top of page
Concepts and Clichés
Welcome to Concepts and Clichés, a blog dedicated to exploring the real-world application of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in everyday life. This space offers practical insights and thought-provoking reflections tailored for both prospective and current clients and anyone else who is interested in building a deeper understanding of common concepts. Here, you’ll find accessible explanations of CBT principles, common misconceptions (“clichés”), and how these concepts can be used to navigate life’s challenges.
Compulsive Questioning in Relationships: When Love Demands Answers.
Relationships can offer solace, companionship, and a profound sense of security that acts as a buffer against the world's harsh realities. We step into them hoping, sometimes unconsciously, that this bond will somehow inoculate us against emotional pain, fill the voids within, and quiet the anxieties that prickle at the edges of our minds. Yet, for many, the very relationships meant to provide security become the stage for a relentless quest for reassurance, transforming love
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
14 min read
The Paralysis of Potential: Why We Freeze at the Crossroads and How to Eventually Chose, Loose and Live Despite Uncertainty
It is easy to fall under the weight of the "what if". Let’s begin with a scene that is painfully familiar to anyone who has ever eaten in a restaurant with a menu longer than two pages. Meet Tom. Tom is a thirty-four-year-old accountant standing in a generic, mid-range Italian chain. He is staring at a laminated menu with the intensity of a bomb disposal technician deciding which wire to cut. His palms are slightly damp. His heart rate is elevated. The waitress is hovering, h
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
18 min read
"I Like Being Liked, I Just Don't Worry About It"
It’s a universal human truth: most of us like it when people like us. There’s a warmth, a sense of belonging, and an affirmation that comes from positive social regard. It taps into our fundamental need for connection. But there's a crucial distinction between enjoying being liked and worrying about being liked. The former is a natural, healthy response; the latter often becomes a debilitating trap, hindering the very connections we crave. This distinction is at the heart of
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
5 min read
OCD: How Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Can Help You Live on Your Own Terms
Imagine a constant, nagging feeling in your head, urging you, commanding you, to perform specific rituals. If you don't comply, it promises catastrophe, guilt, or an unbearable sense of incompleteness. It’s a relentless internal pressure, an “OCD imperative”, that dictates your actions, consumes your time, and slowly shrinks your world. For Monica, OCD manifests as terrifying, intrusive images of harming her beloved children, forcing her into endless mental reviews to ensure
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
15 min read
Chronically on Guard: Living Through High-Conflict Divorce
The experience of a high-stakes divorce, an ongoing legal battle, or the raw aftermath of deep emotional wounds often creates a perpetual state of heightened vigilance. It is a feeling of being constantly "on guard," where every new email, every unexpected phone call, or every looming court date can tighten an invisible knot in your stomach. Peace feels like a rare, precious commodity. You likely know the familiar refrains: "Try to relax," or "Take some time for yourself." Yo
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
12 min read
When Feeling and Knowing Disagree
There is a specific moment in therapy, usually around the third or fourth session, that every clinician recognizes. It is the moment the impasse is declared. The client, who is intelligent, self-aware, and perhaps a bit exhausted, leans back in the chair. They have filled out the worksheets. They have identified the cognitive distortions. They have looked at the evidence. And then, with a mixture of frustration and defeat, they say the sentence that defines the dilemma: "I kn
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
11 min read
A Few Words About Worry....
Chances are, you have tried to stop worrying, only to find the endeavor far more difficult and frustrating than you anticipated. Worry is a tricky, complex problem. To manage it, we must first differentiate between worry content (the specific topics we worry about) and the worry process (the thinking spirals inside our minds). The worry process can attach itself to anything: being unprepared for an exam, fearing a loved one might get ill, or facing a scary medical diagnosi
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
9 min read
Chronic Stress: How Mental Patterns Shape Our Struggles.
Life is a continuous negotiation, often presenting demands that stretch our capacities to their absolute limits. When these pressures mount, and the prospect of falling short feels like an existential threat. Our brains, usually marvels of processing, can descend into a cognitive fog: concentration falters, memory malfunctions, and even minor decisions feel insurmountable. Our bodies bear the brunt: chronic fatigue, muscles locked in tension, digestive turmoil, and a comprom
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
9 min read
Why is Panic So Difficult to Deal With?
To say that panic attacks feel awful is an understatement. Panic attacks are awful AND confusing. A panic attack is full blown alarm vibrating through every fiber of one’s body that offers no information about the nature of the emergency that it supposedly signals. Worse, it doesn’t come with an off switch. Imagine a usual boring commute on a crowded bus. Frustrating in its dullness. Then, just when you are about to cross the street, you get startled by an unusually fast
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
5 min read
What is Exposure? In Simple Terms. And with Examples...
Exposure is a CBT technique used to treat anxiety disorders that requires us to face triggers that cause anxiety, but are not dangerous. It is a very effective albeit occasionally uncomfortable treatment. Its effectiveness is attributed to habituation and learning. We can understand habituation by thinking of the times when a slightly paralyzing dip into a cold lake is followed by a refreshing swim as our body habituates to the temperature. Similarly, after a few weeks, a
Joanna Szczeskiewicz
7 min read
bottom of page