just started cbt

[Dizz]

I think I'm missing something here and sorry to butt in.... but are people saying that CBT is a waste of time or good?

I'm on a waiting list for it now and I'm not sure I want to do it now after reading some of the comments. I dont actually have a fear of going places or anything like that although I do tend to worry a lot unnecessarily about daft and trivial things. I call it the 'what if.. scenario'

Does CBT cover that too or just phobila about doing things or going places etc etc ?

[Anna C]

Hi Dizz,

Yes CBT will help you with your 'what ifs' as your therapist will show you how to challenge your negative thoughts.

Please don't let other peoples experiences put you off, try it for yourself it could really help you.

Good luck.

Anna

[thetube82]

i guess we will have to agree to disagree Ladybird!

the things i disagree with are...........

'Considering the number of CBT sessions people get on the NHS it doesn't give much time to get to grips with things!'

Lets guess that someone gets 8 hour-long sessions of CBT over 8 weeks, that gives them 1336 worth of in-between session hours to practise, experiment, learn, etc., remember that probably the most important thing in CBT is the work the client does between sessions.


'Distraction, coping and breathing DO serve a purpose..'

They probably do serve a purpose to the person, but unfortunately they keep the person believing that they need to 'control' themselves, therefore the purpose might have a count-affect.


'There should be no time limit on getting better and gaining confidence enough to start to ignore anxiety and panic.'

Kind of agree with you there, except the word 'ignore', i think people need to accept (rather than 'ignore') that anxiey is part of there life, as it is in everyones life.


'If a person feels better with a bottle of water in their hand then so be it.'

Agree, i suppose, as long as they realise that nothing serious would happen if they didnt have a bottle of water in there hand, and that by having the bottle they are fueling the fear a bit more.


'It's absolutely essential that we breathe properly..'

Not too sure by the term 'properly', by using this it may imply that something bad or dangerous might happen if we dont breath 'properly', the only way i know how to breath is by breathing in then out??!! As i have done all my life, like all of us have done, sometimes its fast breathing, sometimes its slow, it doesnt really matter as long as we are breathing!, if you mean we need to regulate how we breath during a panic attack i would disagree, because the body will regulate it itself after a short period.

thetube82

[jayye]

Well I have my 2nd session this week. I dont think I feel any different since my last one. Ive had some better moments & a bad moment too. The bad moment was at the dentists I was in an unfamiliar room & noticed what I thought was a lock on the door, so I worked myself up & eventually had to ask if the door was locked & had to tell the dentist & assistant my problem. They reassured me the door was not locked & I got through it although it was uncomfortable at best. Now my therapist told me not to tell people my fears as that was another of my coping techniques. Like someone mentioned on here that having coping techniques means that you still have something to fear, yes I understand that however if I was able to do certain things that I otherwise could not do, or get through situations that I may otherwise need to escape from by using a method of coping, then that would suit me. As I am unable to just figure out why I am afraid of being trapped, the best I can hope for at the moment is to just learn a way to cope with my fears.

And as my therapist wants me to drop the coping methods I guess I'll have to try and find some online or elsewhere because I just cant see any other way round it.

Oh & the better moments I had were today, I was in a busy building with 1 door which was at the opposite end of the building to me. I imagined that I was with a friend who had my problem & thought what I would say to them to calm them down. This seemed to work although it wasnt one of the worst scenarios for me in that building really.

Fingers crossed for a better 2nd session.

[ladybird64]

i guess we will have to agree to disagree Ladybird!

the things i disagree with are...........

'Considering the number of CBT sessions people get on the NHS it doesn't give much time to get to grips with things!'

Lets guess that someone gets 8 hour-long sessions of CBT over 8 weeks, that gives them 1336 worth of in-between session hours to practise, experiment, learn, etc., remember that probably the most important thing in CBT is the work the client does between sessions.


'Distraction, coping and breathing DO serve a purpose..'

They probably do serve a purpose to the person, but unfortunately they keep the person believing that they need to 'control' themselves, therefore the purpose might have a count-affect.


'There should be no time limit on getting better and gaining confidence enough to start to ignore anxiety and panic.'

Kind of agree with you there, except the word 'ignore', i think people need to accept (rather than 'ignore') that anxiey is part of there life, as it is in everyones life.


'If a person feels better with a bottle of water in their hand then so be it.'

Agree, i suppose, as long as they realise that nothing serious would happen if they didnt have a bottle of water in there hand, and that by having the bottle they are fueling the fear a bit more.


'It's absolutely essential that we breathe properly..'

Not too sure by the term 'properly', by using this it may imply that something bad or dangerous might happen if we dont breath 'properly', the only way i know how to breath is by breathing in then out??!! As i have done all my life, like all of us have done, sometimes its fast breathing, sometimes its slow, it doesnt really matter as long as we are breathing!, if you mean we need to regulate how we breath during a panic attack i would disagree, because the body will regulate it itself after a short period.

thetube82

I sat and typed a nice reply to your post last night, quite a long one and then changed pages without hitting the submit button.
Decided to go and sulk.

It's good to agree to differ sometimes and rather than write out another long reply, the gist is that I agree with most things you have written (except the breathing ). I guess it's the "one size fits all" approach that I find difficult to understand with things like having a bit of help with coping mechanisms to start with..is it such a bad thing in the short term?

On my little journey I have come to self regulate what i do in scary situations (and yes, I still have a few), I now don't rely on distractions to get me through if I'm feeling anxious.
I know you have explained about how many hours people have to help themselves but it seems so harsh to expect them to change behaviour so quickly..still think more time with the therapist by the side would be helpful!!

For those of you currently receiveing CBT like Jayye above (good luck by the way Jayye, sounds like you are doing better than you think) would it be possible for you to leave feedback here?

I am interested even though I have never had CBT, we hear lots of feedback from people on meds and it might be useful if we got the same kind of feedback for CBT.

[thetube82]

'still think more time with the therapist by the side would be helpful!!'

BEEP! BEEP! i smell another safety bahaviour alert!! BEEP! BEEP!

oh lets just forget this!!.....................wishing all success, CBT or not


Fight the fear gang, stay cool

thetube82

[cece]

'still think more time with the therapist by the side would be helpful!!'

BEEP! BEEP! i smell another safety bahaviour alert!! BEEP! BEEP!

oh lets just forget this!!.....................wishing all success, CBT or not


Fight the fear gang, stay cool

thetube82

CBT has been a Godsend for me. I was going to reply to a bunch of notes I read here today but the tube82 has already done an excellent job and I would just be repeating most of what's been said.

So I'll just say if you are willing to put in the effort, you will likely get a lot of relief from using Cbt and getting rid of your safety signals and distraction coping methods

[European]

"CBT has been a Godsend for me.">cece

Yes, for me as well. I've tried everything anyone could possibly try over the course of over a decade, and CBT was the only thing that turned my life around for the better. It has been a Godsend indeed!

What some people might not be prepared for is the fact that CBT requires some personal input. It also requires to face up to one's fears, as opposed to sitting them out. It's not necessarily the amount of sessions one has, but predominantly the homework one does in between sessions, which teaches one how to deal with one's problems, which in turn has an incredibly liberating and empowering effect.

Anxiety is indeed a cycle, in that it provokes avoidance behaviour, which then feeds the anxiety in turn. In other words, the more you avoid certain situations, the more your brain stores this avoidance as a failure and a 'real' reason to be anxious, which will then increase the anxiety the next time round you're trying to deal with the situation in question.
Anxiety and avoidance go hand in hand, and it is impossible to overcome anxiety and panic without stopping one's avoidance behaviour and face up to one's fears. CBT and its techniques are incredibly helpful and empowering in this respect.

"I dont hold out much hope though about this treatment so far.">jayye

I think what is vitally important in the context of CBT is a certain openness towards it in the first place! What's the point of starting anything, if you are sure about its outcome before you even started? How is any treatment on earth going to have an impact, or possibly even work, if one is all negative about it and has one's shutters down?

I also find it very sad to repeatedly see that those who have their shutters firmly down in terms of CBT are actively spreading their negativity and discouraging others from opening themselves up and attempting a more positive and constructive attitude as regards facing their fears. It's not surprising that many therapists discourage their client's to visit and take part in this forum, as there is a lot of ignorance and negativity around, particularly in view of CBT. Which isn't helpful at all!

Having said that, only because there are some negative and ignorant people around doesn't mean that one has to become negative and ignorant as well. And neither does it mean that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy doesn't work on the basis that it hasn't worked on some others who were probably never open to it in the first place.
No matter what you do, you will only give yourself a chance by keeping your mind open. You will only get out of it what you put in. And this doesn't depend on anybody else, but you!

[JaneC]

I agree with three-quarters of what you say European but then we get to this:

I also find it very sad to repeatedly see that those who have their shutters firmly down in terms of CBT are actively spreading their negativity and discouraging others from opening themselves up and attempting a more positive and constructive attitude as regards facing their fears. It's not surprising that many therapists discourage their client's to visit and take part in this forum, as there is a lot of ignorance and negativity around, particularly in view of CBT. Which isn't helpful at all!

Once again, that's very unfair - not to mention nonsense, particularly the bit about "many therapists" advising people not to use NMP. How do you know this? Give us the "evidence" please.

[European]

"Give us the "evidence" please." >JaneC

I've come across not just one thread on here where somebody was almost being talked out of either starting CBT, or they were actively thinking of quitting it just after they had started on account of the accumulated negative responses. And no, I'm not making a list for you, as you obviously have the same access to aforementioned threads as I have.

I've also come across at least a couple of posts where people had just started therapy and stated their therapist told them to avoid this particular forum. Again, you can look out for those posts yourself.

In any case, I can't help finding the therapist's reactions quite understandable, given the somewhat vulnerable state of mind of their clients, particularly if they just started therapy, and the frequent abject negativity of some people concerning therapy, and particularly CBT, on here in the first place. And no, I don't see why it should be "unfair" to point this out.