CBT let-down?

[Mudskipper]

Maybe my doctor over-sold it, maybe I expected too much, maybe it just doesn't work for people like me, but six sessions into my therapy I really don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. We've raked over my past and maybe I have better grasp as to why I'm like this, but no nearer to finding a way to stop myself 'going off on one' at a moments notice. My doctor talked vaguely about techniques to prevent my thoughts from getting out of control but I haven't seen much sign of them yet and a lot of the sessions seem to depend on me coming up with something to drive the discussion along, whereas I was expecting more of a tutor/pupil relationship. Right now I'm wondering if it's worth continuing, but there's nothing else left to try and I'm really quite scared by the prospect of just having to grin and bear it. Thoughts of just running away or being better off dead keep running through my mind and that isn't helping either.

Anyone else having trouble with this?

:shrug:

[rambler]

I'm a few sessions into cbt and I'm not really finding it of any benefit either. Like you say, my Psych kinda over sold it. My therapist seems to want to get rid of me and keeps looking at the clock..and I'm pretty much doing the same thing. We've only really gone through the basics..life story blah blah.. but she's giving me no feedback really.. I'm just talking about things I already know the answers to.
I'm also quite fed up as I was expecting great things too.

[Vixxy]

CBT is all about you. Your therapist wont really teach you things, they will prompt you to go in the right direction and that way you learn rather than parrot word for word.
They need to get down to the root of your problems before they can start to fix those negative thought patterns.
CBT is not a quick fix, it requires dedication to put it into practise. And yes it does work.
Are you filling out panic or anxiety diaries or a thought diary?

[willitstop]

vixxy is correct the therapist can ive you direction but the recovery has to come from you i had cbt years ago and beat my agoraphobia but unfortunetly i let it come back, im doing cbt again now.

Thinking negative makes it harder you need to focus on the positives, try and keep a journal of thoughts and feelings trust me you will start noticing the difference.
Good luck

[Mudskipper]

I have thought records which I fill out, not sure how that helps but I've been feeling pretty ropey over the past few weeks and my anxiety has been up and down like a yo-yo. My doctor wants me to try sertraline to help me cope while I'm going through all this worrying stuff, but I'm not sure I really want meds again. I've tried challenging the negative thoughts but it sometimes seem like I'm trying to shout down a bully at school. In my experience, the bully was always bigger and louder than me. Still, nothing else to try so I'll keep at it. Potentially 14 more sessions to go...

[rambler]

I haven't been told to fill out any thought records or panic diaries. It just seems like regular therapy to me.

[Vixxy]

Keep filling in the diaries and then look for the key thought that seems to run through each panic. When youve got a list of your key thoughts or hot thoughts as they may call them take them to your therapist and ask for help dealing with the alternative thought. I found it very hard to make up a decent alt thought, and my therapist really helps me to create something i can believe in.

[Invictus]

When I had my CBT I found more than anything it made me very disassociative to the situation itself, and as a result my anger was a lot worse and easier to flare up. It was honestly the most horrible experience I've ever been through (constantly repeating what happened down to detail) but this is the thing - everyone is different.

If you are struggling with this and do not find it is helpful then you need to tell your doctor/psychiatrist before it pushes further so they can try and help you find another therapy that will help. Otherwise, you'll just be doing the same thing with no results.

[pammy1944]

Ive found that after 6 sessions of CBT i feel rather 'raw' and its brought my panics back that i hadnt had for years !

[Mudskipper]

Just lately the smallest thing sets me off in an anxiety spiral and I just can't stop it, whether this is the therapy leaving me raw or whether my general condition is getting worse I just don't know. Three examples:

1. Went in the bathroom monday morning and my wife had been rather liberal with her deodorant. Immediately started worrying that I was breathing it in and it was poisoning me or settling on tooth brushes etc and poisoning us all.
2. Heard that report on the news about the gunman who shot his ex and her new boyfriend. Immediately started worrying about the fact that my wife was engaged to someone else 20 years ago. What if he comes looking for her and shoots the pair of us?
3. Some guy on the telly makes a flippant comment about the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust. OMG what does he know that I don't? It's on its' way! What am I gonna do about the kids?

This seems extreme even by my standards, so am I actually getting worse overall or is it the therapy? Can't be meds as I'm not taking any right now...:shrug:

[JaneC]

Mudskipper,

I found CBT better for depression than anxiety, but maybe you are too soon into the course to know if it's working for you. There is also the possibility that meds would help you to be able to get to grips with it, but of course that's up to you.

Can you relate if I make these responses to your fears as above?

1. Every day, millions of people all over the world must inhale deodorant but come to no harm.

2. Relatively speaking, there are not too many Raoul Moats in this world. He had been in a relationship with the woman fairly recently, not 20 years ago. She also inadvertently told him something which set him off. Plus he already had a conviction for a violent offence.

3. You say yourself the remark was flippant. Who was this person? Should he be in a position to know something the rest of us don't? Is there anything happening in the world that would make a nuclear attack on anybody seem imminent?

Also what "evidence" can you come up with to support your fears?

Hope you don't mind, but I'm just trying to help you see if you can make CBT work for you x

[Mudskipper]

I don't mind at all, any comments or advice are welcome. The three cases listed above were really intended to show just how finely tuned my anxiety antennae have become and I'm wondering whether talking about my fears as openly as I do in therapy may be contributing to this. I've been anxious for years but I don't recall being this obsessive in the past.

[thetube82]

I wonder if your therapist/doc is suitably qualified in CBT or are they just practicing a version of CBT without a recognised training? It may be worth asking where they studied CBT and at what level, I'm certainly not suggesting that they may not be qualified in CBT but it may be worth asking.
Just because someone is a qualified psychiatrist/psychologist doesnt mean they are qualified in CBT.

thetube82