Cbt

[sharacel91]

So I have been ref by my doctor for CBT... Please can some one explain to me what this is? And has it help? I have health anxiety as well as anxiety when I go in places I don't know and crowds of people. Thanks!

[M.C]

I m almost at the end of my CBT course but it didn't do any miracles for me
There is a little bit of improvement but not full recovery from the anxiety
It basically teaches you techniques on how to deal with your anxiety thoughts and physical sensations
Such as deep breathing relaxation meditation postponing your negative thoughts or thought suppression ( block any negative thought and think about something else) or embrace your thoughts and sensations and jus let them pass without any resistance
I could not do the last one as it was hard for me to just accept my physical symptoms as they were anxiety
Next month she s going to refer me to something called mindfulness so I m looking forward to that
She told me that here in the UK anxiety was always looked at as thoughts and behaviour matter that s why CBT is the best treatment
But now the NHS introduced the mindfulness course ( it has a technical name I can't remember it) to deal with the emotional part of the anxiety
So give it a go it might work for you

[majored]

I started CBT last year. I would say i do have some improvement on my anxiety. Its still there----- but they do listen to my problems and worries. They have to keep reminding me that im not a mind reader or a fortune teller. Because i keep thinking i know whats wrong with me and i know its bad. As mentioned by M.C they try and retrain your thoughts to stop you thinking in a negative way. At the end what have you got to loose, thats why i gave it a bash. I had to tell myself i dont want to be like this forever. I dont like doing new things or do i like doing things on my own but i have done managed to do it. I go once a week for a hour.

Take care

[raggamuffin]

That's interesting. For me CBT couldn't fully begin until I did truly accept the symptoms as anxiety. She said to me there was no point in continuing CBT until you fully accept the symptoms as anxiety. Otherwise everything else taught is basically wasted knowledge. That is the first and hardest step. Some people can never truly accept the pains and symptoms they get are all due to anxiety. Several months after finishing my CBT i'm slipping back into bad habits again. Not really rationalizing symptoms I get.

I keep asking myself why am I getting the symptoms daily once more but I think I'm not as anxiety free as i'd like to believe. Past few weeks I've felt fuzzy headed, dizzy, nauseous and just a little off. Even though I tell yself it is anxiety i'm not sure if I fully believe it. I'm back into the bad habit of waking up and then asking when is a symptom going to come. When it comes along I fixate on it and the symptoms tend to stay put from there.

I know that the more worry and fear you bestow on symptoms the worse it gets. I also know when I keep busy or i'm fully engaged in something the symptoms fade or disappear. I may well go back to CBT. She said I can reutrn whenever I wish. Sometimes it's hard to be 100% honest wiht a therapist. We want results so quick and don't want to fail.

I would say it's better than visiting a dr. That can become addictive and often the reassurance seems less and less effective. Probably best to get a full checkup, describe the symptoms and try CBT after that. But as I said before, it's acceptance which is the true challenge.

I like the example given in the book "A Life At Last" by Paul Brian. Where he says that if you broke your leg you wouldnt be forever searching for cures or pestering dr's or googling symptoms etc. You'd realize your body would need time to heal and you would do your best to get by day to day even though there'd be pain and discomfort. The same mentality should be put in place for anxiety. However that is much harder I fear because the symptoms can be so varied.

Ed

[M.C]

I think it s all about acceptance

If you can master that then you are anxiety free
We all need a moderate level of anxiety to live in this world otherwise we will not react to danger
However we hypochondriac people we have excessive level of anxiety that s why we re struggling
we lost(or may it s there somewhere) the sense of
Rationalising with our thoughts feelings and sensations
They intimidate us every time and convince us that it must be a serious disease when it s nothing
I think we should stop sitting there miserably listening to whatever our mind is dictating and do something
Break out, say 'enough!' Fight and take absolute control

[raggamuffin]

It's very true. We can empower ourselves by living our lives. The symptoms and pains etc needn't have power over us. Yes they can be very scary but you have to say "enough is enough" and get out there and live day to day. See friends, go to movies, get out of your comfort zone and teach yourself once again to do the past times you enjoyed. Get back the life you keep thinking or convincing yourself that anxiety has taken from you.

Anxiety feeds off the fear and worry. Whilst you can't change over night and there's no instant cure. By practicing a more positive attitude and doing your best to get better and keep busy you can start to feel normality return to your life. your body wants to heal after all. It's the mind that's convincing you that something is wrong. The body gives out these symptoms to say it's stressed etc. Do the right thing, let the symptoms come and go. They can't be fought and they shouldn't be feared. In time your mind and body will heal.

Ed