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The Basic Concepts Of People Are Born With An Ability

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In REBT, one of the basic concepts is that people are born with an ability to be rational (self-constructive) as well as irrational (self-defeating). In first getting to know Martha, it is clear that she is very irrational in her thought pattern. She tends to try to be a perfectionist, and thinks she has to do everything a certain way or she will not be loved. She also was having trouble realizing her potential for growth in her writing, as she was afraid that she would not be any good, which is connected to her perfectionist attitude. In Martha 's case, much of her irrational thinking and her habits were made worse by her family group and the culture in which she grew up. Her parents brought her up in Church and she was made to feel guilty about what she did or how she acted. She felt that the standards in which she was supposed to maintain were never actually achievable, and she constantly felt guilty regarding her inability to live up to those standards. The A-B-Cs of REBT states that an activating event (A) is not the cause of an emotional consequence (C), but rather the individuals beliefs (B) concerning their actions causes the consequences. In the case of Martha, it is not her parent 's demands (the adversity she faces) which causes her to feel guilty about her not wanting to be there for her parents (her consequence), but it is her belief that she is supposed to be there for her parents because of the values she was taught in Church which actually causes her to

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