CBT Reflection #1

I wrote this Feb 2021. I planned to complete this and use it as a form of self help therapy. I never formally followed through with my plan outlined in my original post. A couple days ago, I saw a friend's facebook post. I thought my friend might benefit from CBT, so I shared my original post with him. Now I realized I never followed through. So here I go.

CBT Reflection #1: What brought you here?

Chance and mild depression brought me to CBT. If it wasn't for a friend recommending me a book, I might not have thought or considered my sagging mental health. So awareness was a key. Since my depression was mild, I may have not noticed or connected my symptoms. I'm a person who tends to keep my feelings to myself. I love to argue, discuss, and talk, but when asked how I'm doing I naturally say good or okay regardless of how I actually feel. Now as i get older, better educated, and more aware, I see the mental health benefits from being open and more expressive. This is another way for me to have an expressive outlet.

So chance or luck initially brought me here.

After studying CBT, I see cognitive distortions everywhere. My friends, books and media I ingest, especially weekly to hourly news, social media are all flooding with cognitive distortions. I typically keep them to myself and speculate the amount of suffering and damage caused by negative thinking that doesn't have to be negative.

This is a weak reflection, but it's good enough. It's also past midnight now and a little girl will be waking me up in a few hours.