How CBT Helps You Understand and Reframe Anxiety
Anxiety can feel like an uninvited guest that overstays its welcome. It shows up during your big meetings, your first dates, your quiet nights in. It fills your head with worst-case scenarios and won’t stop pressing the panic button even when you know things are probably fine.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. But you’re also not stuck. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — or CBT for short — is one of the most effective ways to understand anxiety, unravel its patterns, and create real, lasting change.
Let’s walk through what CBT is, how it works, and why it’s often the go-to therapy approach for people who want more than just insight. They want a plan.
What Is CBT?
CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It's a structured, evidence-based type of psychotherapy that focuses on the way your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact. The core idea is this: the way you think affects how you feel, and how you feel affects what you do.
When anxiety takes hold, it usually hijacks your thinking first. CBT helps you recognize those thought patterns, examine them, and then challenge or reframe them. It’s kind of like learning how to interrupt a mental group chat that keeps screaming, “What if everything goes wrong?”
Instead of trying to get rid of anxiety entirely (spoiler alert: that’s not the goal), CBT helps you change your relationship with it.
Anxiety Isn’t the Enemy. It’s a Messenger.
Before diving into techniques, let’s get something straight. Anxiety isn’t always a problem. It’s your brain’s way of protecting you. It says, “Hey, this might be dangerous. Let’s stay alert.”
The problem happens when anxiety shows up like a smoke detector that won’t stop going off — even when you’re just making toast.
CBT gives you tools to:
Identify when anxiety is sounding a false alarm
Learn how to respond instead of react
Build up tolerance for uncertainty and discomfort
Because guess what? You’re capable of doing hard things, even when your brain tries to convince you otherwise.
What CBT Looks Like in Practice
Therapy isn’t just venting on a couch. Not here, anyway. CBT is collaborative, educational, and strategic.
Here’s how CBT might look in real life:
1. Identify the Thought
Let’s say you’re about to give a presentation. Your stomach drops, your heart pounds, and your brain says, “I’m going to totally bomb this.”
CBT helps you pause and notice that thought. Just name it. No judgment. No trying to shove it away. Just: “There’s that anxious thought.”
2. Examine the Evidence
Now you take a closer look. Is this thought 100 percent true? Is it helpful? What’s the worst-case scenario, and how likely is that really?
This part isn’t about toxic positivity. It’s about balanced thinking. You’re not trying to force yourself into believing “This will be perfect.” You’re practicing: “It might not be perfect, but I can handle it.”
3. Reframe and Replace
You take the original thought and rewrite it into something more accurate and empowering. Maybe it’s:
“I’ve practiced. I’ll do my best.”
“Even if I get nervous, I can keep going.”
“It’s okay to be anxious. That doesn’t mean I’ll fail.”
4. Act Anyway
CBT encourages you to take action even with anxiety riding shotgun. Avoidance feeds anxiety. Facing things builds confidence. You don’t have to feel ready. You just have to show up and try.
5. Reflect and Reinforce
After the experience, you’ll talk through what worked, what didn’t, and how to keep building momentum. CBT isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s a skill set — and like any skill, it gets stronger the more you use it.
The Magic Is in the Repetition
Let’s be honest. You can’t out-think your anxiety with logic alone. If you could, you wouldn’t be here reading this blog. CBT works because it helps you practice new ways of thinking and behaving — until your brain starts to see them as normal.
It’s like training a new muscle. At first it feels awkward or exhausting. But over time, those mental reps add up. And suddenly you’re responding to anxiety with curiosity instead of fear.
Real Talk: Why CBT Stands Out
So many people come to therapy feeling like they’ve read every self-help book, listened to every podcast, and still don’t know how to actually feel better.
CBT gives you more than insight. It gives you:
A clear roadmap
Tools that work outside of therapy
A way to understand your anxious patterns
The ability to challenge and change your thoughts
A therapist who doesn’t just nod but walks the road with you
And yes, there’s space for humor here. A light-hearted, human-first approach goes a long way. Anxiety already takes itself seriously — your therapy doesn’t have to.
Q&A: Your Questions About CBT for Anxiety
How is CBT used for anxiety?
CBT helps you recognize how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors contribute to anxiety. It teaches you to identify unhelpful thought patterns, challenge them with evidence, and practice new behaviors. Over time, this rewiring helps reduce anxiety’s grip and increase your confidence in handling triggers.
What is the 3-3-3 rule for anxiety?
The 3-3-3 rule is a grounding technique used to calm anxiety in the moment. It goes like this:
Name 3 things you see
Name 3 things you hear
Move 3 parts of your body
It helps shift your focus from anxious spiraling back to the present. While not part of formal CBT, many therapists include grounding tools like this to manage acute symptoms.
What are the 5 steps of CBT?
CBT can be broken into five general steps:
Identify the problem or situation
Recognize the thoughts that come up around it
Evaluate those thoughts for accuracy or distortion
Develop alternative thoughts or behaviors
Practice and reinforce the new patterns
Each session builds on the last. It’s not just about what you talk about — it’s about what you practice.
What are the CBT coping skills and strategies?
CBT coping strategies include:
Cognitive restructuring – learning to challenge anxious thoughts
Behavioral activation – taking small steps toward anxiety-provoking situations instead of avoiding them
Exposure therapy – gradually facing fears to reduce avoidance
Mindfulness techniques – staying present without judgment
Thought records – writing down anxious thoughts and working through them
Problem-solving – developing clear plans when stressors arise
Different strategies work for different people, and a good therapist will help you tailor a plan that fits your life.
Ready for a Different Relationship with Anxiety?
Here’s the thing about anxiety — it doesn’t have to run your life. And you don’t have to figure this out alone.
At Jennifer Chatelle Therapy, we specialize in working with anxiety, OCD, and all the twists and turns your mind can take. Whether you’re brand new to therapy or just tired of hearing “try to relax” for the hundredth time, you’ll find a space here that’s smart, supportive, and actually helpful.
We’ll help you:
Understand how anxiety works in your brain
Create a clear, actionable treatment plan
Learn CBT techniques that actually make sense
Get the support you need to see the plan through
We work with clients virtually and in person, and yes — we accept insurance. So whether you’re a schedule-juggling parent, a high-achiever who’s quietly struggling, or someone just ready for a change, we’ve got options that fit.
Let’s stop letting anxiety call the shots. Visit www.jenniferchatelle.com to book your first session and get started.
You bring the anxious brain. We’ll bring the game plan.