Katheryn Kiker

My way of approaching unhealthy thoughts and beliefs is in line with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. But what do all those words mean?

Mindfulness is the skill of observing your mind without judging it, and becoming present. The cognitive part is what addresses specific unhealthy thought patterns or beliefs. Together, they are a very powerful combo for those struggling with anxiety or depression- both disorders that affect the way you think.

It can be weird to think about your thinking. From a neurological perspective, we know that neurons that fire together wire together. This means that if we have thought the way we have for a long time, it’s going to feel unnatural to think differently- but this doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Sometimes it takes a skilled professional to help us identify what thoughts are unhealthy and gain awareness of them, and there is no shame in that.

You know I love to visualize things.

Below is a flow chart I made that to me describes the process of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to challenge unhealthy thoughts.

And here is a more real-life example, that includes the thoughts themselves:

There is so much power behind this type of therapy- when you challenge what you are thinking you start to rebuild the connections in your mind, changing the way your neurons fire.

So while it may seem confusing to think about your thinking, it is one of the most worthwhile things we can do for our mental health.