4 sessions into CBT now ...

[Andromeda]

and i actually don't know what the hell is going on !

all we've done these past 4 sessions is just talk about all the different problems in my life .

there's so much of it that she even said to me yesterday she doesn't really know where to start and might have to seek 'higher intervention'

what the hell does that mean ? i'm now freaking out that they're going to ship me off to some mental hospital ...

So the way it works , you are slowly forced into situations that you'd usually avoid to essentially 'bring on' the anxiety , so you can face it and learn to manage it ? is that right ?

But it's hard for me to find situations that trigger my anxiety , because it's not situations , my issue is around getting sick and dying and those thoughts pop in and out of my head at various times throughout the day.

So i'm not really being exposed , and when i do feel anxious , i know how to stop it 9 times out of 10 so again i manage to avoid the anxiety by myself .

Am i missing the point somewhere ?

I can't be exposed to my fear because my fear as i've said previously is dying , unless they're planning to kill me ... ha ha .

I'm trying my best to be positive about it but the whole experience is pretty distressing for me , i hate the fact that i do most of the talking , i've listened to myself talk for 21 years , i want someone else to EXPLAIN to me why i'm feeling the way i am , not get me to explain !!!!!!!

Also the sessions are an hour every two weeks and i just feel like it's too long a wait , for not enough time actually in the session . i always feel rushed and the worst part is opening a wound 5 minutes before the end of the session , i always leave feeling emotionally exhausted and pretty much can't function for the rest of the day ... is this normal ??!??!



if this doesn't work what other options are there ?!
stress .

[leanne78]

I have just recently started CBT and I am feeling much like you, just do not know where they are going with it.

My therapist said on the last session that I have to decide to carry on with CBT or try something different, don't know what the something different is.

I sometimes go 3 weeks between sessions and I am going to spek to her on my next session and try and find out what she really thinks and I have told her that I don't want to go back as I feel she isn't dealing with the root problem.

I think maybe you should talk to you therapist and try and find out what else is out there for you maybe like me you may not be suited to CBT, I am doing all my activity dairies but just don't get it.

Hope you start to feel better soon and get some answers xxx

[onceagain]

Hi

Don't wory yourself too much about higher intervention it may be that you need a different therapist or a mixture of types of therapy, why didn't you ask? I know no response needed hun.

As you say the thoughts come into your head, that fear is from your thoughts so maybe they will make you bring on those thoughts so that your anxiety starts and then they can work with it.

Talking is good too, we all have different anxieties and fears but the endorphins that are released are the same so we suffer very similiar reactions to it. A therapist can only work with what they are given and the answers (the real ones lay in you) she/he can help you find them and deal with them but guess they need you to find the reasoning behind it too, no one can tell us to get over it not our family or loved ones.. even our own minds when it hits so how could it work with a set of rules to get over something by someone working blindly.. so please talk and explore once you have found the trigger ( that deep rooted one ) then you can work with the therapy to overcome it..

I'm not particularly happy with my therapist but I took everyones advice and went along to another session. I am gonna continue to go...because deep down I know that either I do fight along with some support but I am gonna be tougher too, if I disagree I am gonna say so, maybe that way, the therapist will understand me more and we can look in other directions .. it is unfair of me to just assume that he is wrong after all it is only my input he can work from, if after several sessions it does not seem to be improving then I will ask either for a different therapy or therapist physco whatever we call them.

I am going under CBT with mentalization therapy... I will keep you updated on the site what happens and whether it has any results or the pitfalls, right now we have not done enough to report..

I think our fears also try and block some ideas as it means that our fears lose power.. I've not been on meds now so I'm back on my roller coaster and life has a habit of allowing you to think you can cope with the old stuff and then a brand new problem hits n I don't even have health anxiety... keep going to the therapy... and ASK QUESTIONS as many as you feel you have to, be stubborn and if you think they are going down the wrong route speak up and ask then why you are doing something, as my GP said to me, this is for us not the therapists so lets use it x

[daydreamer]

Hey.

I think most people who have had any sort of therapy will tell you they feel the same as you do afterwards, its tough but it does get easier. If your having CBT on the NHS then its more than likely that its from a CPN?. Hopefully when she said she might have to seek higher intervention she means therapy with a psychologist, if so then I think you will find it beneficial. I hate talking too and like you wanted someone to help me understand and explain my thoughts and seeing a psychologist has helped me quite a bit with this. Although its still early days its been 100% better than just CBT and me talking about me! Good luck x