s through the pain. After that, different treatments can be applied, but the first step is for a person to be honest with themselves. For instance, a young girl with an eating disorder who wants to get better must write down whatever is haunting her: "I ate a hot dog today." After this, under the heading "Cognitive distortion" she should answer why this would bother her. Let us suppose she writes: "Well, because now I will get fat." Then she must ask why this would bother her. It is here that we begin getting to the dark recesses of the psyche and where many people who are in denial would not be able to continue. But this girl must continue if she wants to get better. Suppose she writes: "Well, because then I would be worthless and no one would like me." Then she must ask again why this would bother her. She answers: "Then I would be alone and would have no reason to live." But ultimately, there might be even darker things at the bottom of the list, perhaps something like: "I'll prove I can stay fat, then men wouldn't like me and then they would not sexually violate me anymore." The point here is that the dark reasons for distorted thoughts would have to be faced. The person must recognize the root of their dysfunctional behaviour, no matter how painful it is. After this exercise, as Burns teaches, the person would make a parallel chart of "rational response" in which they would answer every distorted thought. To "I ate a hot dog today" the person would write, alongside it: "That is ok, it is good and healthy to eat." To "now I will get fat", she would write: "Well, not necessarily because I am already underweight and even if I was, I only ate one hot dog." The next...
