Has anyone had CBT? If so can someone give me brief description of what it involves and maybe use an example. The thought of it scares me.

[Michael1969]

[Cookster99]

hiya, im not the best person to answer this but im gonna anyway coz im kind like that lol. i went for 2, yes 2 sessions and talked about my past which i dealt with as i was going through it. my past, i feel has bugger all to do with why the thought of leaving my house sends me into a panic that defies all reason even for me. plus the councillor didnt take any notice of what i was saying so i blew it off. i didnt think it would work for me and it didnt. self fullfilling prophesy and all that shiz lol. im due to see a shrink so hopefully ill fare better. dont be scared mate, it may work for you, give it a go an if you dont like it, just say no thank you sir xxx good luck xxx

[Michael1969 in reply to Cookster99]

Thanks for reply....Still shi@t scared of trying it. And I have never seen a shrink....That's even more scary

[Hidden]

Hi Michael,

All I can say is whats happening for me at CBT now.

I initially went for mindfullness classes, but told the chap I would have trouble sitting in a room with 10 people for 3 hrs very difficult. He said I needed CBT for anxiety as mindfullness doesn't work for anxiety, its for depression.

I was a bit blown away by this as the last therapist had said it was what I needed.

Session one

Anyway, the CBT I'm having and I'm sure its tailored to each persons specific problems, is to challenge my "whats called safeties" like always carrying a water bottle with me when I go out, me thinking it will somehow help me cope better.

( I understood about anxiety or so I thought already so we didnt go too deep with that, although he draws diagrams each time to show me what going on.)

The therapist told me in no uncertain terms, that NOTHING will help me in a panic ! this blew my head off lol, but as I sat there panicking, whilst breathing and doing my other coping mechanisms, he explained his statement and I realised he was telling me the truth.

I started leaving my bottle in the car (fondly known as my potty ) when I got out the car to go to get a few bit in my local tesco's. This although initially was uncomfortable, by weeks end I found easy.

Session two

Continued talking about how the anxiety works, and how I do not need to use all the crap I take with me.

So next I was to leave the bottle in the house and drive 2 miles to tesco's do some shopping and come back. (reason being I was slurpping manically at my bottle before I went into tesco's on the last practice.)

This was hard and made me anxious initially, but by weeks end, it was ok.

So what he is trying to get me to understand that, I can cope with the anxious feelings, without my "safeties".

And that anxiety, initially will rise as I go into a situation, but then will slowly fall. And to realise that if I dont fight my feelings and trust fully, that anxiety is not dangerous and will reduce to normal levels.

Session three

Was to leave behing my phone as well as the bottle, then added my Dr.Claire weekes book lol. and to stay in tesco's for 5 minutes longer than usual.

I've found it is anxiety producing but not by much, but is teaching me to trust the truth about anxiety and to not rush when doing things away from home.

Its also improved my meditation, in as much as knowing we dont need to change anything, like our breathing, our thoughts etc. they all disipate with time if allowed.

Indeed when I first started meditating, and sometimes now, I find my breathing laboured and as if I'm being suffocated. This I used to try and fight on a very subtle level, and didn't realise it, but now it just becomes the thing I'm meditating on, observing and I haven't died yet touch wood lol.

Session four,

he was ill, or so he said lol, it was the day before the bank holiday, and he and his family were going on holiday the next day. haha, I wont judge here as I've done it too.

Session five,

he's still on holiday

Session six is on friday !!!! I hope.

I would recommend it, my therapist is very straight to the point, and on the verge of being scary, but I think its because he see's that I can handle the truth. With others Ire they would trad carefully.

Give it a go, you can only maybe get better.

Wishing you well

B

xxxx

[Michael1969 in reply to Hidden]

Tnq so much for your reply...Wow I am quit overwhelmed by everyone's support.

It must have taken some time to write this....I'm taking it all on board

Once again many thanks

[karenx]

Micheal, those two statements i brought up earlier about 'what would i say to someone else' and 'it wont kill me'. Those were both from CBT classes.

I can, hand on heart, say if i hadnt gone for them i would deffo be on medication by now and possibly even housebound.

CBT has helped me beyond a shadow of a doubt. I did group classes so got to hear other peoples stories and opinions too and usually i'm not into that whole socialising thing and can say that if i knew the first session was a group i probably would not have gone, i thought it was one on one. I would encourage anyone to go to those before trying anything else.

[Michael1969 in reply to karenx]

Tnq for reply

Deep down I know it won't kill me but I care more about what people will think If I have an anxiety attack in the middle of a room or at a table or in the office.

The funny thing is that attacks are very rare for me ....It's more the thought of an attack that gets my brain going into overdrive. I can worry about an event for days and then get to the event and be fine....Usually with a couple of glasses of wine down my neck. LOL

Also when I'm in the anxiety ZONE...I can get a mini anxiety RUSH..which can take a split second to happen...For instance if I don't like the look of someone or someone is very drunk and loud.

I struggle to see how I can be talked out of this inner fear....It's something which comes from nowhere at the slightest perceived or often imagined threat.

It truly is less than a split second sometimes without building up any scenario or anticipating anything. It can just happen and when It does I throw it around in my mind thousands of times ....What if...What if...What if....

Thank you very much for your reply

[Hidden in reply to Michael1969]

CBT therapist are used to people having panics, so dont worry. Everything will be ok for them and you. I couldn't even get in the building when I first went and they helped me.

All the best

B

xxx

[Michael1969 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks B.

I'll have to settle on my new med regime first...I'll think about then

Tnq

[Hidden]

I've just started it and really it's nothing to worry about. I enjoyed getting stuff off my chest and explaining how the anxiety runs my day. I'm only getting 7 x 30 min sessions then the intense 1 hour sessions after if they think I need them. From 1 session my therapist made me realise that I expect to much of myself ( good reason behind this) but honestly you will enjoy it don't hold back on anything. I've had therapy before but mainly just relaxation techniques which did help 3 year later I'm getting it again. I need to change the way I'm thinking mostly. Hope you enjoy your therapy and don't be scared

Jo xxx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That sounds VERY positive Jolene, glad its going well.

B

xxxx

[Hidden]

It is positive Hun try and put in as much as I can and be honest about how I feel to get the full benefit from it and do all work that's given well try. You should give it a go you will learn new things from the therapy and you won't know how you cope till you have tried it. My next session is fri morning just before I travel 4 hours to see my partner :/ hate driving anxious thoughts always take over ohhhh

Hope you manage to try the therapy

Jo xxx

[miarose]

just did a year of CBT,and it helped me understand my anxiety,what was making me anxious,and one thing is very important,its not what you can do when your anxious that will overcome it...its the way you think...if you try to ignore the panic,or fear it,or push it away,it will get worse,what I learned was to accept my anxiety for what it is,just anxiety,nothing to fear from it,just let it wash over you,and really believe it will pass,and wont kill you..when you stop being afraid of panicing,you wont panic...hard to believe but it works..CBT cured my agoraphobia too,I wasan't leaving the house,now i'm walking out on my own..please give it a go,it is very good,and its surprising how strong it makes you feel, Istill get anxious at times,but I learned how to stop it turning into a panic attack,and with time the anxiety lessens too.so give it a go and good luck with it...love mia.xxxxxx

[AlexVP in reply to miarose]

I think you just made my day. This was a very good post, thank you. Alex.

[Mysteryreader]

I WOULD REITERATE WHAT OTHERS SAY AND GIVE IT A GO AND DON'T HOLD BACK. bE HONEST ABOUT HOW YOU ARE FEEELING AND HOW YOUR ANXIETY IMPACTS on your life. Hopefully like others it will help you to find strategies for coping at least some of the time. I FEEL WE HAVE TO BE VERY BRAVE TO GIVE ANYTHING DIFFERENT A GO AS THERE CAN BE SAFETY IN THE FAMILIAR AND KNOWN bUT SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO BITE THE BULLET AND JUST GO FOR IT. sORRY IF THEIS SOUNDS TRITE BUT IT IS HOW i HONESTLY FEEL.

mYSYTERY rEADER

[Hidden]

I started seeing a CBT person (I do hate the word therapist) a few weeks ago. Here is a run down of my experience so far:

First session - he asked me to complete a form which gives an idea of how currently depressed or anxious I felt (you may get this, and if so may have do one every time you see the CBT guy/gal - it gives them an idea if you are making any progress).

He let me talk a bit about my situation and why I needed help. He then talked about the reasons why we get anxious etc, how your body responds (fight or flight due to adrenelin increase, negative thinking). My "homework" was to write down the things that make me anxious - either actual events/things or even thoughts that make me anxious. Session was one hour long

Second session - we discussed the "homework". CBT guy described the cycle of negative thinking and how we have to try to overcome this. He talked to me about each of the things that make me anxious - what would happen to me if the thing that I feared actually occurred (my situation is about panic attacks at work due to bullying). It helps me to see that I am not going to die (though it can be frightening when your heart feels like it's going to burst). My homework was to write on a scale of one to a hundred the things that I am afraid of - when you think of it that way, there are very few things that are really high up (mine would be anything happening to my children - but that is not one of the things that makes me anxious at work - so helps to get things in perspective). I also had to record my emotions, what I thought and how I responded and the outcome.

Third session - I found the homework about recording emotions quite hard, but he was fine with that, and he helped me to think about what I was feeling by explaining about different types of thinking habits - he gave me a handout which listed the different types of thinking we anxious folks have: black and white thinking/catastrophising (that's my biggie)/mountains and molehills - there are lots of others. I was feeling a bit more positive at the end of this session.

CBT guy is very gentle, patient and not at all judgemental (no reason why he should be but I have such a negative outlook that I feel everyone must think badly of me).

Give it a try - you may have a good experience, but you won't know unless you try it. If you can, take a look at this book: Overcoming Panic by Derrick Silove and Vijaya Manicavasagar. Its a self help CBT guide - might be available at your local library.

Best of luck

[Michael1969 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience.

[AlexVP]

I had CBT to help with my autism (aspergers syndrome) and other stuff. To simplify it, it's basically trying to map out some of your brains pathways, how you think, so that once you understand why your brain goes where it does you can start figuring out how to retrain it. I'm going to leave it to others to ta about the psychologist anxiety though because oddly, that I never got nervous about. Hope I helped slightly, I know it's not much. Alex.

[agora]

I've had lots of talking therapy experiences, but for me the big issue is trusting and relating to your Councillor. Men are a no no with me because I have a big issue with feeling judged by men.

[hope_to_help]

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on breaking the cycle of thoughts>feelings>behaviour that underlies all anxiety disorders. It’s a bit like becoming a scientist studying yourself: with the help of a therapist you set goals, keep notes of how you feel in certain situations, then explore how you feel if you do things differently.

Its about taking small, manageable steps in the right direction, rather than being overwhelmed by the big picture and doing nothing.

'Talking Therapies', CBT being one, are some of the most effective tools for treating anxiety disorders. You can find out more about them here: anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/w...