3/29/2012. Stress & CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Techniques to Manage Stress

Transcription

1 Stress & CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Techniques to Manage Stress Elisa Nebolsine, LCSW If you re a regular mammal (stress) is about three minutes of screaming terror on the savannah after which it s either over or you re over. -Robert Sapolsky 1

2 Causing more stress and more worry Feel overwhelmed and unable to cope Difficulty concentrating because of stress Overview 1. Good stress vs. bad stress 2. How to now when stress is a problem 3. CBT techniques to manage stress Less available for learning, miss important information Eustress (or good stress): Motivates or pushes us to achieve more Short-term Leads to gains Ex: Athlete before game, student before test, riding a roller coaster Distress (or bad stress) Decreases our performance Causes significant discomfort/anxiety Chronic Incapacitating Problematic Stress. Look for changes in behavior Increased irritability/frustration Decreased ability to sleep Avoidance, lying about work completion Isolation, withdrawal from family or friends Headaches or stomachaches Decreased or increased eating Nightmares Difficulty concentrating From: 2

3 2 minute introduction to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) basics BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR KIDS TO BE SUCCESSFUL CBT techniques are only useful when a child or teen has the resources needed to learn new skills. The literature is clear that in order for kids to perform at their highest, they need: Sleep: Kids 5-10 need 9-11 hours Adolescents need 9.25 hours Exercise: Kids and adolescents need a minimum of one hour a day of active to very active exercise Main Idea CBT It s not the situation that creates the problem, it s our perception of the situation. We can change how we think or change how we act and subsequently change our feelings. Aaron Beck, MD Focused on cognitions and role they play in maintaining negative thought patterns. Beck s Original Research Psychoanalytic theory of retroflected hostility Unconscious hostility towards a loved object which is ego-alien and therefore the hostility is repressed and turned inward Expectation that thoughts of depressed people would have more anger than nondepressed Reality that depressed people had less anger than peers but more negative thoughts and a higher degree of negative self-evaluation Self image was of being defective, defeated, or diseased Depressed people attached negative meanings to most experiences- less aware of the meaning and more aware of the feelings 3

4 The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again. 3/29/2012 Therapy as a Scientific Investigation: 1. Collecting data (events, thoughts, images, feelings, behaviors) 2. Formulating hypotheses based on data 3. Testing and revising hypotheses (i.e. thinking patterns) based on new information Behaviors Feelings Thoughts 4

5 Facts, not feelings Just because this feels true right now doesn t mean it is What is the evidence that supports this feeling? What would I say to a friend if they were feeling this way? How big will this seem in 2 hours, 2 days, 2 years? Feelings are temporary NO feeling lasts forever. Not even the good ones. Think of the saddest moment you can remember. How long did it last? Think of your happiest experience? How long did the happiness last? Thinking about the worry is worse than the actual experience 5

6 3/29/2012 General Stress stays unmanageable when it is undefined and generalized Specific Stress Grades & Interims Biology 5 Math 9 English 2 Spanish 8 What is the worst that could happen? How likely is it to happen? If it happened, how would I cope? 6

7 Summary Stress is unavoidable. Stress can be both helpful and harmful. How we think about a situation makes a significant difference in how we feel. CBT strategies are proven to be helpful, but without enough sleep(9.25 hours for teens) and exercise they are not enough. All materials from tonight s presentation will be available on the Langley High School Website: 7