Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

I was chatting with ChatGPT (I call mine Ren) and the subject of CBT came up. I really liked the output it gave me so I’ll save it here (with edits) for future reference. Might add more stuff later.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) — is a toolkit for calling out your brain’s bullshit. It helps you recognize when your thoughts are lying to you and gives you strategies to reframe them into something more accurate. The whole point is to break the cycle of automatic negative thinking before it drags you into the emotional pit.

CBT Sparknotes + Tangible Stuff You Can Do:

1. CATCH THE DISTORTION.
   Your brain loves to pull sketchy tricks when you’re spiraling. Some common ones include:
   • All-or-Nothing Thinking: “I’m either a success or a failure. No in-between.”
   • Catastrophizing: “If I mess up this one thing, my entire life is ruined.”
   • Mental Filtering: Only seeing the negatives and ignoring the positives.
   • Mind Reading: “Everyone thinks I’m a joke.” (even though you have no proof).
     When you catch one of these distortions, say it out loud or write it down. Literally call it out like, “Oh look, my brain’s catastrophizing again. Classic.” It helps take away its power.
2. REFRAME THE THOUGHT.
   Once you’ve caught the bullshit, challenge it with evidence.
   • Original Thought: “I’m a total failure.”
   • Reframe:“I’ve been laid off, but I’m still applying, researching, and improving. That’s not failure—it’s resilience.”
     When you catch a negative thought, ask yourself:
     • “What’s the actual evidence for and against this thought?”
     • “If my friend was thinking this, what would I tell them?”
     • “What’s a more realistic (not blindly positive) version of this thought?”
3. USE BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION.
   Your brain wants to shut down when you’re depressed, which makes the spiral worse. Let’s trick the system. Even tiny actions create positive feedback loops.
   • Tangible Tip: Make a “cheat list” of 5-10 tiny, low-effort actions that are guaranteed wins. ie:
     • Walk around the block. > Do 10 jumping jacks. > Drink water. > Watch funny cats.
     • When your brain says, “Everything’s pointless,” you do one of these anyway—even if you feel like a zombie— to chip away at the inertia.
4. DO A THOUGHT RECORD.
   This is one of CBT’s main tools, and it’s actually pretty simple. You write out:
   • The Trigger: What made you spiral? (Ex: Got rejected by a job.)
   • The Thought: What’s the shitty belief? (Ex: “I’m unhirable.”)
   • The Emotion: How did it make you feel? (Ex: Hopeless, ashamed.)
   • The Evidence For: What evidence supports this thought? (Ex: I’ve been rejected before.)
   • The Evidence Against: What contradicts it? (Ex: I’ve had interviews, I’ve held jobs before.)
   • Reframe: A balanced version of the thought. (Ex: “Getting rejected doesn’t mean I’m unhirable—it just means this wasn’t my fit.”)

You don’t have to master this shit overnight. Just try one or two techniques when you’re feeling off. The more you use them, the more automatic they become.