In our monthly Beck Institute Cares newsletter, we share valuable tips on maintaining your wellbeing from one of our expert clinicians. From time management to mindfulness, remembering how you feel at your best to managing your anger and stress, there are so many ways that both Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R) can help in everyday life.

We’ve listed a sampling of some of our favorite tips here. You can sign up for our monthly newsletter and receive tips like these and so much more in your inbox.  

From Beck Institute Clinical Psychologist Francine Broder, PsyD: how changing your thinking about the outcomes of a potentially stressful situation can help you feel better. 

When people feel stressed or anxious, they often imagine or think about the worst-case scenario without giving much thought to other possible outcomes. It’s helpful to remind yourself that the worst-case scenario is only one of many outcomes. Besides the worst-case scenario, take a moment to consider what the best outcome could be as well as the most likely or realistic outcome. It’s also helpful to think about how you coped with earlier challenges in life and how you overcame them. Perhaps you learned something from those experiences that you could use if a worst-case scenario indeed comes true.

From Beck Institute Clinical Psychologist Norman Cotterell, PhD: how anger can provide information about our values.

Anger often results from a “should” rule being broken. Often our “should” rules give us important information about what we value. For example, the rule “They should stay out of my way,” may imply values related to freedom, respect, or progress. The bad news is that we have little control over how other people act. The good news is that once we have identified an important value, we can often alleviate feelings of anger by taking meaningful action that is in line with our values. 

From Beck Institute President, Judith Beck, PhD: how you can deal with procrastination.

Some people ask themselves an unhelpful question that leads to procrastination: Do I feel like doing [this activity]?” To motivate yourself, instead ask, “How do I want to feel later?” You will almost always see that you’ll feel worse if you avoid the activity and better once you complete the activity. 

From Beck Institute Clinical Psychologist Shelby Arnold, PhD: How you can use a common CT-R strategy to help you find your at-best moments: 

Think about a time where you were doing something and you really felt like yourself. What was the best part about it? How did you see yourself? Did you feel really connected, proud, or capable? How can you find small ways to do something that taps into these feelings each day? 

Sign up for our monthly newsletter today!