12: A Metacognitive Therapy for Anxiety Disorders: Buddhist Psychology Applied

Question 1

What has been an overlapping characteristic of both Buddhism and CBT?

Answer 1

Both require empirical evidence to validate their actions, as such Buddha also encouraged his followers to reflect and contextualise within their own xp (Sameet Kumar (2002) )

Question 2

How is metacognition defined by Flavell + Ross (1981)?

Answer 2

beliefs and attitudes held about cognition (e.g.,

cognition about cognition

Question 3

How is metacognition defined by Allen + Armour-Thomas (1991) + Kluwe (1982)?

Answer 3

an active and reflective process that is directed at one’s own cognitive activity

Question 4

How has metacognition been defined by Yussen (1985)?

Answer 4

cognitive activity for which other cognitive activities are the object of reflection (i.e., thinking about thinking).

Question 5

According to Slife (1987), without metacognition what would you lack awareness of?

Answer 5

any other cognition, such as thoughts, feelings, and memories, would be impossible.

Question 6

What is considered to be the role of the client’s distorted beliefs about their own anxiety-related cognition in metacognitive treatment model for anxiety disorders?

Answer 6

• highly important in the maintenance of the anxiety disorder

Question 7

How do both buddhist psychology + metacognitive theory distinguish between adaptive/ corrective metacognition VS maladaptive/ erroneous metacognition?

Answer 7

The degree to which a statement about cognitive experience is valid
EG:
- Anxiety related metacognition tend to be highly exaggerated, catastrophic + inaccurate of what actuality + ordinary
(in a range of human xp that is typically common)

Question 8

What is the definition of cognition used in this article?

Answer 8

• those subjective experiences that one can know or become aware of
• includes all mental or psychological states of
  which one can be conscious

Question 9

What is the difference between cognition and awareness?

Answer 9

awareness = ability of the human mind to distinguish cognition (e.g., feeling or thinking) from cognizing (e.g., to know that one is feeling or thinking).

Question 10

What is the difference between perceptual + conceptual cognition (Komito, 1987)?

Answer 10

Perceptual cognition = way that events in the external environment + within our own body actually present to our awareness

Conceptual cognition = thoughts, feelings, memories,
sensations, and so on that almost immediately + inseparably arise or co-emerge with the perceptual cognition
- can be merely descriptive, analytic or evaluative

Question 11

When is metacognition = awareness according to Buddhism theory and why?

Answer 11

When metacognition is without distortion/ bias so accurate because…
- within buddhist perspective, metacognition are conceptual cognitions that have other perceptual and conceptual cognitions

Question 12

Define anxiety in this article anxiety

Answer 12

• a subjective experience consisting of several types of cognitive events (such as thoughts, sensations, images, feelings, and memories)
• apprehensive fear unifies this diversity
  of cognitive events into an experience of anxiety is the
  cognition

Question 13

What are the 2 broad categories clinical anxiety disorders can be classified into?

Answer 13

1. Fear of cognitions that have their source ostensibly in the external environment
   - agoraphobia, social
   phobia, specific phobia
2. Fear of cognitions that have their source ostensibly in the internal environment
   - obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-tramnatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, acute stress disorder

Question 14

How do individuals in both category respond to their anxiety disorder?

Answer 14

• exaggerated + maladaptive to something that is known to be harmless
• can elicit aversive reaction in an effort to escape/ avoid the fear via modification of social relationships etc
• restricting behavioural choices
• adopting rituals to eliminate highly aversive discursive thoughts
• substance abuse

Question 15

What is the aim of CBT for anxiety disorders?

Answer 15

• to explicitly modity anxiety-specific metacognitions through actual exposure to the feared cognitions
• combined with a critical examination of the attendant cognitive processes (e.g.,
  catastrophization)
• Successful treatment usually results in
  a reappraisal of feared cognitions

Question 16

What is Buddha-nature?

Answer 16

realising our highest human potential by overcoming inherent confusion for our anxiety

Question 17

What is the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 17

1. Cognitive phenomena are nonveridieal
2. Cognitive phenomena are unavoidable.
3. The onset of cognitive activity is outside of our control.
4. Cognitive events are impermanent
5. Cognitive stales are insubstantial or illusory
6. Cognitive states have no inherent potency
7. All cognitive activity has value
8. Cognitive activity is not separate from the functioning of the mind

Question 18

What does it mean by Cognitive phenomena are nonveridieal in the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 18

• when you experience something, there is the physiological processing but then almost immediately, this is processed = judgement/ bias
• so all mental activity = perceptual/ conceptual cognitions
• conceptual cognition = conditioned, biased, and distorted ( adaptive or maladaptive )

Question 19

What does it mean by Cognitive phenomena are unavoidable in the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 19

• pleasant and unpleasant cognitions are often intimately connected
• regardless of the initial valence of an experience, there is a great likelihood that the opposite valence will also occur

Question 20

What does it mean by the The onset of cognitive activity is outside of our control in the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 20

• they happen autonomously
• all they can do is label, respond metacognitively + behaviourally
• cannot be suppressed, only option is to attempt
  to interfere with such cognitive activity through behavioural distraction.

Question 21

What does it mean by Cognitive events are impermanent in the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 21

• While unavoidable and omnipresent, all cognition is ephemeral and constantly changing.
• transience of such cognition = possible to have any experience at all as the cessation of each cognition creates the necessary condition for the
  arising of another.

Question 22

What does it mean by Cognitive stales are insubstantial or illusory in the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 22

• our cognition is undeniably present and obvious, its nature is inherently illusory
  and without self-sufficiency
• if it were
  not for this ability for cognitive phenomena to dissolve
  (i.e., to be empty), it would not be possible to have cognition at all

Question 23

What does it mean by Cognitive states have no inherent potency in the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 23

• thoughts themselves are not harmful,
• tt-ue potency of cognition
  is in its indirect effect on behavior and the environment
  when an individual decides to respond to cognition.

Question 24

Why does the buddhist perspective of cognition believe that all cognitive activity has value?

Answer 24

• indicators of the need tbr significant changes in our lives esp unpleasant ones
• like physical pain
• serve to motivate changes in our behavior, lifestyle, social relationships,
  interpersonal behaviors
• have value for increasing self-knowledge and
  self-understanding

Question 25

What does it mean by Cognitive activity is not separate from the functioning of the mind in the buddhist perspective of cognition?

Answer 25

• all cognition is actually a display of the power of
  the mind and completely identified with it
• same way fire and heat or water and waves
  cannot be separated except conceptually

Question 26

Describe the treatment process following the buddhist perspective for anxiety disorders

Answer 26

1. gain firm insight into the nature of their cognition
   - no potency, impermanent etc
2. more practical now with helping to change the way they interpret their cognition - so look at it as it is and remove the crap you’ve interpreted
3. Not allowed to run away from it but give mindful attention = pay attention to present and let thoughts flow
   - difficult this part since the mind’s conditioned tendency to identify with any of the myriad forms of cognition that may arise

Question 27

What does it mean to master one’s mind?

Answer 27

• Control tendencies
  
  • Being present - can end up ruminating
    But may be more to do with managing the flow of our thoughts than controlling them