"CBT: What It Is, How It Helps, and Why It’s Not Just Positive Thinking in Disguise"

Gemma Gilewski
Jun 3
2 min read

Ever been told to “just think positive” while in the middle of a mental tailspin? Yeah… that’s not CBT.

If you’ve ever Googled “therapy near me” and come across the term CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), you might be wondering:

What is this thing with three letters?
Is it going to fix me?
Do I have to lie on a couch and talk about my childhood hamster?

Let’s clear it up — no jargon, no fluff, and definitely no hamster analysis (unless you really want to).

🧠 So… what is CBT?

CBT is a type of talking therapy that helps you understand the unholy trio of:

Your thoughts
Your feelings
Your behaviours

And how they all do this slightly chaotic tango that can make anxiety, depression, or stress worse over time.

Imagine this:

You think, “I’m probably going to mess this up.”You feel anxious.You avoid doing the thing.You feel worse.Rinse and repeat.

CBT helps you interrupt that cycle — not by pretending everything’s fine, but by checking in on your thoughts and behaviours like a curious detective with a cup of tea.

❌ What CBT isn’t

Let’s clear up a few myths while we’re here:

CBT isn’t about forcing positivity.
It’s not quick-fix “mindset coaching.”
It doesn’t ignore your past — but it focuses on what’s happening right now and what you can do about it.

And nope, I won’t be saying “Just be grateful!” when you’re having a rough day.

✅ What actually happens in CBT?

Think of CBT as teamwork between you and your therapist (👋 hi, that’s me). Together, we:

Explore your patterns — what’s getting in your way?
Try small, realistic shifts in thinking or behaviour
Test out new ways of coping
Adjust as we go — it’s collaborative, not one-size-fits-all

And yes, there are sometimes worksheets or experiments between sessions. No homework detention though.

🧰 What does CBT help with?

CBT is evidence-based (which is therapy-speak for “well researched and proven to work”) for all kinds of things, including:

Anxiety & overthinking
Low mood or depression
Phobias
Social anxiety
Stress & burnout
OCD
Health anxiety
Perfectionism
Sleep struggles
And more…

If your brain has been running the same exhausting script on loop — CBT helps you change the script.

❤️ Final thoughts

CBT isn’t about fixing you — because you’re not broken.It’s about helping you understand your mind, respond with a bit more kindness, and get unstuck from unhelpful patterns.

And if we can laugh a little along the way? Even better.