What does a client come to a psychologist with? With his problem, which sounds like this: “I feel bad.” Most likely, before the psychologist, the client had already tried to solve his problem with the help of doctors who tried to cure him “badly” with the help of drug therapy, all kinds of examinations, with psychiatrists who prescribed antidepressants, tranquilizers, antipsychotics, but the result was either temporary or absent. It turns out that the psychologist is the last authority on whom hope is placed. But in order to solve your problems, you must understand their source. The philosophy of CBT says that our state, which we call “bad,” is not caused by a specific or several situations (stimuli), but is caused by how we evaluate this situation (stimulus), what we think about her. As a result, we have negative emotions and feelings, which in turn affect our physical condition. That is, our undesirable state is a consequence of our thoughts, not events. And if so, then we do our “badness” to ourselves. This is our choice, which sometimes we make unconsciously. And we are the ones who bear responsibility for our condition. The formula that was proposed by one of the founders of CBT and founder of REBT Albert Ellis is as follows and reflects the essence of cognitive psychology: A---B---СWhere A is a stimulus, i.e. event, situation in which you are B - your thoughts (beliefs, convictions, attitudes) C - these are the consequences in the form of emotions and reactions (behavioral and physical). It is with “C” that clients come to the first consultation, it is “C” that is for them, a problem that doctors tried to solve. But the source of your “bad” is in “B”. This formula is the key to understanding your emotions and their consequences. You can use this formula when you want to find out the reason for your “badness” and change the emotions that are the cause of your undesirable state. Are you familiar with this formula? Leave comments and questions in the comments, I will be glad to receive your feedback.