Behaviours

Often challenging our thoughts is not enough. We have to change how you act and respond to situations as well. That is, people have to change the way they behave. There are ways to help to change behavior.

Sometimes it is difficult to be aware of what our behaviors are and how they change when our mood changes. This exercise helps people identify what they do when they feel positively (high) and negatively (low):

So far we have been looking at various tools to challenging negative thinking. However, people also act or respond negatively which are not helpful behaviors. CBT claims that even without challenging thoughts and just by challenging or changing how we behave can change our mood.

Low moods are often about being inactive. The goal of behaviour change in CBT is to activate people again so that they can find motivation and purpose. Positive activity is very important for mental health.