Going private for CBT. Any advice?

[alexis]

Sooooooooo???????????????/

love from Alexisxxxx

[nomorepanic]

Ok so this is what happened. The short summary for those who don’t want to read it all is that I am being referred on for CBT. I have to wait for an appointment as the woman she wants me to see has a waiting list. So now I just have to wait for an appointment to come through and take it from there.

For those that want the full story and some comments that she made then read on….

I was there for about 1.25 hours and asked 6 million questions for starters. I thought I would write some of them down, as anyone else going for any sort of evaluation for therapy is likely to be asked the same.

Here we go with the ones I can remember being asked….

Age, Weight, Height, Living arrangements, children, length of time with partner etc, where was I born and where was I brought up.

Family History - Parents & brothers/sisters – alive/dead? age, state of health, history of mental illness, relationship towards them. Childhood upbringing ?

School – did I do well at school, was I liked, many friends? Qualifications I got etc.

Work – how long there, friends at work? what job I did? Am I happy, settled, fulfilled etc

How did I view myself, what was my personality? Was I ever moody, irritable, unhappy, sad.

How was my concentration and memory?

How did my partner view me – what did he think about my current issues.

Medications/Illnesses – What medications I have ever been on, what dose, how long, what illnesses have I suffered from? Any ongoing health concerns. How do I feel in general at the moment?

Food/ Drink – Do I have a good appetite, how much alcohol do I drink

Sleep – is it good, bad, problems waking up or not dropping off?

What changes have happened in my life the past 2 years – issues with work? relationships? deaths in family? any changes that have been significant (e.g new job or losing a job)?

What were my hobbies? What sort of social life did I have?

What history did I have of panic/anxiety/depression? What treatment did I get for it? Did it work? How long did it go on for etc.

What was I currently doing to help overcome my problems?

The only thing she didn't ask - which I was asked the first time I went for psychotherapy - was "how is your sex life" [:O]

She said that she was worried that the panic episodes whilst driving could result in the depression coming back (I have to disagree with this as I don’t think it is that bad that I am getting depressed about it that much). She suggested that maybe in the near future I was put back on anti-depressants to “prevent” the depression resurfacing. She wanted to prescribe Seroxat but would allow me to have Prozac instead because of the bad press about Seroxat and my opinion of it. I said I didn’t want to go down the anti-depressant route so we are going to see what the CBT can do.

She said that my previous history of panic/anxiety had never completely gone and even though I no longer get full blown panic attacks whilst driving I am getting small ones (sounds cute doesn’t it!!) that I am controlling in some form but not completely. Personally I would just call them anxiety attacks but there you go.

She suggested that I didn’t call anyone on the phone when I got these issues in the car, as I was not dealing with it. I did point out that I try to do it alone but sometimes was too overwhelmed so called Meg or Alex just to take my mind off it. She wants me to learn distraction techniques such as finding an object to concentrate on and describe it in as much detail as possible. This could be a signpost, something in the car, a car in front of me, a person etc. Driving back to work I hit road works and tried to put this into practice and didn’t cope particularly well so I need to practice this one a lot!

She wants me to go searching for roadworks or roads that I don’t like driving down at weekends and practice driving but do it in very small stages. For example, get on one junction of the Motorway and off at the next. She told me not to push myself too hard – do it in small steps until I get the confidence back.

One other th

[desperate]

Hi Nic,

Sounds like a lot of questions!!

Interesting about the depression/panic thing too....I always thought it was the other way round too but my therapist said to me the same that panic is when your mind maybe drifts to something you are unhappy about to start off with, then the cycle starts.

Hope it helps you anyway, are you seeing her every week?

Sarah

[Trev]

Well done Nic.

The thing I've always wonderd with meds is this. I'm under the impression that you are given them so that you can have a period of being "back to normal" so that you can then deal with the issues that are meant to be causing the attacks. You seem to me to be aware of what the problems are, seem to dealing with them well enough and are aware of how to deal with them. So is there a need for the meds anyway?

Just a thought really.

All the best,
Trev

[nomorepanic]

Sarah - I am just waiting for the referral to the other woman to come through and then I will see how often she wants to see me.

Trev - I was shocked at her saying that as I told her I had been off meds 7 years now and had no intention of going back on them. She seemed to think I needed them but I don't see how she can say that after knowing me for an hour. Anyway I am not going back on them and can't see how they will help as I am not depressed. Do I seem depressed to you lol.

Nicola

[trac67]

Nic,

Sounds good advice about the concentating on something else when you feel anxious while driving, keep practising it will come to you in the end.

I agree with the med thing I was put on them 7 years ago for the short term and everytime I asked about stopping them I was told it wasnt the right time.

I have decided myself now is the right time lol, and I am not going to go back on them, and now the doctor knows I have stopped them she seems to be ok about it, well she doesnt really have a choice lol.

Like Trev just said if you know the problems and know how to deal with them, are there really any need to take the meds.

And I agree Nic, I got depressed due to suffering anxiety not the other way around, I used to be the most happy go lucky person ever, and there was no way I was depressed before my first panic attack struck.

I believe it is stress that triggers of the panic attacks 90% of the time, the depression follows after.

Anyways Nic onwards and upwards eh........... lol

Well done
Love Trac xxxxxxx


'Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten'

[Piglet]

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">
Another comment was that almost all panic episodes follow some form of depression. I always thought it was the other way round cos I got depressed because of the panic but she said that there must have been something lurking around anyway in my life and then it manifested as panic attacks.

I think that is it – well all I can remember anyway!


Nicola

<div align="right">Originally posted by nomorepanic - 09 November 2005 : 16:20:47</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

Well thinking about this it took three years after my marriage break up and the subsequent coping emotionally, physically and financially for me to have my first panic attack.

I didn't see myself as depressed but my doctor said anxiety is a form of depression you don't necessarily sit around wringing a hankie in your hands and wailing to be depressed.

So maybe she is right!!

Not sure about the meds though, although I think they are entirely right in certain circumstances I do think they are dished out a little too freely.

Well done for dealing with it all and think the trying the roadworks in little stages is good.

Anyway petal, when is Meg coming home, think she has been away too long now and should come back and next time she needs to check with us first how long she can have (only teasin Meg but we are missing you).

Love Piglet

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[Quirky]

Glad it went ok Nic and that you will be getting the CBT. You stick to your guns regarding meds, I did and CBT is really helping me.
Interesting about the panic following depression. I have anxiety/panic but have never been even slightly depressed so not sure about that one. My CBT therapist (trained psychiatrist too) said you can have anxiety without depression. I have had two mental health assessments in the pastg where they have assessed me for depression and anxiety and the results have never indicated depression not even mildly.
Anyway good luck with it all,
Take care,
Lisa

[jos]

i see a chartered psycologist - the going rate is £35-£40 a 1hr session but i did pay £60 for one when i was looking around

if you pay its worth checking out a few therapists to see who you relate to best -

i checked out the chartered psycologists web site for some but found mine through the local university's chartered psycology degree course counsellor's list - the psycology students need counselling to get them through there time with suicidal clients!!

its well worth finding a good one and don't be afraid to change if they are not helping

cheers jos

[Karen]

Hi Nic

Just caught up with this and it's great that you are being referred for CBT. I hope the wait isn't too long.

The questions you were asked were very similar to the ones I was asked at my assessment with the psychiatrist - only she didn't get very much out of me[8)].

I believe that it is possible to have anxiety and panic without depression, whereas my therapist says that depression always involves some level of anxiety. I personally don't remember which came first because it is too long ago when it all started.

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">She suggested that maybe in the near future I was put back on anti-depressants to “prevent” the depression resurfacing. She wanted to prescribe Seroxat but would allow me to have Prozac instead because of the bad press about Seroxat and my opinion of it. I said I didn’t want to go down the anti-depressant route so we are going to see what the CBT can do.</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

That doesn't surprise me. Psychiatrists are used to treating patients with mental illnesses that do require medication and think that anyone with any kind of emotional problem needs medication too. I don't think I have seen one psychiatrist that hasn't prescribed antidepressants of one description or another. The only reason I am not on any now is because I refused to take them.

I think you need to use your own judgement about this and if you don't want antidepressants then there is no need to take them.

Hope you hear something soon.

Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.