How has CBT helped you ?

[danbryn]

I'm thinking of going in the room and talking to someone on my own, I think my life mess is my fault so maybe it's for the best I get myself out this dark hole with there help hopefully.

What should I expect in the first few sessions ?.

How has cbt helped you ?

[mallan82450]

I can let you know on Friday as I have my first session :D

[danbryn]

I can let you know on Friday as I have my first session :D

Hope it goes well, Ive got my first one friday at 9. Let me know how it goes :D

[daintydi]

ive got my first one 5th jan......perhaps someone could tell us what to expect? ive no idea.

[robinbrum]

I've always had problems with CBT which as far as I'm aware it's about changing negative or destructive thought patterns that are holding you back in life. It seems to me like re-programming the brain to think more positively and therefore feel better and less depressed or anxious. I've always thought this was over-simplistic but I know it has benefited a lot of people with various problems. I didn't get on with it because simply couldn't break the thought process down and identify the thoughts that were giving me problems in the first place. And is a feeling caused by a thought anyway?
Be very interested to hear what others think.

[debbsi]

Hi
i'm coming to the end of my intensive CBT. Your initialy appointmnet will be to assess your needs, after mine he said I could have low intensity CBT, however I found I struggled to answer many of his questions, my mind was a blank. When I went away I thought about the session over and over and when I went for my 2nd session I blurted loads of stuff out!! At the end of that he said he thought I needed high intensitvy CBT - and the rest is history!

I have found it very beneficial, my therapist often draws diagrams and give me lots of analagies to help me to answer her questions. She has helped me to rationalise my worries and to accept that an element of anxiety is compleletly normal and not a weakness. She says my 'anxiety dial' is turned up and we need to turn it down. She uses lots of scales eg out of 100 how anxious do you feel about .... etc. Its a way of helping you to help yourself. She has helped me to understand to a degree why I am like this and to accept that we cant change the past.

I went for cbt a few years ago and I wasnt impressed - I just thought it was common sense, but this time round I was determined to stick to it. She has helped me through a particular rough patch in my marriage. Sometimes it just helps to talk to an impartial person in a confidential and unjudged environment.

Hope this helps - ask if you want to know anymore xx

[Gaily]

Hi - i went for CBT and did one visit a week for 8 weeks. The first session was getting to know you, what the main challenges were etc.

Mine were assertiveness and worry in a nutshell i could not stop worrying about stuff and i was not assertive enough to stand up for myself.

I was given homework which helped as it gave me exercises to do each week. At the time i thought it was great however things got bad again at work and although i tried to do the things that i had done in CBT it did not work for me.

I have just started to see a therapist who is doing transactional analysis and this works much better for me as it gets to the root of my problems.

CBT is worth doing as a starter and see if it works for you - if it doesn't there is a lot more stuff out there that will work.

Good luck xxx