Missing the Insidious Influence of Distorted Thinking
One of the biggest mistakes we make as therapists is missing the insidious influence of distorted thinking in the stories we hear. If we DO catch it, we can still get caught in the snare of the content of the story somehow.
Understanding and helping clients develop the capacity to catch distortions and dismantle the thinking habits that fuel them frees our clients who journey with depression and anxiety with empowering ease. It’s not difficult. It does take discipline.
Discipline. The root of discipline is disciple.
What if discipleship to our own mental well-being was considered normal? Just as normal as taking the time to pray, bathe, meditate? Just as normal as brushing our teeth?
Therapists can take a big step in this direction by normalizing the practice and care it takes to take responsibility for and tend to our well-being. Most of us would benefit from this same kind of self-care. And it gives us a stronger frame of understanding of the VALUE of challenging those distorted thoughts as you discover them in the content of the stories.
Most people think they are the ONLY ones who experience the wild monkey mind ride of distorted thinking. Not true. Most of us do. Think of any given cognitive distortion as being on a continuum. The more we indulge a particular type of thinking, the stronger that type of thinking gets.
Imagine the garden of your mind if you did a little weeding every day.