CCC is for three things ACH: Accurate, Compassionate, and Helpful.
Accurate here means precise.
For example, The statement 'Men are pigs' is not correct. The more accurate statement is, 'upon occasion some men act impulsively.'
Compassionate: this means you are to provide a positive context or component that was previously omitted by the negative thought.
Let's give another example. The statement 'Girls are dumb' can be rephrased in a more compassionate way, such as 'some girls can be dumb, but they also are nurturing and mean well, even when they could have been more thought out.'
Finally, we have to make sure our thoughts are Helpful; this means that the result of the thought is useful to you.
This mental conversation will demonstrate how to incorporate all three of these strategies to break a negative cycle.
"Movies are impure." We can rework this into a more favorable outcome in the following way.
"Some movies contain elements that are contrary to my value system (accurate), although they are exciting and entertaining (compassionate). I will look for labels on movies that ensure that they meet my standards before watching them (helpful)."
When do you check your thoughts?
You can do it by looking through your journal after a few months.
You can also go over your thoughts with a coach (ahem me!) or therapist.
It is important to note that self-CBT is shown through studies to show that it works very well, so I suggest trying it yourself.
What should you be looking for?
Find themes and patterns of thoughts that are unhelpful, inaccurate, or harsh.
What questions about CBT do you have? Ask them below.