Re: Anxiety Management Course
I had a group CBT course aimed at Stress, Anxiety and Depression. It was a small group and most of the attendees really gained from it. To the point where 6 of us promised to stay in touch. Naturally this didn't really happen despite my best efforts and only two of us - who had phobias in common - have stayed in touch. One person left during the first session with an emergency at home and another only came to the first session. We only got 3 sessions!
The great thing about the group is that everyone is as wacky as everyone else. Even if its in very different ways we all know the extremes of stress or panic or fear. Even if one person gets stress and another gets anxiety (and maybe a apparent stress) they both know that they get an unnatural and unnecessary response - so they still have something in common.
This course was designed to tell you about your condition and your body and mind. CBT (if thats what yours is, mine was) is about helping you to recognise the faulty thinking and ideas that underlie our conditions. The idea is that this helps us to fight them. Improved thinking equals better responses equals some recovery. I'd compare it a bit to when I was at school and was terrible at swimming. I was never really confortable in the water. Only during the final term of mandatory lessons that they taught me to: float, scull, tread water. This made me physically much safer in the water AND far more confident. Then the lessions stopped. CBT cannot directly change your feelings and experiences BUT it can teach you to stay afloat and deal with it.
My course also included various stress/panic management tricks such as square breathing and a few relaxation techniques. Again these are practical aids to boyancy(!).
It really is worth giving it a go. You could get someone your trust to accompany you to the college although usually they would not be allowed in the sessions because of the mutual confidentiality that is established/required between sufferers.
Much of the course was led by two counsellors. We also had tasks and conversations between small groups of 2-3 people. Within these small groups we were encouraged to share our problems most openly. We'd then take things we'd observed and learned out into the whole group. Over the three sessions the group got pretty open with each other and that's why I for one hoped it would keep going informally afterwards. Like these forums there is a lot to be said for interacting with people who know how bad you feel and share some of your experiences or concerns.
Hope that helps - if you want to know more please ask.
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Kevin, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK
Probably GAD & Phobias. Anxiety and renewed Depression medicated (Venlafaxine). Trying to improve.