BigOldDrives Big Old Problem List

[BigOldDrive]

Is CBT where you get to physically see someone?

[NoraB]

Wow that is amazing that you got yourself sorted in two sessions! I know it doesn't matter how long it takes and everyone is different but it gives me hope it is not something which will take several years to get better.

I had 12 sessions in total.

Can you have as many sessions as needed to get better? Or is it a bit like when they send you to physio, you get 3-4 sessions then you are referred back to the doctors?

With me, it was a case of six sessions or more if I required it. My first lot of CBT was a waste of time. It was over the phone, and it just didn't work for me. The second lot was in person and the therapist took on board the fact that I am a visual learner, so he did lots of diagrams for me. I only needed six weeks.

How long did you roughly have to wait for help to arrive?

I can't remember exactly. There was a referral from my GP, but you can refer yourself directly (look at the NHS Cognitive Therapy webpage where there is a link) and then I was asked to go for an assessment to see if CBT was suitable for me. Then I went on a waiting list but I know I wasn't waiting too long before I saw a therapist. You can pay privately, and you will most likely be seen quicker, but that's your call.

Thanks for all your amazing help.

You're very welcome.

[pulisa]

Nora, did you have the visually based CBT after your ASD diagnosis?

[Amurfina]

Hi. Your anxiety sounds extremely similar to mine. I too have had nearly exactly the same worries as you about asbestos and weed killer etc and now have got to the point where I think everything I come across could kill me in the future. I even stopped going to the exercise class I loved because the place it was held had an asbestos roof and I worried myself for weeks because I saw my neighbour spraying weed killer. We bought an old house that we are renovating and I worry myself sick about nearly every job we do in case I’ve breathed something in or something deeper into my skin etc. It struck a chord with me where you said you’re worried you’ve done something in that will come back to haunt you in the future. Me too. Whilst reassurance won’t cure you of HA sometimes it does help so a couple of things I was told that calmed me down and helped me to function:-
If weed killer was that dangerous they wouldn’t be selling it in shops. Most of it is watered down and it’s exposure to massive amounts on a regular basis that does the damage and even then not in everybody. Re asbestos it’s the black asbestos that is the real killer not white asbestos and also a specialist once told me that people who have breathed it in cough a lot of the fibres out without even knowing it. Again it’s repeated exposure to clouds of it that does the damage. Re the woodworm stuff you used, once again they just couldn’t sell it on the market if it was that dangerous and unless you’re using it on a daily basis for 20 years try not to worry. Sometimes when mine is really bad I try to rationalise that if I smoked one cigarette I wouldn’t spend the next 10 years worrying I’d die from it. I hope this helps in the short term but yes addressing the root cause is the key to tackling the HA which I am also trying to do albeit not very successfully. Sometimes you just need reassurance to be able to function enough to tackle the day :-)

[NoraB]

Nora, did you have the visually based CBT after your ASD diagnosis?

I honestly can't remember, probably before? But I 'knew' I was autistic before I was formally diagnosed. My son was diagnosed at 4 years and it all made sense. The one thing I'd never thought of in regards to my lifelong issues was autism. Closest I came was HSP. The intention was to get my lad sorted out then see how I felt about going for assessment, but my breakdown forced the issue and I was referred for assessment by an A&E psychiatrist. By then I had done the autistic thing and researched the living daylights out of the subject, and I knew that many issues I'd had trying to learn stuff at school was down to the way I was taught, and also why I struggled with learning to drive if I was given more than one verbal instruction at a time..

[BigOldDrive]

So I bumped into a old friend tonight I have not seen in 15 years and we kept social distancing for 95% of the time.

In the excitement of it all he wanted to show me a few pics of his family on his phone. For 1-2 mins I was pretty much shoulder to shoulder with him then we remembered quickly to stand back.

Would those 1-2 mins put me at major risk of getting covid-19 if he had it? How long do I need to worry about this for before symptoms start appearing 5 days?

[AntsyVee]

I honestly can't remember, probably before? But I 'knew' I was autistic before I was formally diagnosed. My son was diagnosed at 4 years and it all made sense. The one thing I'd never thought of in regards to my lifelong issues was autism. Closest I came was HSP. The intention was to get my lad sorted out then see how I felt about going for assessment, but my breakdown forced the issue and I was referred for assessment by an A&E psychiatrist. By then I had done the autistic thing and researched the living daylights out of the subject, and I knew that many issues I'd had trying to learn stuff at school was down to the way I was taught, and also why I struggled with learning to drive if I was given more than one verbal instruction at a time..

Wow, Nora. Your written communication is so expressive, I would’ve never guessed you had problems communicating elsewhere. Were you always able to express yourself well in writing or did that come over time?

[AntsyVee]

So I bumped into a old friend tonight I have not seen in 15 years and we kept social distancing for 95% of the time.

In the excitement of it all he wanted to show me a few pics of his family on his phone. For 1-2 mins I was pretty much shoulder to shoulder with him then we remembered quickly to stand back.

Would those 1-2 mins put me at major risk of getting covid-19 if he had it? How long do I need to worry about this for before symptoms start appearing 5 days?

you don’t even know he had it. If you both had your masks on, I’m sure you two are fine.