Should I stop CBT?

[LibertyB]

Hi, I've recently been told I have GAD and I'm on the severe spectrum for depression. I've never even considered this could be affecting me until something happened and all I could put it down to be an anxiety attack.

When I look back there is a lot of stuff I can relate to anxiety but never depression. I saw my GP who refererred me onto a CBT scheme. I'm currently doing an online course. At first I found this really helpful but now I'm onto week 5 I've realised how depressed it's making me feel.

I just want to know if anyone else has felt like this from CBT. Is it common that it's put me in a darker place and made me feel suicidal when I'd never had these thoughts before?

im considering stopping my CBT and just getting back on suppressing my anxiety as this has worked for so many years so far.

[Agora1]

Hi LibertyB, Unfortunately, CBT did not work for me either. I couldn't handle the pressure I felt in therapy. However, that being said, know that techniques don't work for everyone the same way. We need to find what gets us to move forward without creating more problems. Only you know what's best for you.

[Jeff1943]

Hi LibertyB, like Agora1 CBT didn't work for me either, I couldn't understand it or see the point of it, maybe it works for others or my therapist wasn't the best. The line between anxiety and depression is very blurred and I think eventually most people with anxiety get depressed about their condition to some degree. This sort of depression I call secondary depression because it comes out of anxiety. Maybe this is your depression, only you can tell.

If you've been experiencing anxiety for years I have to ask you the question: you must have come across Claire Weekes' little book 'Self help with your nerves'. There are many books attempting to help people with GAD and I'm sure they are all helpful but I claim first place for Claire Weekes, it's been helping people with anxiety disorder to recover for 40 years and in that time both myself and Agora1 I know have benefitted from it greatly. First it explains WHY we are experiencing these strange symptoms, so it ends bewilderment, second it tells you the limitations of anxiety (like it can't kill you, cripple you, give you a heart attack or a stroke)so it brings reassurance and it explains HOW anxiety can mimic every illness known to humankind.

Second it explains how through Acceptance we can desensitise our nervous system and return to the way we were before the nightmare began. But as you've had GAD for some time you may well of heard of the book which is available on Amazon.