CBT for Anxiety: Be Your Own Detective

 

Key Information

  • The Vicious Cycle: Anxiety often traps you in a cycle where thoughts, feelings, and behaviours feed into each other.
  • The Thought: “Everyone will think I’m boring.”
  • The Feeling: Dread, fear, or a churning stomach.
  • The Behaviour: Avoiding the event.
  • The Result: Short-term relief, but the anxiety is reinforced for next time.
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT is a practical therapy that helps you break this cycle by becoming a “detective” of your own mind.
  • Step 1: The Cognitive Part (Thoughts): You learn to put anxious thoughts on “trial” by asking questions such as: “What is the evidence for this thought?” and “Is there a more balanced way of looking at this?”
  • Step 2: The Behavioural Part (Actions): Instead of avoiding fears, you create a step-by-step plan to face them gradually. For example, if you have social anxiety, you might attend a social event for just 15 minutes. Over time, the anxiety loses some of its power.
 

How to Access CBT

CBT is one of the main treatments offered by the NHS. You can often refer yourself directly to NHS talking therapies services without seeing a GP first.

 

Need to Discuss it First?

If you are unsure whether CBT is right for you, or if you would prefer to speak to a doctor first, we are here to help.

 

Further Information

To learn more about talking therapies, please visit the NHS website.

 

Last reviewed: 05 April 2026
Next review due: 05 April 2029