Forum Overview :: =( :: Adventures in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

[quote name="Jerry Whorebach"][quote]<b>To create your own experiment</b>, first identify how one of your thoughts or beliefs influences your behaviour. For example, do you think that shaking would ruin a social interaction so you work hard to keep your body still, or that making a mistake will cause others to yell at you so you never take risks? Once you have identified the behaviour, the next step is to make a plan to change it. For example, purposely trying to shake and see how others react, or making a small mistake at work in front of your coworkers. To maximize the benefit of the experiment, write out your prediction, being as specific as possible. For example, “Jane will yell in a loud voice that I’m stupid, and walk away causing others to stare at me.” Be careful not to assume that others are reacting negatively – look at the facts. What did they <b>do</b> or <b>say</b>? Was it as bad as you thought? Are there other explanations for what happens? Examples of experiments include: - Ask a “silly” question (e.g. ask for directions to a street you are already on) - Let your hand shake while holding a glass of water - Spill a drink - Drop something or knock something over - Wear your shirt inside out - Send an e-mail with spelling mistakes - Mispronounce a word - Pretend to lose your train of thought and stop mid-sentence - Pretend to trip - Wait for the cashier to close the till and then ask for change[/quote] The experiments only get more extreme from there. "Take a potshot at a motorcade." "Ask someone if you can pet their dog, then slap it." Eventually it just turns into a list of places to put nails. At this point I'm concerned I may have joined a fight club. [quote]<b>What sorts of things are helpful to put onto a coping card?</b> - A nickname given to your anxiety (e.g. “Mr. Worry”, “the pest”, “Meanie”) combined with a command. For example, <i>Beat it Mr. Bossy Pants!</i> Or, <i>You’re not invited to the party anxiety.</i>[/quote] I'm picturing getting hit by a taxi crossing the street, and all my little cards addressed to Mr. Bossy Pants go flying into the air. Or maybe I'm getting intimate with a lady, when all of a sudden this big pile of <i>You’re not invited to the party anxiety</i> cards comes spilling out of my pocket. She's going to have something to talk about with her friends! Maybe that should be one of the exercises from the last page? "Use your coping cards to engineer a B-plot on Sex in the City."[/quote]