Rational_Emotive_Behavior_Therapy_in_Daily_Life

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy in Daily Life Have you ever heard the saying, “Be careful what you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”' According to the National Science Foundation, the average person thinks over ten thousand thoughts in a day. That breaks down to over four-hundred thoughts per hour! If it is true that our lives are shaped by our thoughts, many of us may need help filtering out our negative thoughts in order to lead a positive life. Luckily, a form of psychotherapy has been developed for just that reason. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a form of psychotherapy that can help us overcome our negative thoughts, resulting in a more desirable daily life. The belief behind REBT is that our thoughts shape our emotions, and our emotions shape our behavior. REBT focuses on uncovering unhealthy beliefs that may lead to negative emotions and replacing them with more productive alternatives. In order for us to change our negative thoughts, we must be conscious of their existence. We have to learn to become aware of the thousands of thoughts we have each day that present themselves in the form of self-talk. This is accomplished through a process called Rational Self Analysis (RSA). RSA is constructed from an uncomplicated ABC format that is designed to show you how your thoughts lead to your emotions and behaviors. A stands for activating event (what happened). B stands for your beliefs (thoughts) about the event. C stands for the consequences (what happened) resulting from your beliefs. Imagine this activating event; your employer accuses you of taking an extended lunch when you actually met up with a client. Your beliefs are, “She is a terrible boss. She wouldn’t believe me if I told her the truth. I hate this job.” Your consequence is that you are angry and unproductive for the rest of the day. You say nothing to your employer. The RSA serves as a map that illustrates the path from your thoughts through your behavior. As mentioned above, using RSA in REBT can show how your thoughts lead to your behavior, but more importantly, it can help you to counter your thoughts and avoid unpleasant consequences. Once you have learned your ABC’s, you can dispute your thoughts and therefore change your emotions and behavior. Think back to the situation mentioned earlier. You have the same activating event, but this time you counter your original belief. Instead of your original belief, you tell yourself,” It is her job to make sure her employees are accountable. I should explain what happened.” Your new consequence is that you explain the situation to your employer, are at ease, and complete your daily tasks. With practice, using RSA in REBT allows you to immediately detect and challenge your unhealthy thoughts. Every day we are met with challenges. From locking our keys in the car to stubbing our toes, REBT can be used in countless situations and in our daily lives. It can help us to overcome an endless number of emotions such as stress, anxiety, anger, and depression. The simple steps outlined above can help us to make each day of our lives more enjoyable, by questioning our thoughts and taking control of our emotions. Imagine how many times it could have helped today.