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JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
and acting by means of change in thinking (Wright, Bascoová,
Thase, 2008). The cognitive behavioral approach is based on the
theory that the cause of psychical problems can be found in
wrong ways of thinking and behaving which are learnt and kept
by outer and inner factors. We can re-learn or get rid of these
wrong ways of behaving. We can also learn newer and more
suitable ways of behaving that will allow us to adapt ourselves
more effectively to new situations and to solve our problems. By
means of the cognitive behavioral approach we can learn that
ways how to think and solve our problems or how to influence
what will happen later. It offers a very effective way of helping
us to control our behaviour and cope with our problems. This
approach explains a very important relationship between what
we think, how we feel and what we do. An example of this
relationship is the idea “I never do things correctly” that can
arouse a feeling of anxiety. Subsequently, people thinking in this
way can stop trying to do things because they are convinced that
“it will not finish well”. By means of suitable techniques it is
possible to find out if this conviction is true. We can also find
out the way we think and discover the way how we feel. It is
possible to find the way how to change our habits and get better
control of our behaviour.
According to the behavioral approach, this inherited and
acquired fear can disappear with repeated exposures - to the non-
traumatic confrontation with originally worrying impulses
(Praško, 2005b). Exposure belongs to basic methods of coping
with anxious stress. Its basic principle is that people are exposed
to such impulses or situations that are provoking their anxiety
and therefore they have been avoiding it until now. They will
learn how to deal with this feeling of fear and how to cope with
their anxiety (see Picture 3). They will find out that a)
catastrophic consequences they were afraid of will not happen
and b) after the quick initial increase, the intensity of their
anxiety will stop at certain level and it is not growing
incessantly. After a certain time it will even decrease
spontaneously, and c) it is possible to cope with their anxiety
and to get control of it (Možný, Praško, 1999).
Picture 3: The curve of anxiety
After being exposed to the impulse we are afraid of, our anxiety
increases very fast (within the course of several seconds) to the
level that we experience as very unpleasant, or even unbearable.
This period is called sensibilizating phase of anxiety. If we stop
our exposure in this phase, our anxiety will decrease very
quickly, but next time it will be the same or stronger. The
following phase is called habituation. In this phase our anxiety
is kept more or less at the same level. It can take several minutes
or longer. The phase of habituation is prolonged if our anxiety is
kept with automatic anxious thoughts. However, after a certain
time the anxiety always decreases. This phase is called
desensibilization. Even in this phase our anxiety can increase for
a short time, but gradually it decreases to a bearable level. If
people are repeatedly exposed to unpleasant impulses and
situations, their anxiety decreases to a lower level and the
period of habituation is shortened. After several exposures to the
given situation our anxiety disappears completely. In some cases
even one exposure is enough to get rid of anxiety. It is very
important so that people believe that they can cope with their
anxiety and they will stop avoiding unpleasant situations.
However, exposure can be potentially a very risky method: if we
run away from the situation we are exposed to, our fear of that
situation will be strengthened as well as our conviction that we
can never cope with this situation. Therefore it is very crucial to
avoid such failure.
According to the cognitive point of view, maladaptive cognitive
processes provoke anxiety. For this reason anxiety can be
alleviated with the change of these wrong cognitive processes.
Only the subjective meaning that we relate to the given impulse,
will provoke our emotional reaction to it. (Beck, 1989, in:
Praško, 2005b). Situations themselves do not provoke anxiety.
Anxiety is related to the meaning we give to the given situation
when interpreting it. This meaning (it is usually a meaning of
possible danger) leads to the emotional reaction with
corresponding behaviour. The basis of the cognitive approach is
the way of influencing the meaning that was related to the
situation by cognitive processing. This approach was derived
from the systematic model of psychology. Biochemical
processes in the central nervous system, physiological reactions,
behaviour, cognitive and emotional processes are mutually
connected. A change in one area leads to the changes in all other
areas (see Table 1). (Libigerová, Bažant, 2018). Cognitive
restructuralization is the essence of cognitive methods. It is
based on the fact that people experiencing strong emotions (e.g.
anxiety) will make systematic logical mistakes and distorting
evaluations in their thinking. Automatic negative thoughts
influence our thinking and acting. They are very convincing and
we do not think about their veracity (see Table 2).
Table 1: An example of connection between what we think and how we feel
A – activating (provoking) event
B – evaluating thoughts, our own
conviction (interpretation A)
C – emotional consequence
A bad mark from the exam in a foreign
language.
I have not passed it again. What will my
classmates say now? Everybody else has
done that exam . I am hopeless. It is a
failure.
Anxiety, feeling of being upset and sad,
losing of courage
The model ABC is based on the rational-emotional approach (RET) and rational-emotional behavioral approach (REBT) by Ellis (1957a,b,
1996) and it is completed with other steps (D - discussion, E - effective new philosophy, G - aims and values). This approach allows people
to learn how to think about their difficulties in a more constructive way. It is a way how to find connection between what we think and how
we feel. One part of this approach is a simple method how to identify different kinds of convictions or attitudes that lead to a wrong reaction
to problems. A means the activating event or starting point. This situation has happened before we start feeling bad (e.g. for some people this
A can be a bad mark from the exam in a foreign language). C is formed by emotional consequences, emotional reactions to the event A (in
our case, C can be anxiety, sadness or anger). Most people think that A (activating event) causes C (emotional consequences). If we asked
the people from our case why they were so upset, they would probably say:”Because I got a bad mark from the exam in a foreign language”.
When we feel anxiety, anger or sadness - C, it is not the activating event A that has caused such emotional reactions. It is rather B, the
interpretation of the event A that leads to emotional sadness (in our case, B is a conviction that they should have got a better mark, that they
have both left hands and that they have failed totally.). Instead of learning how to change C, our emotional reaction, it is necessary to learn
and understand how to change B - how to control our thoughts when evaluating problems and difficulties.
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