any positive experiences with CBT

[jamesthecat]

Hi all im going to my doctors soon to beg to be refered to a cognitive behaviour therypist. im hesitant about going on any perscription tablets as i think i need to deal with my obsessive thoughts about my health. has anyone got any positive reponses from CBT?

[Hck80]

Hi,

I started Cbt last aug/sept and finished in December, I like you did not want to go down the medication route. I have to say I found it to be really good and although I still have the of wobble I am nothing like I was last year. The thing with Cbt is that you have to really be willing to help yourself too, when I first started I thought it would be a miracle cure, but you do have to just keep testing yourself. The other part of my anxiety is leaving my son with family etc and that's helped no end


Hope that helps : )

[PanchoGoz]

I am currently on the CBT4PANIC program - it is really good. It is all about removing that fear. You do have to gradually expose yourself to the fear very gradually at a pace you want. These therapists do what they do very well.

[eight days a week]

I think your approach is absolutely right - other help before you resort to meds :)

I had CBT and it helped immensely. I didn't have enough sessions to 'cure' me unfortunately, but it still helps to this day more than a year after I started it.

Good luck!

[swgrl09]

CBT is a good therapy for you if you are willing to put the work into it. It is not a miracle cure, it takes a lot of effort on your part and if you stick with it, the results can be benefitial and long-lasting.

[jamesthecat]

Thanks for the advice, i know it wont be a miracle, i just feel like i need my brain to be re-wired to stop me constantly thinking im going to having a heart attack/faint/have a seizure!

[bignik]

only had two sessions so far , but have heard others who have had who felt benefited , sadly I am doing along with medication , my anxiety and depression is virtually disabling at the moment and I only been out of hospital after nearly 3 months.

In a way I was lucky as a hospital patient I didnt have to go on waiting list which I believe in some areas can be quite lengthy

If mental illness has taught me anything it is I should have paid better attention at school and took up the medical profession :) I wish you well

[eight days a week]

Great points bignik and others - CBT is no 'quick fix' and people often need meds, especially in the short-term. My depression and anxiety have been so crippling recently that despite me personally being very against them (for me) I have been considering them.

But even though other things and worries have been bad, what I had CBT for (fear of a heart attack, passing out in the street, making a scene in public, dying on the spot) has remained very much better :)

[bignik]

well I had my third today and I must say it lifted my spirits up since coming home and it had been pretty direct in response to my problems , things my head had been doubted , basically analysed and given back to me. The resposes now make sense and of course would to me being well but head just not working things out well at the moment.

I got some take home cds to practise my breathing one was very good simple tapping sounds timed to breathe in and out , takes a bit of getting used to but after trying for first time seems to have worked well with me.

[robin321]

I just started (had 2 sessions), and I have been reading a book recommended by my therapist, 'Mind over Mood'.

The thing is that it is not magic. It takes awhile, and from what I can tell it is more about accepting the uncertainty, not giving it so much weight, and enjoying life. So far I have learned that anxiety breeds anxiety, and as it builds we look out for threats & start to overestimate them.

It has been eye opening, but it hasn't helped me to be less scared or anxious yet (especially since I am battling a HA issue at the moment).
It has allowed me to see that my fear might be irrational, and it has also showed me patterns (i.e. when HA is worse), and patterns in anxiety in general (that I hadn't considered, i.e. I am also afraid of planes and am shy).

I think the first part is becoming aware, the second part is learning to accept alternatives and know that anxiety doesn't equal reality. And the last part is to use all of this to live with an acceptence that we cannot control everything.