Overcoming Chronic Fatigue 2nd Edition: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques (Overcoming Books)

by Mary Burgess

How we think also affects how we behave or what we do. Initially you will be asked to identify thoughts that may be hampering your progress – e.g., ‘I will feel exhausted if I go out for a walk’ – or that make you feel frustrated, such as ‘I’ll never get better’ or ‘I used to be able to do so much more.’ In time, you may find that you can be more objective about your thoughts i.e. see them as thoughts, not facts. You will learn how to challenge these thoughts by coming up with more helpful alternatives. If you find that you are having a number of thoughts around a similar theme, such as being self-critical, and that they are not going away when you try to challenge them, you will have the opportunity to deal with them by identifying and challenging deeper thoughts that we call ‘core beliefs’.