Hi there everyone!

Today I had my first cbt session. Had the intial assessment two weeks ago. I will try to post a dairy of my experiences for those of you going through similar or thinking about it, or simply still waiting for your referal to come through.

I'm getting cbt on the NHS. I was unfortunately, due to work committments, unable to do the 7 week covering the basics. So I have a little more homework than some. My psychologist appears incredibly personable, which makes a huge difference to me in terms of opening up and sharing. I also like the fact that cbt is to an extent led by myself.

Today my session consisted of asking how my last week had been and how I had been feeling. Also wandered off discussing a little bit of history and expectations for the future and also talked about the steps I would be taking to ultimately challenge my core belief system.

My challenge for the following week is to take an hour out each day and listen to the relaxation cd provided and to keep a thoughts and feelings diary. Interestingly enough I also have to rate them out of 100, 100 being the worst I have ever felt. The point? Apparently we are looking for patterns of behaviour and I personally am looking forward to seeing that down in black and white.

I am unsure how I feel at this point. A little excited and a little anxious, but I do feel on the cusp of a real possiblity for change this time. I don't expect overnight cures and I don't expect to live my life anxiety free, no one can. But I do yearn for change and a greater sense of freedom.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Pooh x