In our previous article, we explored why some thoughts become more salient than others. In this article, we will explore why some thoughts just won’t leave. How The Brain Normally Focuses On One Thought After Another Attention is supposed to be temporary. The brain is supposed to attend to specific information for a certain period…
Have you ever wondered why one random thought disappears instantly while another keeps following you all day? “Did I send that email?” “What if I left the stove on?” The difference isn’t the thought itself. It’s how important the brain thinks it is. The Brain Can’t Process Everything Every second, our brains receive far more…
Negative thoughts often feel like facts, but in reality, they are usually just automatic patterns our brain falls into. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps us break these patterns by identifying “cognitive distortions”—the biased ways our mind perceives reality. Below is the step-by-step framework we use in our free guided journal in Viven: CBT Guided Journal…
In our previous article, we examined techniques for identifying core beliefs. Once identified, a dysfunctional core belief can be modified in order to create a more helpful schema about the self/ others/ or the world. This can be done using cognitive and behavioral interventions. 1. Start with the Belief and Its Intensity 2. Look for…
In our previous post, we explored core beliefs, and their types. In this post, we will dive into cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to identify core beliefs. Here are three effective methods: 1. Detecting Patterns and Themes When you examine recurring thoughts, emotional reactions, and behaviors, you may start to notice certain patterns and themes. For…
Previously, we discussed how emotions arise, are regulated, and get resolved in the brain. But can we have more than one—perhaps even more than two—emotions at the same time? Research suggests that we can. Ambivalence, the experience of having two or more contradictory emotions simultaneously, is common. Studies indicate that the brain processes multiple emotions…
What Are Core Beliefs? Core beliefs are the very foundational beliefs that shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world. These beliefs develop early in life through experiences, especially those involving caregivers and significant life events. CBT categorizes cognition into three levels: 1. Automatic thoughts – “I will fail this test.” 2. Maladaptive assumptions…
Where do emotions arise in the brain? How do we notice our emotions? How does the brain process regulate and resolve emotions? Let’s look at the journey of an emotion in the brain: its birth and death. 1. An emotion arises somewhere in the brain Different emotions arise from different brain regions. For example, Fear…
Living with a chronic disease means constantly managing recurring symptoms and adapting to a new, often unwelcome, reality. This requires not just physical, but also psychological and emotional adjustment. In fact, coping with this new condition often becomes even more important than coping with the physical symptoms themselves. Research shows that automatic thoughts accompanying chronic…
Many of us want to lose weight from time to time, but when the process does not go as expected, we become frustrated and start believing that we will fail. Focusing on this thought rather than our goal often makes the process more difficult than it already is. Let’s see how someone who thinks, “I…