CBT Apps for Behavioral Change

NdinonziIris
NdinonziIris Posts: 93 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Guys, I am very much in a funk with binge eating. I've tried every single healthy and unhealthy way to block or "undo" the binge. I keep repeating the same bad behaviors, despite trying to break the habit. With no success. For close to 25 years now.

Recently, I've been reading up a bit on CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) for breaking patterns. My question is, what CBT app have you used that has helped you change your behavior?

To be clear: please don't recommend apps you've seen advertised, or that you've heard about. I actually work in advertising, so I really don't put much stock in something being popular, or well known ;)

I want to hear about apps that you have had personal experience with and that have helped you successfully break destructive patterns.

Yours in hope (and mild desperation)

Ndinonziiris

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    No apps. Went to a few Smart Recovery and Rational Recovery meeting back in the 90s when both still had in person meetings - I believe just SR does now. Was dealing with abusing alcohol at the time but the same principles apply to food. CBT really helps me with emotional triggers.

    This book on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for overeating was available in my library system, so perhaps yours as well.

    The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person

    Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Beck (Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems) contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck's six-week program adapts CBT, a therapeutic system developed by Beck's father, Aaron, in the 1960s, to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. Beck counsels readers day-by-day, introducing new elements (creating advantage response cards, choosing a diet, enlisting a diet coach, making a weight-loss graph) progressively and offering tools to help readers stay focused (writing exercises, to-do lists, ways to counter negative thoughts). There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach. (Apr.)

    ***************

    Amazingly, the simple step of upping protein (and reducing carbs) made a huge difference for the physiological triggers. I think my brain was confused about what I wanted and was looking for protein from bad sources, leading me to eat and eat and eat and never feel satisfied until I felt sick.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    ps - I'm my own app - when I recognize my Addictive Voice whiny about what I "deserve" I shout "No!" at it ;)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Paging @vingogly - thought you might like to weigh in.
  • NdinonziIris
    NdinonziIris Posts: 93 Member
    edited January 2019
    Thank you for the feedback, @Kshama2001.But I am not after additional reading, or self-talk tips. I really only am only looking for apps for CBT that others have experience of in this thread. It's what my focus is right now.
  • happytree923
    happytree923 Posts: 463 Member
    I've used Moodnotes before but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has never been in CBT with an actual therapist before. It basically gives you a simple flow chart to identify cognitive distortions but the "now what?" factor is very much lacking compared to working with a therapist. Sometimes just noticing the thought distortion helps but if I didn't have the strategies from working with a psychologist I don't think I would have gotten much out of it.
  • NdinonziIris
    NdinonziIris Posts: 93 Member
    Thanks @happytree923. I've done therapy before for a while. I'll check out Moodnotes. The goal is to start by myself and see if I can develop a habit combining my recent reading and the app, and then maybe returning to therapy to supplement my own progress. Appreciate the feedback.

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