In our book that we are reading; CBT in seven Weeks" by Dr. Seth J. Gillihan, PhD retrain your Brain

The questions in chapter one for the introductory to the book talk about actions, behaviors and thoughts. If you put those into a triangle you will have the CBT basic model. For a few moments thing about a specific time in your life when you wanted to change something specific in your life what did you do?

Think of a recent situation where you felt a strong emotion, perhaps anxiety or sadness. Briefly describe the situation in the space below.

I hate waking up tired, I go to bed early but, when I wake up I usually don't feel rested and I don't know why. Today, it made me think that I am drinking too much coffee perhaps not sure, I don't know. I would like to wake up feeling better about myself, life, and the opportunity to make something of myself before im 45. Mothers who are mothers go back to school to become something once they are 40 because their children are in high school and on their way to college. I am doing both at the same time and it will be interesting but, it will be worth the effort to make it happen.

Using the diagram below, write down the feelings you had, the thoughts you can remember having, and what you did:

What I felt:

Sadness, because I wasn't rested I felt I was behind for the day to accomplish anything great

What I thought:

I knew that if I could get awake enough, and wake up enough to think, I could change my thinking

What I did:

I just took myself out of bed and had breakfast and made a commitment to myself and to the sophisticate's that I was going to change the thought that I am tired and it worked I was active all day and achieved success because I kept going and didn't rest.

Change I wanted to Make:

I wanted to lose a set amount of weight and I was working two jobs and I found time to exercise between both of them and it made all the difference.

Now Write down (1) What went well, (2) What didn't go well (3) any obstacles you ran into. . .

I was able to lose the weight over a period of a year and a half I just started out with thirty minuets but, started out at 5-minuet intervals to increase it to eventually 90 minuets of cardio activity for the day. I would do 90/90 cardio/lifting weight/ Streaching/ Meditation I did this for a year and a half and then other years I let off the intensity but still worked out

What didn't go well was the days I had given myself an excuse not to go to the gym or made up a reason not to go. I never felt good so I would go back the next day even if I didn't have much sleep. I am going to do this when I go back to school. I am going to work up my strength and intensity back to 90/90 so I can loose this unwanted weight.

Obstacles: People, they thought I was doing to much exercise but, I was training for the military and wanted to just have a fresh start at life I almost signed up and didn't tell anyone. Food was an obstacle sometimes because I was counting calories pretty good and doing negative caloric intake I was loosing good weight the fat on my body was shrinking but, sometimes the mirrors would play tricks with me. I know I can do this again its just a matter of covid-19 to blow over and while that happens I am going to save up money to go back to school. Reading 19 books to get back in shape for school and studding. Another obstacle for me was once the weight was off I got into a bad car wreck and lost everything and its taken till now to recover from it. Now, I'll transition in my 40s so I go into my 50s with a new career field hopefully with a new body. I have the drive, the determination, the dedication to make a difference I just need the will and the ablity to be able to do this and not have weight go on me with out my control.

In this chapter, we covered a brief history of CBT as well as it basic principles and why it works. Now, take a few moments to check in with yourself and see how you can apply what you've learned in your own life. Write your thoughts and feelings, taking care to be as open as possible. Invest sometime here. Resist the urge to skip this step and jump ahead to the next chapter. Once your finished, we'll continue working toward the seven-week plan in chapter 2.

I enjoyed learning about CBT it is a new perspective that I feel will help change my worries away. That it will give me confidence to become the woman I am meant to be and to live a life free of anxiety and fear, and depression. It taught me that its a viscous cycle fear anxiety and depression are like agents of fueling chaos. They left unattended can make it hard to cope or live through life's adversities and obstacles. CBT will help me reprogram my mind to learn a new way of thought. That I know I am a result of changing my thoughts, behaviors, and then actions because the thought patter was changed its that simple.