Cognitive Restructuring

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Cognitive Restructuring

• rethinking what may exacerbate our stress

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But first... how will we know it is working?

• demonstrates effectiveness in reducing
  physiological and/or psychological reactivity
• reduces incidence of dis-ease
• fits personality and lifestyle
• involves little or no sacrifice
• enhances performance

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Cognitive Restructuring is...

• Also known as
• reappraisal
• relabeling
• reframing
• attitude adjustment

• Changing the interpretation of a perception from
  negative to neutral or positive, thereby making
  that perception potentially less stressful

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The story of two frogs...

• Once upon a time, there was a frog who was
  dropped into a pot of hot water. Feeling the
  intense heat, she immediately jumped out and
  saved her life.
• But, there was another frog who was put into a
  pot of cold water which was set on a burner over
  low heat. One degree at a time the temperature
  increased, but the frog became accustomed to the
  heat, stayed in the pot and eventually was boiled.

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The Moral
Although we complain about sudden change, it is
often the gradual, barely perceptible changes--in
our lives, lifestyles and character--that do us
in!
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Dear Mom and Dad,
I am sorry that I have not written, but all my
stationary was destroyed when the dorm
burned down. The car crash that followed when we
drove away wasnt as bad as it seemed at the
time, for we are all alive. I am now out of the
hospital the doctor said that I will be fully
recovered within a few years. I may even be
able to walk again some day. In the meantime, I
have moved in with the boy who rescued me, since
most of my personal belongings were destroyed by
the fire. Love, Hillary
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P.S.
There was no fire, no accident and my health is
quite good. In fact, I dont even have a
boyfriend. However, I did get a D in French
and Cs in both Math and Chemistry. I just
wanted to make sure you keep this all in
perspective!!
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Physical tension and/ormental anxiety begins
with a(n)...

• work demand
• parking hassle
• due date/scheduling problem
• test
• bill
• traffic tie up
• change related to relocating
• relationship disagreement
• waiting situation
• family expectation

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All are quickly followed by...

• Initial thoughts
• Perceptions
• Appraisals

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(No Transcript)
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Partial list of hazards

• sunlight could fade your clothing (or grass could
  stain)
• passing bird could soil your head
• bottles could tip over or attract bees
• weakened tree limb could fracture your skull
• sultry weather could cause embarrassing
  perspiration
• need for restroom could cause extreme anguish
• companion could realize how boring you really are

• freelance photographer could snap scandalous
  pictures
• thin bear could be lurking behind the tree
• passing car/bus could side swipe your car
• flash flood could sweep you away
• rabid fish could leap out of stream and attack
  your toes
• Source Miserable by Dan Greenburg (illustrated
  by Marv Rubin)

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The Big 3 Irrational Thoughts

• I must succeed!!
• You must like me!!
• Life must be easy!!
• Plus
• The past must continue to influence me, making it
  hard to change or to prevent bad things from
  happening to me!!
• I have little control over my moods!!

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Rational Emotive Thinking(Albert Ellis)
Beliefs Re the Event (self talk)
Activating Event
Consequences
A
B
C
The ABCs of Rational Emotive Thinking!!!
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Thinking becomes a threat if...
(-) recall
helpless
A
C
doubt
awful
B
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Thinking creates a solution if...
() recall
opportunity
A
C
control
affirmation
B
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Irrational ThinkingCommon faulty thoughts

• Perfectionist thinking
• Over-generalizing
• Mental filtering
• Disqualifying the positive
• Jumping to conclusions
• mind reading
• fortune telling
• Magnifying / Minimizing

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Irrational ThinkingCommon faulty thoughts

• Emotional reasoning
• Shouldaholism / Mustrabation
• Stereotyping
• labeling
• mislabeling
• Personalizing

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Rational Thinking is...

• objective and non-judgmental,
• positive and encouraging OR
• constructive and useful,
• goal oriented, and
• stress reducing.

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Self talk can be either...

• Positive
• courageous
• full of self will
• problem solving
• reinforcing

• Negative
• self doubting
• will-less
• immobilizing
• effacing

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Activity
Debating and disputing irrational beliefs
D