Cognitive restructuring
'Cognition' is a word used to denote a thought or belief, and 'restructuring' involves challenging a cognition by looking at the evidence for or against it. The basic idea behind cognitive restructuring is that thoughts themselves are not facts; you need to consider whether the thoughts you are having are true and to consider whether there are any other ways to thinking about a particular situation. At first this can be a real challenge: we often believe what we think and don't question our own thoughts. However, often our thinking is biased, and with perfectionism it can be biased towards thinking too negatively and harshly about yourself.
What impact are your thoughts having?
You may have read the FAQs or Participant Information which describe this program as based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT for short.
CBT is a type of therapy which looks at three key areas:
Thoughts
What we think
Emotions
What we feel
Behaviours
What we do
Watch the following video to find out more
What we say to ourselves and what we think has a profound impact on our mood.
When you struggle with perfectionism and are often thinking that you are failing, or criticising yourself for not doing well enough, this way of thinking can make you feel anxious, frustrated, and depressed.
Not only does negative thinking have an impact on your feelings, it also has an impact on the way you behave.
Consider the following situation