Life-changing psychological case: changing the mentality can change the mood.

Life-changing psychological case: changing the mentality can change the mood.

Change your mind to change your mood.

A scholar went to Beijing for the third time to catch the exam and stayed in a shop where he often lived. Two days before the exam, he had three dreams. The first dream is that he grows cabbage on the wall. The second dream is that it is raining. He is wearing a hat and an umbrella. The third dream is that he is lying naked with his beloved cousin, but back to back.

These three dreams seem to have some profound meanings, so the scholar hurried to find fortune-telling dreams the next day. Hearing this, the fortune teller patted his thigh continuously and said? You'd better go home. Think about it. Isn't it futile to grow vegetables on high walls? Isn't it unnecessary to wear a hat and an umbrella? Isn't it impossible to lie naked in a bed with my cousin, but back to back?

Hearing this, the scholar was disheartened and went back to the store to pack his bags and prepare to go home. The shopkeeper was very surprised and asked. Isn't there an exam tomorrow? Why did you go back to your hometown today?

After the scholar said this, the shopkeeper was happy: Yo, I can interpret dreams, too I think you must stay this time. Think about it, isn't it high school to grow vegetables on the wall? Doesn't wearing a hat and an umbrella mean that you are prepared this time? Lying naked in bed with your cousin doesn't mean it's time for you to turn over? Hearing this, the scholar was very reasonable, so he took part in the exam happily and won a flower exploration.

This joke tells us the same thing, depending on what you think. Sometimes ideas decide our fate, and what kind of ideas will have a future.

Almost two thousand years ago, the Stoic philosopher epiktetos also said a proverb with similar meaning: What puzzles people is not things, but the way they look at things. ?

In the mid-1950s, it was called. Father of RET, the originator of cognitive behavioral therapy? Albert. Ellis translated this maxim into a modern version of behavioral therapy motto:? What you feel is largely what you think. If you can change your mind, you can change your feelings. ?

Allen, a psychiatrist and teacher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania? Baker didn't believe in psychoanalysis until he was in his thirties. He has a keen interest in depression. Through a series of experiments and clinical studies, Baker found that patients? Generally speaking, they hold negative views on themselves, the outside world and the future, which is obviously reflected in the widespread negative cognitive distortion? .

He concluded that it should be possible in that case? Correct these distortions through the application of logic and evidence rules, and bring his information processing process into reality? . Perhaps, not only this patient, but also most patients can be cured by this therapy.

Baker quoted the humanistic psychologist Abraham? Maslow's words: neurosis is not an emotional illness? This is a cognitive error. ?

This concept became the theoretical basis of Baker's cognitive therapy for depression. He expressed these thoughts in his professional papers written between 1963 and 1964 and in the book Depression: Clinical, Experimental and Theoretical Exploration published by 1967.

But Baker's thoughts have been buried for many years, and he himself has been unknown in this industry. But in the 1970s, when the cognitive theory was widely accepted by people, not only in the field of psychology, but also in the field of psychiatry, his thoughts began to be absorbed by the main theories of personality and behavior. More and more clinicians began to rely on his theory to practice medicine, especially when dealing with patients with depression.

He began to gain wide recognition and was finally recognized as the founder of cognitive therapy. In the United States, about17 psychiatrists use cognitive therapy to treat mental patients, about13 people use cognitive-behavioral therapy, and others use cognitive-behavioral therapy partially. The cognitive therapy he founded has now become the most widely used therapy in the United States.

Regarding depression, Baker identified and marked the following three reasons:

The oppressor's distorted view of himself, the world and the future. Like what? I can't? 、? Everything about me is disappointing. I can't see how much better the future will be. .

If suppressed in the bottom of my heart, it will have a negative impact on emotions and cognitive reactions. Like what? He looks very angry. Maybe I made him unhappy. ? If everyone hates me, I am worthless. ?

Often mistake individual cases for all; Pay attention to some details and ignore others; The conclusions reached are illogical or lack of evidence.

A woman who felt extremely depressed (hereinafter referred to as W for the convenience of narration) said to Baker:? My family hates me. ? They don't like me and say I'm useless. ? Her evidence is that children who have grown up are no longer willing to be with her. Baker and her analysis gradually led her to find out the difference between reality and her thoughts:

W: My children have really changed. They don't want to go to the movies with me anymore.

Bei: How do you know they have this idea?

W: Teenagers don't like going with their parents.

Bei: Did you really invite them?

Woman: No. In fact, they asked me several times if I wanted to go with them. But I don't think they really want to take me.

Bei: Try it and let them answer your question directly!

W: I think so? Maybe we can.

Bei: The key is not whether they want you to go, but whether you are making a decision for them, not asking them to tell you face to face.

W: Maybe you are right, but they really don't understand adults. Recently, they always go home late and don't eat on time.

Bei: Is it always like this?

W: Well, maybe once or twice. I don't think it's always like this.

Bei: Do they come home late for dinner because they are inconsiderate of adults?

W: However, they did tell me that there were activities in their school in those days and they might be late. Also, they still know that they love adults in other ways.

The patient later found out that her children were actually very willing to go to the movies with her.

As shown in this example, Baker's question-and-answer method is very similar to Socrates' heuristic teaching method, that is, by asking questions, patients are asked to say things contrary to their assumptions or conclusions, resulting in self-contradiction, thus correcting their cognitive mistakes.

The role of this skill is more obvious in the following dialogue. This is a conversation between Baker and a 25-year-old young woman (hereinafter referred to as S for convenience of description). The reason is: her husband is unfaithful to her, and she thinks she will live? What's the point? , so ready to commit suicide:

Bei: Why did you kill yourself?

S: I'm worthless without Ramon? Without Ramon, I have no interest in life and am not happy at all. But I can't keep him.

Bei: Have you always had a good relationship?

S: It wasn't good at first. Raymond has been hitting on girls everywhere since he got married, and I haven't seen him very often for years.

Bei: You said you wouldn't be happy without Raymond. Do you really feel happy when you are with Ramon?

No, we always quarrel and fight. I feel very bad.

Bei: So why do you think Raymond is so important to you?

I think, without Raymond, I might be worthless.

Bei: Before you met Ramon, who did you think you were? Worthless? Really?

No. I thought I was excellent.

Bei: If I felt good about myself before I met Raymond, why do I have to have him now to feel good?

S: (deep in thought) Huh?

Bei: Nobody is interested in you after marriage?

Several men offered to show their love to me, but I ignored them.

Bei: Do you think there are any outstanding people like Raymond in the world?

S: I think many men are better than Raymond because Raymond is unfaithful to his marriage.

Bei: Do you have a chance to get back together with him?

Impossible? He has many other women. He doesn't need me.

Bei: So, if you divorce, what will you actually lose?

S: I don't know (crying). I think I have to divorce him.

Bei: Do you think you can only be good with another man if you divorce him?

I used to love other men.

After this conversation, the young woman felt that there was no need to commit suicide at all. She started treating herself? I'm worthless unless someone loves me? The idea aroused suspicion. After thinking over Baker's problems, she decided to get a formal divorce. After the divorce, she formed a new family and began to lead a normal life.

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