What will happen at CBT?

[KaeC26]

I am nervous because I have my first meeting with the CBT Therapist tonight. I dont know what to expect. I have been before but it was ages ago and with someone completly different. The therapist is friends with my sister and dont know if she would act differently with me because of that? I have never met her before and getting a bit paniky about it all. I dont know what is going to happen because if she asks me to talk alot I might not be able to because when I try to talk when I am nervous I forget alot of things that I have to say. When I was nervous to go to a doctor once I wrote out my problems on a bit of paper and took it with me so I remembered to say everything. Do you think the therapist would let me do that tonight??
Any help would be much appreciated thanks. :hugs:

[xJust_Sarahx]

Hi
I have CBT every week, she asks me questions such as how has my week been, how have i been finding things etc, and then she does alot of chart things and explaining the root of things. My therapist trys to get me to challenge my thoughts by testing out my theorys, such as when i say i get breathless from just walking slowly and i really cant breathe, she tells me to challenge it by walking faster until i actually am breathless and see what happens. Also she explains how we think our symptoms are of something serious yet they can purely and simply just be from anxiety. Really its just alot about talking about feelings and trying to change your way or thinking, and how our behaviour makes things worse. Your therapist will probablys talk about safety behaviours you use, and how really they not benefiting you in the long term, for example i always have to have my phone with me wherever i go, she trys and challenges me to go out without my phone, and i walk certain routes where there are lots of houses about where i can go for help if needed, and she challenges me to walk someone kind of excluded, its to get your brain to realise that theres nothing wrong with having anxiety and that not everything is a threat. Its hard to explain and im sorry i havn't made sense, but this is what i do at my sessions, and i fill a sheet every week on ratings of how i feel and how hard i found things, and my mood. Any questions feel free to message me. Hope it all goes well x

[vitabelle]

im starting today also, message me if you like after yours maybe we can talk about our 1st sessions x

[Tessar]

hi KaeC26 & vitabelle .... I'm really pleased that you have both decided to embark on cbt. i did mine several years ago and found it to be a life changing experience for the better. i used the skills every day of my life now & they are really helpful. In addition to helping me, I have found that it's enabled me to help others too. what I recollect of my first session was an insight into how cbt works & also i answered lots of questions. i think if filled out questionnaires too. my therapist was a lovely lady. never a day goes past when I dont think about her. that's because she had such a positive influence on me. its totally understandable to be nervous. even the most confident of people would find it something they'd be apprehensive about but the important thing is you are going. writing things down is an excellent idea. no matter how many times you go to sessions, it's a good idea to be prepared. i found sometimes i'd go completely blank but because i had notes, i'd be ok. dont worry about being nervous or feeling silly, or thinking you should be there. it's all natural. being as open as you can with your therapist will be very helpful. unfortunately i found it very hard to open up at times & would appear to be find when i wasnt. so if you can, try to let go of your inhibitions. i also recall that she was great at making me feel at ease. i know that might sound like a contradiction but it was so nice to feel that someone really cared about me. also she said things that made me realise my problems were understandable. i felt validated by the whole experience. xJust_Sarahx's account of things below is really good too - an insight into how it can work too. well, i really hope it goes well and look forward to an update!

[vitabelle]

thank you very much for that. im looking forward to it and gaining some skills to healp me deal with this horrible anxiety. your experience sounds great x

[Tessar]

thank you very much for that. im looking forward to it and gaining some skills to healp me deal with this horrible anxiety. your experience sounds great x
i'm glad it helped... anxiety is really horrible. i had it bad for a few days last week.... i dont usually get like that so its made me far more aware of what others on NMP are going through. that's why i'm so happy to promote cbt. it takes hard work but its sooooo beneficial. speak again soon.

[KaeC26]

Thanks everyone. And yes vitabelle I will message you and you can message me how it goes tonight. Good Luck with your have fun x