Title: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Headings: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
View of the Human Mind
Psychological Dysfunction
Mental Wellness
REBT Therapy
Further Reading

Content: Psychological Dysfunction
In REBT thought, irrational beliefs are the cause of human neuroses, including depression and anxiety. Irrational beliefs tend to ignore the positive, exaggerate the negative, distort reality, and/or overgeneralize. REBT teaches that people tend to overuse “shoulds,” “musts,” and “oughts” (see cognitive_distortion). Many of these self-defeating beliefs are indoctrinated in early life and grow stronger as a person continually revisits them. As mentioned previously, according to the A-B-C theory of personality, the belief, not the activating event, causes the emotional consequence. When the belief is irrational, the emotion is not healthy. The consequences of irrational beliefs can be relatively mild (procrastination, for example) but can also be extremely disruptive, immobilizing, or even dangerous. Irrational beliefs will often be obvious in how people talk to themselves. Asking the question, "What are you telling yourself about . . . ?" will usually reveal "shoulds," "musts," and so forth—but not always.