A pastor friend of mine has a favourite Bible verse that he reminds his congregation of often:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
The principle of guarding what one lets in and out of one’s heart (and/or mind) is a recurring theme in the Scriptures and it just so happens that psychology agrees with that principle in at least one area – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). As a person who has suffered severely from both depression and anxiety, CBT has been a huge blessing in my life and I would love to share the basics of it with you.
If you would like to read or hear my personal story please click here.
To read the Antidepressant Skills Workbook (which inspired this article) click here.
If you are interested in how CBT can help people with
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder click here.
1) What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy?
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (or CBT) is a scientifically proven therapy for helping people with depression, anxiety and other issues. You’ll find that it is really quite practical and based in common sense. What you’ll also find (maybe to your surprise) is that it is very Biblical. It’s not that psychological researchers set out to form a therapy based on the Bible but rather that the Bible, being God’s instruction book to those He created, is eminently practical. In short – the teachings of the Bible work in real life (and also into eternal life).
CBT works on the basic principle that: Thoughts create Feelings, Feelings create Behaviours and Behaviours reinforce Thoughts and on the cycle goes.
This cycle, of course can be positive or negative, depending on what you let in to your mind and heart. A wonderful workbook for Antidepressant CBT can be found for free online (link at top of the page) and I heartily recommend you take advantage of it for your personal gain as well as to help others. We’ll look at how CBT works and how it aligns with Scripture in a moment but first let’s answer another question…
2) What Causes Depression and Anxiety?
There are different types of depression and anxiety (D/A) and also different causes. Everyone experiences depression and anxiety to some degree and therefore, Mental Health is everyone’s business and CBT can be for everyone’s benefit. However, it is when depression or anxiety began to cripple your normal daily life that they are taken more seriously and should be addressed accordingly*.
Some causes of D/A are circumstantial, that is, based on your life experience. Such causes could include trauma, financial stress, relationship conflict or loss of a loved one. The other kind of cause is more biologically based such as a chemical imbalance in the brain. In this case, your life could be going wonderfully but you would still feel D/A for no apparent reason. And, of course, D/A can be a combination of these two types of causes.
For me, one of the most important realizations about my own dealings with depression and anxiety was that I must work to separate the thoughts and feelings that D/A can produce from the reality of who God is and how He feels about me as an individual. God is good and He loves me which is shown by the fact that He both created me and redeemed me. He is not the “voice” in my head that is angry and disappointed with me all the time – that is D/A **.
Now let’s look at the three parts of CBT: Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours.
3) Thoughts
People who suffer with D/A often have a distorted way of viewing life. In the Antidepressant Skills Workbook this is described as The Negative Triad: “…thinking in an unfair and unrealistic, negative way about your current situation, yourself, and your future.”
I think it is important to clarify here that CBT is not the same thing as “The Positive Thinking Secret” or “The Law of Attraction”. CBT is based on scientific research and rationality. It focuses on fair and realistic thinking as opposed to either overly negative or overly positive thinking.
When we turn to the Bible to see what it says about our thoughts we see verses like Proverbs 23:7 which can be translated as “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” That pretty much sums up CBT where thoughts turn into feelings which turn into behaviours which reinforce the original thoughts.
Another fascinating passage of Scripture that reinforces a positive mindset is found in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
4) Feelings
Feelings are valid but they are not trustworthy. They matter but they are not a good indicator of truth or reality. The Antidepressant Skills Workbook puts it this way:
“It may be hard to think about emotions as unrealistic. But imagine a person who firmly believes that airplane travel is extremely dangerous and that planes are falling out of the sky frequently. That person will feel very frightened when flying. This fear, however, is based on a false belief about airplane safety and is, therefore, unrealistic and inappropriate to the situation. Similarly, depressed individuals often have beliefs about the world and themselves that are unrealistic and lead to unrealistic, negative emotions.”
Jesus (in Luke’s Gospel 6:45) describes the principle of how the thoughts and feelings we have inside of us eventually come out.
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
It is not a stretch to realize this principle applies to behaviors as well as words.
5) Behaviours
We just read how thoughts and feelings come out as behaviours (whether positively or negatively). CBT tells us that our behaviours reinforce the original thoughts we had and therefore continue the cycle. If we are in a negative cycle how can we help break it by positive behaviours?
The Antidepressant Skills Workbook describes 4 areas of behavior that negatively affects us:
1) Not doing rewarding activities. We cease to engage in the simple things of life that we normally enjoy.
2) Not taking care of yourself. Sleep, diet, exercise and personal hygiene can all fall into negative patterns.
3) Not doing small duties. We often have the mindset that if we can’t do it “all” or “perfectly” then don’t bother at all. For the person with D/A it is imperative to realize that we must start with small duties (or “Tiny Tasks”) and build on them to get healthier day by day.
4) Withdrawing from family and friends. This isn’t just about being an introvert but rather confining oneself to social isolation. From a Christian perspective, it is important to remember that the way that the “Wolf” destroys the “Sheep” is by separating it from its Shepherd and its flock. Don’t let yourself fall into this trap!
If you look back at the “Thoughts” segment and read Philippians 4:8-9 again you will see that at the end, the Apostle Paul urges us to not only think about positive things but then to put them into “practice”. Our behaviours can alter the way we think and feel and stop the negative cycle of depressive or anxious thinking.
I hope and pray that this introduction to CBT (and the Bible’s teachings) will be a real blessing to you and to those who come across your path.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal
of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
*For more serious and long lasting cases of depression and/or anxiety one should seek out professional help and diagnosis immediately. That could mean your family doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist. In addition to CBT, your doctor may also recommend medication which is perfectly acceptable.
** Christians also recognize a separate but overlapping reality of what we call “Spiritual Warfare”. This is when the Devil wars against our minds and hearts as well. For more on how to deal with this type of attack please read Ephesians chapter 6. However, please understand that spiritual warfare is a separate thing from clinical depression or anxiety that is caused by a biological root such as a chemical imbalance in the brain.
