Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques to Ease Your Anxiety

Five actionable steps you can take today
Medically Reviewed by
Dr Hamilton
An anxious woman sits on the floor in the dark, covering her face
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If you’ve been suffering from anxiety and you’re looking for exercises to help you cope, there are some cognitive behavioral techniques that are proven to make a difference in how you experience your emotions.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a particularly effective type of therapy for anxiety and depression, but it’s been proven to be successful for other issues and mental illnesses as well. It works by using a variety of techniques to help patients focus on their negative thoughts and feelings, identify thought patterns, and reframe those thoughts to make them less harmful. 

One of the reasons CBT is such a good solution for anxiety disorders, in particular, is that it blends the relationship aspect of talk therapy with actionable, practice-based exercises that actually change patients’ emotions and behaviors in the face of triggers and stressors.

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A woman is curled up on a sofa, holding a cup of coffee and smiling, a CBT journal open on her lap
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CBT techniques for anxiety

It’s best to practice cognitive behavioral therapy with the guidance of a trained provider — there are some techniques you really need another person to implement — but if you want to get started with some practice exercises in the meantime, here are some of the types of techniques you might try on your own. 

Those are just a few of the many strategies and techniques that make cognitive behavioral therapy so effective. There are other, more in-depth techniques that really call for a provider’s guidance and involvement — things like guided discovery, role-playing, graded exposure, and behavioral experiments.

One of the things that makes CBT uniquely successful in treating anxiety and depression is this element of concrete exercises and regular practice. When combined with the care and empathy of a great provider, these techniques have been proven to lead to a significant reduction in symptoms and a notable improvement in mood for many patients.

Therapists created Youper to make mental healthcare accessible to everyone. Youper is a mental health chatbot that guides you through interactive CBT Therapy exercises to help you calm anxiety, improve your relationships, be more productive, and improve your mood. Youper is available on your own time and schedule wherever and whenever needed.

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