So a lot of CBT proposes thoughts cause feelings. However what do you do if the mental/emotional state itself is causing the negative thoughts about the state itself? For example, things like Long Covid can trigger depressions overnight in some extreme cases, even in those without a history of it. Suddenly the person’s state has changed, they have never experienced it and they get extreme anxiety over the mental state itself. This will lead to a bunch of distortions, and the distortitions themselves are easy to recognize, but the problem is the since the mental state doesn’t change and thus creates negative thoughts about itself. Like with CBT you evaluate how you feel after changing the thought and then see the feeling didnt change and thus just think the thought again. Basically feelings driving everything
You’re referring to secondary appraisals - the appraisal - and often misappraisal - of emotional states and other reactions. When someone has the flu, for example, the world and future can seem bleak. The person is noticing their feeling and attributing it to the external reality rather than to the fact that they are ill. The sequence here is usually framed as: situation, (primary) appraisal, response, (secondary) appraisal, response. In many cases, the appraisal of one’s emotions or reactions can be more problematic than the appraisal of the external situation. Panic disorder, for example, typically involves a great deal of thinking about anxiety symptoms that serves to magnify those same symptoms. Cognitive therapists assess and work with both.
