Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is something that is very common in groups of all ages. GAD is a nervous disorder that causes one to have excessive uneasiness, causing compulsive behavior or panic attacks/anxiety attacks. Anxiety tends to be built by daily stresses; “Fear, anxiety, and worry, however, are not the exclusive domain of disaster and other life-threatening experiences. In the majority of cases, anxiety develops within the context of the fluctuating pressures, demands and stresses of daily living” (Clark & Beck, 2011). Generalized Anxiety Disorder can be treated by medication and/or counseling; however, one has to put in the effort to get better by training their brain to think rationally in order to take action confidently in any troubling situation. Cognitive Theory is a theory created by Jean Piaget and is very useful in helping someone with GAD. Jean Piaget's main focus was on child development when using the Cognitive Theory; however, psychologists find the theory beneficial to use when helping people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The theory can be really effective if one continues to apply it to their lives by using it in complex situations.

The theory discusses the importance of one's thoughts and core beliefs. These internal belief systems may affect one’s feelings, resulting in how one acts in any troubling or stressful situation. The theory explains that how one may choose to react to a complicated situation is based on the person’s thoughts and core beliefs, rather than the actual event. 

Event → Thoughts/Core Beliefs→ Feelings → Behavior. 

The emphasis is on the “thoughts and core beliefs”; those thoughts are the true cause of someone’s behavior. Many people like to blame the event instead of their own beliefs when they react poorly to a distressing event. For example, if a distressed college student gets a D on their Biology midterm, they may act irrationally. The event is getting a bad grade on the midterm. The student’s thoughts may be based around the core belief that getting a D means they are a failure.  Because the student thinks that they are a failure, they may have lots of negative feelings. In the end, they will most likely react poorly because they think and feel they are a failure for getting a D on the midterm. This may cause a snowball effect. The student may give up on the class instead of trying to work and study harder for the final exam. Their irrational thoughts will trick them into thinking they have no chance of passing the final exam because they are already a failure. Since the student is taking their feelings and thoughts as fact, the college student may go as far as giving up on the course and fail the class.

One’s thoughts/core beliefs are made up of three things: self, others, and the world. “Self” is based on self-esteem, which is the way one feels about themselves. It is how confident they are in their skills and who they are overall. “Others” is based on what a person thinks others will think about them or how others will perceive them. “World” can be influenced by the person’s personal beliefs about the universe or in a higher entity such as a God; religion can play a big role in the world aspect. Self, others, and the world all make up a person's thoughts that influence their feelings and reactions to complicated situations.  

The practice of disregarding cognitive distortions plays an important role in how one thinks and feels about a situation. Someone who is more likely to react better to stressful situations bases their thoughts on reason and logic. A person who consciously practices rational thinking tends to have higher self-esteem, has a stronger belief that others are reasonable, and may even have an easier time trusting that the world has a reason for everything. The rational person won’t fall prey to cognitive distortions, and will instead replace them with logical thoughts. The person may have high confidence in themselves, causing them to find ways to solve their problems with a level mind.

For example, if John Doe loses an important file from work, he may immediately think, “I’m going to get written up or fired!” 

However, if John Doe applies what he knows about Cognitive Theory, he may think to himself, “I have skills, experience, and knowledge. I will be able to get another job if I do get fired.”

The rational person may have more faith that their employers would be reasonable about the accident. Since John Doe is religious he could believe that a new job is an opportunity that God had planned for him. John Doe knows that just because he lost an important file, he isn’t a failure or bad employee. He reassures himself that he will be okay no matter what ends up happening. The logical thinking and positive feelings allow John Doe to attack the situation with confidence to explain to his bosses about the situation instead of having an anxiety attack. 

An irrational person would handle the situation completely different than the person who thinks rationally. If John Doe thought irrationally it could be caused by low self-esteem, distrust from others, and thinking the world is punishing him.

John Doe will think, “I’m going to get written up or fired!”

Due to his poor self-esteem, he will think “I will not be able to get another job because I am barely skillful enough to have this job! I am just a bad employee who can’t keep a job.”

John Doe will think that the employers have no interest in his work and don’t care for him. The combination of cognitive distortions and religious values might make him believe God is punishing him. Those thoughts and core beliefs will make John Doe feel anxious and hopeless, which will cause him to act irrationally. The negative thoughts and beliefs may induce an anxiety attack and cause John Doe to lie about the situation. His anxiety attack can lead him to lie that he was not the one to lose the file which can cause a bigger problem if his bosses found out he lied about the situation. 

Changing your way of irrational thinking into rational thinking to improve your anxiety is not an easy task, but one has control in how one reacts to troubling situations if one keeps practicing rational thoughts that leads to rational behavior. The emphasis is on the “thoughts/core beliefs”; those thoughts are the true cause of someone’s behavior.  It is important to not blame the event when one reacts poorly to a troubling event. The first step when practicing the Cognitive Theory to help out with anxiety is to catch yourself thinking irrational and switching those thoughts into positive, rational thinking. One can reflect on how they reacted to a situation and write down what were the reasons and the feelings that caused the reaction to the event. It is important to ask yourself if you reacted rationally or irrationally. One will be able to train their brain to think rationally with practice after several events that come into one’s life. Rational thoughts will replace irrational thoughts, helping to transition into rational behavior. This can help reduce anxiety greatly. 

References

Clark, D. A., & Beck, A. T. (2011). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: Science and practice. Guilford Press.

Author: Lesly Montes