety about what could happen, or low mood about what has happened. With both of these thoughts or feelings, there can be a tendency to use our fight or flight systems as if they were an external threat. As we fight with thoughts, we might argue  with them, tell ourselves to pull our socks up. As we go into fligh ..read more

Perfectionism Perfectionism Definition Defined as setting high standards which are pursued despite any problems created whilst following them plus having self worth being dependent  with achievement of these standards. Symptoms Procrastination ·                           doing things at the last moment means there a good reason why its not perfect ·                   ..read more

Overcoming Depression One step at a time Part 1 Understanding Depression Introduction Read a chapter a week and do the exercises, this will take 8 weeks. 25% of people will experience depression in their lifetime and depression has trebled since WW2. Maybe this is because of a depressogenic society we rely more on technology less on each other and have become alienated and isolated, button pushers. At work we are human resources, to be played like a game of chess, and we live in nuclear families divorced from our extended families. End jobs, relationships, losing loved ones, moving house ..read more

Contents Introduction    1 Chapter 1 Recovering from unwanted intrusive thoughts    1 Thoiughts that get stuck    3 Chapter 2 Varieties of intrusive thoughts    4 Chapter 3 What thoughts mean: Myths and facts    5 Chapter 4 Unwanted intrusive thoughts Q and A    6 Chapter 5 How the brain creates unwanted intrusive thoughts    7 Chapter 6 Why nothing has worked    9 Ineffective strategies    10 Reassurance, suppression, rational argument, prayer   &nbs ..read more

  Metacognitive Therapy for Anxiety and Depression Adrian Wells Contents Chapter 1 Theory and Nature of Metacognitive Therapy. 1 Chapter 3 Foundation Metacognitive therapy skills. 4 Chapter 4 Attention training techniques. 5 Chapter 5 Detached Mindfulness technique. 8     Chapter 1 Theory and Nature of Metacognitive Therapy Its not that we have unpleasant\unhelpful  thoughts but its how we react to them “I’m a failure” do I ruminate, ignore it, go and read a book on self improvement? Then what’s the effect of my reaction Then you might ask what the purpose and effects of yo ..read more

Contents Frame    1 Client Empathy    1 Cognitive    1 Behavioural    2 Emotions    2 Symptoms    2 Client preparation    2 Client Assessment    2 Current symptoms    2 Client Psychoeducation    3 Accident Memory    3 Client formulation    4 Treatment    4 Stage 1: Preparation    4 Stage 2: increase the safe base, secure haven and soothing system    4 Stage 3 Reliving    4 Stage 4 Rebuilding    5 Frame Client presents having had a RTA and  presents some weeks\months later for 12 sessions of CBT Client Empathy The client has had something very frightening happening to them, they thought the ..read more

Avoidance   Q: Suppose we heard a big dragon coming into our room, I suppose like me you would leave.   Q: Next week if I invited you to our session what would happen?   Possible answer Thoughts: there could be dragons Emotions: Anxiety Behaviour: Avoid   Q: If you avoided what would happen? My belief there could be dragons is still true. My belief that this anxiety is awful and I can’t manage it is still true My knowledge of how to live in a world where there can be dragons wouldn’t increase. My world gets smaller   Q: If you came what would you find out? Opposite of avoid ..read more