What is cognitive restructuring as outlined in David Burn's Book Feeling Good?

[Psychstudent]

Could anyone tell me What cognitive Restructuring is as outlined in David Burns Book Feeling Good?
Thank U:)
Psychstudent

[cognitive]

A cognition is a thought. Cognitive restructuring means thought restructuring. In Burn's book [I]Feeling Good[I] He explains that we have automatic thoughts, that is thoughts that pop into our head automatically that we don't attempt to put there. When people are depressed their thinking is dominated by Negative thoughts. The way we feel is directly related to how we think. If we have negative thoughts we will feel depressed. Burn points out that Negative thoughts are usually based on irrational thinking or what he calls cognitive distortions. He lists 10 common distortions, (you can google else where to get the list) such as over generalization. This is when we think in over generalities like "I always make mistakes". By locating the irrational thought finding the distortion and then using a rational response to refute it "I don't always make mistakes, sometimes I do things really good" our mood changes.:cool:

Hope this is helpful.
Cognitive