Using CBT and DBT to Guard Against Influence and Manipulation
What Is Cognitive Warfare?
Cognitive warfare refers to deliberate efforts by state and non-state actors to influence the way people think, perceive reality, and make decisions. Unlike traditional warfare, which focuses on physical force, cognitive warfare targets the mind itself. It operates through propaganda, disinformation campaigns, and subtle manipulation which can be amplified by social media and search algorithms.
Historically, this isn’t new. As far back as the 5th century BCE, Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War that “the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” Deception, misdirection, and psychological pressure were seen as more efficient than direct confrontation. Centuries later, World War I demonstrated the same principle when Britain established the Wellington House to produce propaganda that rallied support at home and abroad, while the United States created the Committee on Public Information to sway both domestic and international opinion. In World War II, the Nazi regime perfected large-scale propaganda campaigns through radio, film, and print, while the Allies countered with psychological operations to weaken enemy morale. By the time the Cold War began, influence operations had become central to strategy. Both the United States and Soviet Union ran campaigns aimed at shaping public opinion and weakening adversaries’ resolve. From forged documents to broadcast propaganda, the battlefield was as much psychological as it was geopolitical.
In the modern era, these operations are more sophisticated and more pervasive. Social media has become a weaponized platform where hostile actors exploit division, amplify outrage, and spread misleading narratives at scale. The goal is rarely to persuade outright—it’s often to confuse, polarize, and destabilize.
Why Critical Thinking Is Not Enough
Critical thinking skills—questioning sources, evaluating evidence, checking for bias—are essential, but they aren’t sufficient on their own. Influence operations don’t just target what we know; they target how we feel. Fear, anger, and tribal loyalty often override rational analysis. Even the most intelligent and educated people can be manipulated if their emotions are successfully hijacked.
The CBT triangle helps explain why. In CBT, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are understood as interconnected. A change in one corner of the triangle ripples into the others. For example, an inflammatory social media post may trigger an emotion (anger), which drives a thought (“They’re the enemy”), which fuels a behavior (sharing the post or lashing out online). Hostile influence operations exploit this triangle by bypassing slow, rational thinking and directly activating the emotion corner, knowing the cascade will follow.
This is where CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) skills become crucial. CBT strengthens the ability to notice distorted thoughts before they spiral, while DBT provides tools to regulate emotional intensity and pause before action. Together, they allow us to disrupt the triangle at multiple points—challenging the thought, soothing the emotion, or choosing a different behavior. In doing so, we deny hostile actors the reaction they’re trying to provoke and protect both our clarity of mind and our sense of agency.
CBT Skills for Cognitive Defense
CBT helps us identify and challenge distorted thought patterns. When applied as a form of “cognitive defense,” it trains us to spot when influence tactics are at work in our own minds.
Recognizing Cognitive Distortions
Disinformation often plays on black-and-white thinking, catastrophizing, or emotional reasoning. By labeling the distortion (“This is all-or-nothing thinking”), we weaken its grip.
Evidence Testing
Instead of reacting immediately, ask: “What evidence supports this claim? What evidence contradicts it?” This slows down impulsive reactions and forces a check against reality.
Thought-Action Pause
Before sharing or reacting online, take one breath and examine: “Is this fact or feeling driving me?” That pause alone is often enough to prevent manipulation.
Reframing the Narrative
Hostile content is designed to trigger a narrow, reactive perspective. Reframing widens the lens: “Is there another way to interpret this situation?” This loosens the hold of manipulative framing.
Behavioral Experiments
Try doing the opposite of what the influence attempt is nudging you toward. If a post wants to provoke outrage and immediate sharing, deliberately sit with it, fact-check it, or even withhold sharing altogether. The act of resisting confirms your ability to choose your own response.
Real-World Example: Social Media Outrage Trap
Imagine scrolling your feed and seeing a post claiming: “This group is destroying the country, and no one is stopping them!” It’s designed to provoke anger and urgency.
- Step 1 – Recognize Distortion: Label it as catastrophizing (“everything is being destroyed”) and black-and-white thinking (“this group is all bad”).
- Step 2 – Evidence Testing: Ask, “What credible sources confirm this? What reliable sources offer a different view?”
- Step 3 – Thought-Action Pause: Before hitting “share,” take one slow breath and ask, “Is my anger fact-based or emotion-driven?”
- Step 4 – Reframe: Instead of “They’re destroying the country,” try “This is one perspective amplified to create division.”
- Step 5 – Behavioral Experiment: Resist the urge to react. Choose instead to close the app for five minutes, or share a constructive article on the same issue that provides balance.
By walking through these steps, you’ve disrupted the manipulation loop. Instead of being a pawn in someone else’s influence campaign, you’ve exercised agency, clarity, and control.
DBT Skills for Cognitive Defense
DBT builds on CBT by emphasizing emotion regulation, mindfulness, and tolerating distress. In the face of cognitive warfare, DBT skills keep us grounded and prevent outside actors from hijacking our reactions.
Mindfulness of Emotion
Notice when outrage, fear, or tribal loyalty is triggered. Simply naming the emotion (“I feel anger rising”) creates distance between the feeling and the reaction, giving you room to choose a response.
Distress Tolerance
Instead of immediately reacting to provocative content, practice skills like paced breathing, the 5–4–3–2–1 grounding exercise (naming things you see, hear, and feel), or holding ice in your hand. These techniques calm the nervous system and buy time before you act.
Wise Mind
DBT teaches us to balance the rational mind and the emotional mind. Wise Mind decision-making is exactly what influence campaigns try to disrupt—by staying centered, we respond in alignment with values rather than impulses.
STOP Skill
DBT’s STOP skill is especially effective in online environments:
- S: Stop. Don’t react right away.
- T: Take a step back—physically and mentally.
- O: Observe what’s happening in your body and mind.
- P: Proceed mindfully, guided by values instead of emotion.
Self-Soothing
When confronted with upsetting or manipulative content, lean on healthy soothing practices—listening to music, stepping outside, or connecting with a trusted friend—rather than fueling the outrage cycle.
Real-World Example: Manufactured Outrage
Imagine encountering a viral video online that claims, “This proves everything you believe is under attack!” The video is spliced for maximum emotional impact.
- Step 1 – Mindfulness of Emotion: Name what’s happening—“I feel anxiety and anger rising in me.”
- Step 2 – Distress Tolerance: Use paced breathing or the 5–4–3–2–1 method to ride out the intensity without acting on it.
- Step 3 – STOP Skill: Pause scrolling, take a step back, and observe the urge to share. Notice that the urgency is emotional, not rational.
- Step 4 – Wise Mind: Ask, “Does sharing this align with my values, or am I just amplifying outrage?”
- Step 5 – Self-Soothing: Instead of reacting online, take a short break—step outside, get a glass of water, and reset before re-engaging.
By applying DBT skills, you’ve prevented manipulation from dictating your behavior. You’ve demonstrated resilience in the face of provocation, which is the essence of cognitive defense.
Building a Cognitive Defense Routine
Cognitive warfare thrives when people act on autopilot. Just as we train our bodies through consistent routines—exercise, nutrition, and rest—we can train our minds for resilience. A strong body increases our physical capability and capacity; a disciplined mental routine does the same for cognitive defense. CBT and DBT provide the tools, but it’s daily practice that builds strength.
Daily Check-In
Just as you might stretch or warm up before physical training, give your mind a short workout each day. Notice one strong emotional reaction you had online and walk through identifying distortions, testing evidence, and regulating the response. Over time, this builds flexibility and recovery speed.
Information Hygiene
We pay attention to what we put into our bodies—fueling with healthy food and limiting toxins. Apply the same principle to information: set intentional limits on exposure to high-conflict feeds, and curate sources that challenge your thinking without manipulating your emotions. This is your “mental nutrition plan.”
Community Resilience
Physical fitness often improves in groups—whether running with a partner or training in a gym. Cognitive defense works the same way. Share skills with peers, talk openly about influence tactics, and model calm responses. Just as contagious negativity spreads quickly, so does resilience when practiced collectively.
By treating mental resilience like physical fitness, we train not only to defend against manipulation but to thrive with greater clarity, balance, and strength.
So What?
Cognitive warfare isn’t just an abstract national security concern—it’s something that touches each of us, every day. Malicious actors aren’t only targeting governments or institutions; they’re targeting individuals. They want your attention, your outrage, and your loyalty because every click, share, and emotional reaction strengthens their strategy. Left unchecked, this doesn’t just divide societies—it erodes personal clarity, drains energy, and undermines resilience.
That’s why building cognitive defense skills matters. Just as we train our bodies for strength and endurance, we can train our minds to resist manipulation. CBT gives us tools to catch distorted thinking before it takes root, while DBT equips us to regulate emotions and act from balance rather than impulse. Practicing these skills daily ensures our choices reflect our values, not someone else’s agenda.
The takeaway is simple: training the mind is both personal wellness and civic responsibility. The stronger we are at the individual level, the harder it becomes for hostile influence to divide, distract, or control us.
