PD Revelation

[Updated – 9/10/21; 12/18/21 added three more videos; 2/21/22 added another video]

I've touched before on the value I've found in working some self-administered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) into my time in the JWH protocol. I have used it mainly to help change thoughts that may be making me feel unsafe. I believe it's been a valuable adjunct to the protocol's two core exercises which, for their part, work by directly stimulating the parts of the brain that create a sense of safety. I've used mostly the CBT technique known as “cognitive restructuring”.

If you don't have a good sense of how that might work, the videos in this post should help. In the first video psychotherapist Emma McAdam presents what is essentially a CBT approach to replacing anxiety and fear with feelings of safety. (If you want to skip to the meat of it jump to the 5:10 mark.)

The second video brings in an additional point, highlighting the value in revisiting the details of past trauma(s) that might have set in motion an ongoing fear response. This might lead to the realization that the trauma was a rare, one time event that need not haunt your life today. Or it might, in some other way, help reframe the trauma from a less fearful perspective.

As an added bonus, the third video features Aaron Beck, one of the founders of CBT, describing his use of cognitive restructuring with regard to a client's various irrational beliefs. This should help in understanding the process of identifying irrational beliefs and replacing them with a more rational understanding.

Update – 9/10/21: In my experience cognitive restructuring has sometimes had almost immediate, very positive results. At other times I've had to repeat the process over time from various angles, and the results have sometimes been only partial. Overall, it seems, for me, to have been a valuable adjunct to the JWH protocol.

Update – 12/18/21: As an update I want to add two short videos about core beliefs in CBT. For some they might add an important missing piece to their CBT work. And certain of the core beliefs featured, such as the belief that the world is a dangerous place, are likely quite relevant to those dealing with pause.

As a bonus I'm including a third video from the same therapist providing a nice, simple outline of cognitive restructuring. To understand these things it's often helpful to absorb the information from several different sources. So viewing another simple explanation of cognitive restructuring may prove beneficial.

Quick tip: to speed up watching YouTube videos just click on the gear symbol and increase the playback speed to your liking. You may be able to absorb the same information in less time.

Update – 2/21/22: Another video. This one keeps it simple, making it perhaps especially useful to those intimidated by the idea of trying CBT as a self-therapy. See especially steps 5 through 8. And note the very helpful step 6.