Anxiety and Depression Support

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First CBT/talking therapy appointment

Hi all. Just to start, I'm in the UK and using the NHS service.

I've been suffering from Anxiety and depression for years now,more then ten, but haven't really had any sessions of talking therapy, I've always chickened out.

I have my first appointment next week and I'm worried about it and trying not to cancel or chicken out of it again.

I had the first session via the phone and have been referred to someone who deals with long term illnesses (as I also have).

So can anyone tell me anything of what to expect. Thanks for any help.

16 Replies

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I know what you are going through. I'm the same and have found no solutions. CBT may help you.It is nothing to be afraid of. It just did not suit or help me. I have tried 4 different kinds of antidepressants with no success. My illness has also lasted for over 10 years.I had a respite of a few years when I was on Sertraline but it stopped working and none of the others have worked at all. In fact they made me worse although I was on them for many weeks. At the moment I am taking a totally new one and it is awful.I think my psychiatrist will have to take me off them next time I see him. Does your illness affect you physically? I have stomach and bowel problems, I can't eat normally and I cry a lot. I get agitated until I cry and then I feel better till the next time.I hope you are not like me.

I'm sorry to hear about your struggles too. I am not easily medicated and sometimes I just don't take them, I don't know if this is due to my mental health, but I just don't take them.

Yes, my health problems are physical too. I have many joint issues and pain and have a connective tissue disorder EDS and basically, my whole body doesn't work correctly, my circulation, my joints, my stomach (huge stomach problems too) and I black out and have all other issues. I also have Endometriosis, so that's another lot of pain and complications added on.

Yeah, so everything in my body pretty much works against me.

I felt the same for my first session! Just remind yourself that they are there because they WANT to help you, don't worry about crying or getting upset that just means you're making progress and actually engaging in the therapy which is what they want. Mine was a lot more relaxed than I was expecting and it soon just felt like chatting to a friend and I was so relieved of being a me to talk to someone who can help that I didnt think about her judging me anymore!

Stick with it, it could change your life! I hope all goes well x

I was not worried about being judged. It was the mental nurse who decided it would not help me. It was not I who made the decision.

I was. I didn't feel like my problems were worthy enough to waste her time with. My doctor said it's worth going to a couple of therapists until you find the right one who can help you because sometimes you just don't 'click'. We are all so individualistic when it comes to this sort of stuff though!

It's not so much worrying about crying, lord knows I've cried a lot at the GP and in the specialists too!

It's more how they react if there's something they suggest that I'm not comfortable with or able to do.

I'm also worried that going will make things a bit worse as I feel when I think or talk about it more, the issue grows, if that makes sense. The more I think about anxiety, the bigger problem my anxiety gets!

CBT and counselling can often help you see things from a different perspective. It doesn’t necessarily give you solutions but it gives you tools which you can practice with to help your anxiety/worries and if they resurface again in the future, you can put them into practice again.

Also, don’t worry about how you come across. They do this day in, day out and if you get upset, don’t feel silly, they’re used to it. Letting out your feelings can be extremely helpful.

I’ve found it much easier to say ‘no’ to things now, rather than saying yes to people then regretting it.

I have no difficulty in saying no to people. Our cases are different, I think.

I had counselling/CBT for anxiety. I only had 6 weeks as I couldn’t afford more but I found aspects of it helpful.

My counselling was on the NHS. I did not have to pay for it. My sessions with my psychiatrist are also provided by the NHS. Why do you have to pay for them?

I paid so that I could get quick access to a counsellor. So hard to get access when you really need it as there’s always quite a long wait.

Tell me about it. I have to wait for weeks between appointments.It's far from an ideal situation.

I've been quite lucky and not had a long wait on the NHS and could have been seen sooner, but I didn't want to start before Xmas.

The only trouble is, the GP cannot offer me anything but what the IAPT offer. I wanted some online CBT or something that I could use for the very moment I was in an anxiety attack, but the IAPT doesn't offer anything online, so there's nothing for that.

Also as I have other disorders, it can be hard to get there all the time and something online would help me out more.

That's what I need, some ways to cope with my issues, especially anxiety.

I have a huge issue with sleep sometimes, and I also can let everything get on top of me and then have a huge meltdown and it would be good to learn how to avoid these things.

I actually read an article yesterday by someone who said they get up at 5am each morning so they can process all their thoughts first thing, then they sleep soundly and drop off quickly at night. May work?

Oh well, just got a call and my appointment has been cancelled for a couple of weeks.

It's fine, but now I'll have a little longer to wait, and you know that means for anxiety to grow!

However the therapist sounded very nice and understanding on the phone, so that's taken away some worry for me!