Cognitive model of anxiety. the role of thoughts

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety is based on the cognitive model, which postulates that it is not the situations themselves that determine our emotional and behavioral responses, but the interpretation or meaning we attribute to them through our thoughts.

In the case of anxiety, dysfunctional or biased thoughts play a crucial role in its origin and maintenance.

The Thought-Emotion-Behavior Interconnection

The cognitive model proposes a dynamic interrelationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

An event or situation (internal or external) activates a series of automatic thoughts.

These thoughts, in turn, generate an emotional response (such as anxiety) and a physiological response (activation of the nervous system).

The emotion and physical sensations then influence behavior (for example, avoidance or seeking reassurance).

This behavior, in turn, can reinforce the original thoughts, creating a vicious cycle.

For example, when faced with the thought of a public presentation (situation), a person may have thoughts like, "I'm going to fail, people are going to laugh at me" (cognition), which generates anxiety (emotion) and physical symptoms (palpitations).

This can lead to avoidance of the situation or poor performance (behavior), which in turn confirms the initial belief of inadequacy.

Impact of Interpretations and Beliefs

CBT argues that people with anxiety tend to interpret ambiguous or neutral situations as threatening, overestimate the likelihood of negative events occurring, and underestimate their own ability to cope with them.

These interpretations are often influenced by underlying dysfunctional beliefs about oneself ("I am vulnerable," "I am incompetent"), about others ("people are judgmental"), or about the world ("the world is a dangerous place").

These beliefs act as a filter through which information is processed, leading to selective attention toward threatening stimuli and the emergence of negative automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions (such as catastrophizing or overgeneralization).

The goal of CBT is to identify and modify these dysfunctional thinking patterns to reduce anxiety and promote more adaptive responses.