View Full Version : what therpy works / has worked for you?
I have had lots of therapy for my anxiety disorder over the past fifteen years or so. I had face to face CBT about fifteen years ago and it helped me a lot to manage my anxiety which was very severe at that time and accompanied by major depression. I have since had telephone CBT which I hated and gave up half way through.
I had counselling for two years with a person centred counsellor. It helped me a lot with many issues but didn't really resolve my anxiety.
I have also had a lot of acupuncture which has helped loads with my physical symptoms and mood. I have read lots and lots of self help books, some have been better than others. Medication has also helped me to get through rough patches where my anxiety has lead to depression. I use a lot of relaxation techniques and find them great for escaping my anxious thoughts.
I would really like to have pyschotherapy but it's so expensive. I believe my anxiety is rooted in a deep fear of death and I have yet to find any way of facing or resolving this fear. If I wasn't afraid of death then I would not have such a huge cancer phobia. I don't see how anything can make the fact of death, leaving your children and loved ones and facing the great void of non existence ok on any level. I have lately tried to start reading some books on death in the hope of finding some answers. If I knew for sure death was not the end I reckon I could crack my HA but nobody really knows that, even if they believe it.
Anyway, I am interested in knowing how you approach your HA and what therapy has helped and why.
Cat as yet I haven't started mine so I can't add anything on that front. However the death thing. I'm not too keen either. Personally I think life is wonderful, I just can't figure out the point if it all blinks out if existence one day, forever more.
On the other hand I didn't exist before I was born either. And I didn't seem to mind it. I certainly can't remember anything. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. On the dys that it does I distract myself as best I can.
I also don't want to spoil the life I do have by worrying about the end of it. In effect my only alternative is to bring it (myself) to and end and be done with it - but I don't see the point in that either.
Keep reading, keep researching. Talk to people. Many aren't scared or bothered in the slightest. Hope you're having a good day :hugs:
Thanks Andria. It's kind of ironic that I don't want my life to be over yet I spend so much of it worrying about it being over! I find it frustrating sometimes that so much of the therapy for HA focuses on correcting faulty thinking around symptoms. Just because you have xyz symptom doesn't necessarily mean you're going to die. That may be true this time, and the next time and for a hundred times after that, but the fact is that one day I AM going to die, so in that respect I'm not sure that my anxiety is totally rooted in faulty thinking, rather it's rooted in an accurate, if premature anticipation of my eventual demise. I guess that's the issue I always had with CBT, is that it was based on tackling my anxiety about symptoms but not really my anxiety about dying.
I touch on this in my book - for me I came to realise that the point of life was simply to enjoy it, get as much out of it as you can and if you worry about your health you simply can't enjoy it.
You need to be more scared of a life unlived than the symptoms you get, because if you're not careful one day you'll wake up old and think 'why did I waste all that time, all that opportunity'.
Thanks Skippy. I guess to me I feel there has to be more to life than just enjoying it or making the most of it. The bond I feel with other people, especially my children, is so strong that I can't stand to think of it just not being there any more. To think of my children growing up without me and not being there to meet their needs is the most awful thing in the world to me. I like to think everything in life happens for a reason, but maybe that's just wishful thinking and there is no plan or reason behind it all. I know the best thing to do would be simply to enjoy the time I have with my family, but the shadow of it all being snatched away and me not being able to parent my kids any more seems to be a constant shadow over everything. I suppose that's what it means in the bible when it talks about walking in the shadow of death!
I know the best thing to do would be simply to enjoy the time I have with my family, but the shadow of it all being snatched away and me not being able to parent my kids any more seems to be a constant shadow over everything.
In the mean time, your fear is doing just that :(
I understand that my fear of death is overshadowing my enjoyment of life, but I can't figure out how it's possible to not mind that you're going to die and it could be very soon, and that means the end of everything you care about. How is anyone ok with this? Or maybe most people just manage not to think about it that much. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I spend all day every day ruminating on death, but I am totally over sensitive to physical changes and sensations in my body and I feel that this comes from a fear that they may signal my death happening soon.
Hi Cattia,
I am currently going through CBT at the moment and in spite of my initial cynicism it has taught me a great deal about myself.
The reality is that everyone has fleeting moments where they worry about death, about the impact of it on people etc. my fear for instance isn't of dying at all, it is about the trauma of that process for my children. I only ever worried about death after I had my children.
Everyone is different, but I choose to believe that the path to success is to focus on what we can control and learn to accept what we can't in a proportionate way. I have to believe that if you do that then the rest will follow as most people don't run round in abject fear of the next disease or death sentence.
This is very true cpe and I am interested that CBT has helped you in this way as I felt that a less 'solution focused' therapy might work better for these issues; however I do think that a lot of success in therapy does depend in your relationship with the therapist (which is why telephone therapy was hopeless for me) and also your readiness to take changes on board. I am glad CBT is helping you.
I understand that my fear of death is overshadowing my enjoyment of life, but I can't figure out how it's possible to not mind that you're going to die and it could be very soon, and that means the end of everything you care about. How is anyone ok with this? Or maybe most people just manage not to think about it that much. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I spend all day every day ruminating on death, but I am totally over sensitive to physical changes and sensations in my body and I feel that this comes from a fear that they may signal my death happening soon.
Think of it this way. "If" and when it happens, you'll be gone so you won't be thinking or worrying about it and those you love will mourn and move on. It's like those that obsess about politics or the environment or any other of the plethora of concerns they have. What does it really matter in the big scheme of things? Will you recycling that plastic bottle save the planet? Will your one vote really matter in the next election? OR, will loving your children and enjoying the blessings in life be enough? It's like it says in my signature. Will you live your life and enjoy it or chase the wind? In my opinion, worrying about dying is akin to chasing the wind... a wind you'll never see or catch ;)
Positive thoughts
Added: I just found out a good friend of mine was in a terrible car accident. The day before he was with family and friends smiling, laughing and enjoying life. He's beat up pretty bad but he'll be Ok. "If" that was his time, he would have gone enjoying life as opposed to worrying about dying. Do you see the point?
I've done CBT and it did help at the time, but I feel like you have to keep going to keep getting the benefits.
Honestly, I'm the same way you are, every thing that my doctor says is nothing is cancer. I have 4 kids and the idea of not being there for them sends me off the deep end.
I've actually been thinking about doing hypnosis. I've been reading about it and I'm willing to try anything to move on from this health related anxiety. My husband doesn't understand, and I feel like it's creating a rift there too.
For my health anxiety CBT really helped, but nothing has really helped the social anxiety. I had child therapy/day centre sort of thing, don't know what type of therapy that is classed as but that didn't help. I couldn't even try hypnotherapy as I could not sit still long enough in the taster session due to anxiety! I've now started medication and hope this will help me!
cbt and meditation really helped me
I see a woman who does a combination of Neurolinguistic Programming and Adlerian Therapy. I love her approach, she challenges me, helps me to break old thought patterns and gives me exercises and things to work on. I'm a proactive person, so this type of therapy really appeals to me, I like to have something to work on.
Unfortunately I can't see her that often as she doesn't live near me. I only see her a couple of times a year and give her a call sometimes for a chat.
Apart from that I also do regular psychotherapy which I find really helpful to talk through things and get stuff off my chest.
I also did a course of CBT which was great for helping me learn about how my thought patterns working and showing me how to get to the root of an issue quickly.
As for the fear of death, I find a big part of that stems from not living a life that makes you happy. It's really a fear of not doing what you'd like to with your current life, or unhappiness with a situation in your life.
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