The name HeadQuarters Mental Health wasn't chosen at random. It reflects how two primary concepts in therapy provide the foundations for improving your life.
Your Head’s Quarters
Cognitive-behavioral approaches to therapy (CBT) focus on the relationship between four components of our mind. Think of them as the head’s quarters:
Thoughts “what if something goes wrong?” | Emotions anxiety; hopelessness |
Sensations intense beating heart; sweaty palms | Behaviors checking; avoidance |
Understanding and adjusting these relationships is a primary way CBT helps address difficulties, including those associated with anxiety and OCD. For example, if we learn to change how we think about a situation, from doom-and-gloom to hope-and-cope, we will likely feel less intense anxiety about it and will find it easier to act more consistently with our goals.
Your Headquarters
Unfortunately, when struggling in a moment of crisis it is also easy to get sucked back into unhelpful patterns and find ourselves unable to use this knowledge.
But what if, in these moment of crisis, we could visit the control center of our mind; calmly observe all the ways our brain was reacting and then choose, intentionally, how to respond? It might sound something like this:
Thoughts I’m having a thought “what if something goes wrong?” | Emotions My emotions are reflecting the uncertainty in this situation |
Sensations I notice my fight or flight system is activated | Behaviors There's an urge to run away, but I won't because this is important to me |
Approaches like acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) compliment CBT by focusing on skills that build awareness, strengthen intention, and shift attention. As a result, they can help us more effectively navigate through the challenges of life towards our goals.
Think what you could accomplish if you were at the helm of your headquarters, managing your head’s quarters.
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