Lorna - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Lorna is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, Accredited Life Coach and Mindfulness Practitioner. At one point or another, you may have felt the effects of health anxiety, social anxiety, low mood; stress or burnout. These are just some of the common difficulties that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is known for treating. We delved further into the world of CBT with Lorna to discover it can actually help anyone in a multitude of ways. Whether you want to achieve a personal or professional goal, or even just to maintain emotional wellbeing, CBT is a highly effective talking therapy.
What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a well-established and highly effective talking therapy that has demonstrated to be effective in treating a range of difficulties including anxiety, low mood, stress and perfectionism.
CBT combines Cognitive Therapy (e.g. our thoughts and the things we are thinking) with Behavioural Therapy (e.g. the acts we carry out and the things that we do) and is based on the idea that the way you think about a situation can affect how you feel and behave. Therefore, in CBT, I help my clients to identify, understand and change certain ways of thinking and behaving to help change the way that they feel e.g. less anxious and stressed. CBT is primarily focused on helping individuals in the here and now, rather than attempting to solve past issues. Although, we do think about how past experiences may have impacted the way that you see yourself, others and the world around you.
CBT is a relatively short-term and goal-orientated therapy that offers a hands-on, practical approach to problem solving. What I love about CBT is its collaborative approach. CBT empowers individuals as they are actively involved throughout the therapy process. For example, in my sessions, we always agree on tasks to complete between sessions to really consolidate learnings. For example, you may read, keep diaries and thought records, hand out surveys for friends and family to complete to test certain thoughts or beliefs and/or practice the coping strategies that I have taught you.
What can be gained from CBT?
Where do I start? The list is endless!
Essentially, you will gain an understanding of how your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings keep you trapped in a vicious cycle. You will learn how to identify and challenge unhelpful thinking styles (e.g. catastrophising) and behaviours (e.g. avoidance) so that you can feel better e.g. less anxious. Ultimately, through CBT, you will learn how to make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts and break the vicious cycle described above which keeps you feeling a certain way e.g. anxious.
Other benefits include:
Reduced symptoms associated with a range of issues such as anxiety, panic attacks, low mood, and physical health problems including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
CBT has lots of strategies that can help you in the here and now - helping you to cope with different situations, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours.
CBT not only helps you to understand yourself better but it also enables you to gain a greater awareness of others around you.
Time! CBT is typically a relatively short-term (yet highly effective) therapy. Although, the duration of therapy is always tailored to each individual, depending on presenting difficulties.
The effects of CBT are long-lasting as you develop skills and tools to help you deal with future difficulties too. The idea is that by the end of therapy, you can be your own therapist!
‘CBT not only helps you to understand yourself better but it also enables you to gain a greater awareness of others around you.’ ~ Lorna
@SAIKI.WELLNESS
Who would benefit from this kind of therapy?
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) particularly recommends CBT for anxiety and low mood, but can also help individuals with a range of difficulties including: panic attacks; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); eating disorders; perfectionism; insomnia; stress and burn out; and physical health problems including IBS and chronic fatigue syndrome. Although it does not cure the physical symptoms, the aim is to help individuals cope better with their symptoms.
Although, CBT is not just for individuals struggling with a particular issue such as those stated above. CBT is a flexible therapy that can be adapted to the individual’s needs - CBT can help anyone. CBT can be an effective tool to help individuals achieve personal or professional goals, learn how to better manage stressful situations and maintain emotional health and wellbeing. I personally believe that everyone benefits from therapy - I am on a mission to destigmatise therapy and make mental health and wellbeing more of an everyday conversation!
What are your top tips for managing stress?
Self-awareness. This is one of the first and most important steps to managing stress. Gain an understanding of what causes you to feel stressed and what keeps you feeling stressed. This may be certain life events, behaviours or thinking styles. A useful starting point is to keep a diary for a week. Check-in with yourself at least once every hour. Make a note of your surroundings (situation), what you are thinking, how you are feeling and what you are doing (your behaviour). After a week, take a look back at your notes and see if you can notice any patterns. Are there any links between your thoughts, feelings and behaviour? This will help you develop an understanding of the types of situations, thoughts and behaviours that result in you feeling more stressed. Once you have gained awareness, you can then begin to take steps to manage and overcome stress.
Prioritise rest and relaxation. A great relaxation technique to practice before bedtime is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). Our bodies automatically respond to stressful situations and thoughts by becoming tense. A helpful way to relax your mind is to deliberately relax your body.
PMR is a popular strategy to manage stress.Instructions for PMR:
Find a quiet place to relax, either sitting or lying down.
Tense and relax each of your muscle groups until you have tensed and relaxed your entire body. Start by tensing each of your muscles tightly for 5 seconds and then release the tension for about 10 seconds (relaxing your muscles). Notice how the feeling of relaxation differs from the feeling of tension.
Start with your feet and then work up your body e.g. feet, lower legs, upper legs, hips and buttocks, chest and stomach, shoulder blades and back, shoulders, neck, mouth and jaw, eyes and cheeks, forehead, upper arms, forearms and hands.
Look after yourself. We are more prone to feeling stressed if we have a basic need that has not been taken care of such as sleep, rest, food and water. Check in with yourself the next time you feel stressed. Are there any unmet needs that you need to pay attention to? If you are tired, prioritise sleep and rest. If you are hungry, make yourself something nourishing to eat. This will help to redirect your energy, be mindful and result in you being less vulnerable to feeling stressed in the future.
What is your favourite ritual?
My night-time ritual is key for me to unwind and is something I stick to no matter what is going on. I start by clearing my workspace, light my candles, put my aromatherapy essential oil diffuser on and play calming music. I practice yin yoga and make a warm, soothing drink with adaptogens such as Ashwagandha. I also love Glow Bar’s Yoni Moon Milk. I journal every evening and write in my daily planner to review my goals, lessons learned from my day and I end the day by writing three things that I am grateful for. This routine really helps to keep me grounded and calm my mind and body before bedtime.
Why is self-care important to you?
Self-care is key for me to unwind and escape the stresses of daily life. I engage in lots of different forms of self-care: I regularly practice mindfulness; attend sound healing classes; exercise daily; always make sure I dedicate time to relax; and I love spending time in nature. I immediately feel calm when I go for a long walk in a park or a field. I also love to have a chilled evening in with a face mask, nourishing food (homemade brownies are the best!) and a feel-good movie.
How can we follow you and your work?
You can follow me on Instagram (@lorna_devine) and find out more about me and my work at www.lornadevine.com. I regularly contribute to and write articles on a range of topics related to emotional health and wellbeing. You can find these at: https://www.lornadevine.com/blogs-articles
