Hey everyone, I've had a fairly recent diagnosis of PTSD and I was going through cognitive behavioural therapy.
I noticed that this completely changed my behaviour and my feelings towards my direct family members.
I absolutely cannot face going through this kind of therapy again, I know it makes you feel worse at first, but I just cannot face it.
What other treatment options are available or what has worked for other members of this forum?
Hi. I have been having EMDR and it has been incredibly effective and such a relief to me. Please let me know if you would like to know more.
🙂🌸
Hi Minipainter,
Welcome to the community.
Did your CBT was trauma based? There are different types of CBT.
Any therapy needs to be trauma focused as it is a totally different type of work.
For me the most helpful therapy was somatic experiencing based on Peter Levine's approach. It's based on the fact that trauma affects people on a cellular level and it's often non verbal.
The part of the nervous system that is designed to protect us from danger becomes overprotective.
In my experience non verbal approach together with some talking and different methods used to address different issues has been the best.
However, everyone has unique experiences and each of us responds differently, that's why trying things to find what helps might be needed.
There are good treatments for PTSD like EMDR, somatic experiencing, trauma release exercise, NLP, EFT, animal assisted therapy and many more.
There are also grounding techniques, meditation, gentle movement/exercise (yoga, tai chi etc), creative therapy (arts, music, writing, sewing, cooking, gardening, photography, interior design etc).
Finding the right coping skills is very important before starting the actual work.
There are some kinds of therapy that are non verbal but allow release of the emotions and processing of trauma memories.
Therapy brings a lot of things and makes things much harder which makes it tough to communicate. But it's important to have some form of support.
Facing traumatic things in therapy is the bravest thing.
Hope you can explore other things, other therapists and find what's the right combination for you.
I hope that you can explain to your family that you need time for self care and that they would be supportive.
I completely agree that the therapy has to be trauma focused and delivered by a therapist trained in that area.
Before my PTSD diagnosis happened I had some sessions with a psychologist that really did not help and in some ways made things worse.
All the best. 🙂🌸
Welcome to the community. I hope you find something that can help. It is important to find someone who specializes in PTSD. I did not and I think it hurt more than helped.
Talk therapy with a good therapist,psychologist,psychiatrist or councello..
Make sure u interview them first to make sure u feel comfortable with them n there therapy techniques is what u want.
cbt is rough n isnt always a great fit for everyone.
I am having EMDR therapy which hasn’t been very effective for me in dealing with trauma events. Processing them so they don’t have the same negative affects on me.
I will tell you what I’ve tried, but because contant traumatic things keep happening in my life, nothing has worked. Talk therapy, light therapy, sound therapy, reiki, meditation, meds, and last TMS which worked for 2 months for me. ❤️
Welcome, 🤝🙈🙉🙊I was diagnosed with PTSD yrs ago,
depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD,social anxiety.
( I don't talk 2 family .) they're triggers. I'm a sahm with 4 kids.My 1st will B 28 in May.My youngest is 11. 2girls/2boys.
@ 1 point I was exercising 4-6 hrs a day. & I'd run/jog, 3to7 miles daily.
It was 2 much. Did everything I could not 2 B on meds. 4 as long as I could 🙃. Ate nothing but healthy food. No sugar. Plenty of Water. Vitamins,
I was SO disciplined.That went on 4-5yrs.
Depression, PTSD, & anxiety was creeping back in my everyday , my ADHD was always bad .No one had the ❤️
2 tell me. Until it became unbearable.
I pushed myself 2 talk 2 a sychiatrist. I'm grateful 4 her. She's helpful. I don't " feel like a # ", with her.
started meds. 1 @ a time. After testing & continued therapy it took almost 2 yrs 2
Find the right meds 4 me.
2 anti-depressants, Hydroxyzine 4 anxiety ( non - habit forming) & ADHD med.
Tried many ADHD meds. That medicine was the toughest & took 13 months of " trial & error " 2 find.
Today im doing well. Everything's coming together. The struggle is real!😣 I have good days, bad days, atleast today I'm no longer in a painful, questionable state of mind.
I can process & have a life worth being a part of! There is no cure 4 PTSD I've read' enough books 2 figure that out.
I'm filtering it better than ever. Also not 2 shabby finding these groups. Everyone is nice & we R all in this together .~☕💫🤜🤛
I found EMDR very helpful in the past. I’ve just finished a course of CBT counselling for PTSD relapse since my parents died. It really helped. Good luck!
My recovery included CBT; EMDR; Trauma-Release Exercise; Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction; Self-Regulation Therapy; and a five year process of re-education to sort out the belief-system, tossing inaccurate beliefs for new beliefs that are more-accurate through which to interpret my life-experience. Reality, is-what-it-is; precisely as it is. I learned that much of my own triggering happens when reality isn't something that I want reality to be. Accepting what is, as it is: From there now I'm having an easier time thinking through how I can best CHOOSE to respond to whatever that reality might be. All of the above combined supported my recovery, leaving take-aways behind to add to the over-all tool-box. I can now enjoy remissions; and when I lose that, it's not taking as long to find my way back. I agree, and can support the truth; CBT at first challenged my belief-system in a way that hurt. There was much in the beginning that with CBT I unconsciously resisted, not wanting to accept that much of what I believed, was, in fact, false. I cheer for you that you're on the path. Be gentle with self. Relearning is hard work. Self-Compassion along the way (learning how to do that): Taught me how NOT to beat myself up when things go haywire and I end up again for a time off-the-rails. Be well. That is my wish for us all. To Be Well. Cheers.
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