Think Better, Feel Better: How CBT Helped Me Rewire My Mindset

…and how it might help you too.

We don’t always realize how much of our day is run on autopilot, especially when it comes to our thoughts.

That quiet voice in your head? The one that whispers, “I’m always messing this up” or “They probably don’t like me” that voice shapes your entire emotional experience.

That was me for a long time.

I didn’t realize how many of my reactions were actually rooted in old programming stories I picked up in childhood, beliefs I thought were mine, but weren’t. I didn’t even question them because they felt so true.

That’s where CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, entered my life and changed everything.

Why I Was Drawn to CBT

I’ve always been interested in helping others heal, but there was a point where I had to ask: “What about my own thoughts?” I was doing all the work externally yoga, energy healing, helping others find their way but inside, I still struggled with doubt, shame, and that old fear of “not being enough.”

I found myself reacting to things that didn’t need a reaction. I was drained from overthinking conversations that lasted two minutes but haunted me for hours. Even compliments felt suspicious. My brain had trained itself to expect the worst and then call that “being realistic.”

When I found CBT, it felt like someone had handed me the manual I never got. It gave me a language for what I’d been feeling and a system to start unwinding it. And as someone who works in holistic wellness, it was powerful to find a modality that aligned so well with energy healing, breathwork, and the chakra system.

Real Talk: Thought Spirals Are Real

Let’s say you’re left on “read” by someone you care about. Your first thought might be:

“They’re ignoring me. I must’ve done something wrong.”

That thought triggers feelings of anxiety, shame, or rejection. Then, maybe you start over-apologizing or ghost them back just to feel in control. That’s a CBT cycle in action.

The goal of CBT isn’t to shame yourself into better thinking. It’s to observe, understand, and reframe your thoughts with compassion.

My Favorite CBT Tool: The 4 C’s

Here’s how I use CBT in real life (and what I share with my clients):

1. Catch the Thought

   What exactly did you say to yourself?

2. Check the Feeling

   What emotion followed? Where do you feel it in your body?

3. Challenge the Belief

   Is that thought 100% true? Or is it an old story still running the show?

4. Change the Pattern

   Can you choose a more balanced or supportive thought?

   
   

Example:

Thought: “I’m terrible at this.

”Reframe: “I’m still learning, and that’s okay.”

That little shift? It changes everything.

Why CBT Belongs in Holistic Healing

CBT works beautifully alongside energy work, chakra healing, journaling, and breathwork.

Your body stores emotional memories. But it’s often a thought that pulls the thread and unravels your nervous system.

CBT gives you tools to stop the unraveling before it becomes a full-blown spiral.

You can pair it with:

• A grounding breath practice

• Journaling with your throat chakra stone

• A tapping session

• Or simply pausing and asking: Is this thought even mine?

You start to feel more in control not of others, but of your own inner experience.

Try This Reflection:

• What’s one repetitive thought you’ve caught yourself saying this week?

  
  

• How does that thought make you feel physically, emotionally, energetically?

  
  

• What’s a more compassionate or realistic version of that thought?

  
  

CBT doesn’t erase the past. It helps you rewrite your present.

It won’t make you a robot who never reacts. But it will give you the power to respond instead of just react.

For me, CBT became a bridge between trauma and healing, between stories and truth, between surviving and finally thriving.

You don’t have to believe every thought you think. You can learn to meet them with curiosity, not judgment. And when you do, you start to change not just your mind, but your life.