Overview
CBT is considered effective and thus is the most widely used therapy when it comes to the
treatment of anxiety. It has been effective for various anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and many more conditions. CBT is based on a basic premise that situations by themselves do not have the power to make us feel emotions, but rather it is the way we perceive them that affects our feelings. Moreover, CBT address the negative ways of thinking and distortions regarding the way we look at our world and ourselves. It involves two components – cognitive therapy, which looks at identifying and replacing our negative thoughts that cause and fuel anxiety, and behavioural therapy, which looks at how a person responds and reacts to situations that trigger anxiety. The goal of CBT is to identify these negative thoughts and replace them with more positive, realistic ones. As one’s way of thinking changes, their feelings change too, thus reducing their anxiety.