CBT - Some Common sense

[timm]

Hi, long time anxiety sufferer here. Been on both sides of the psychology table - practitioner and consumer. Some people have bad reactions to drugs, some people go to therapists who do more harm than good. Everyone is unique.

Don't be paralyzed by fear-mongering when it comes to benzos or other meds. With my psych training, the hysteria was drilled into my head and it kept me from taking the right meds FOR ME for far too long. I've tried 5 SSRI's and 2 benzos. And the second Benzo helped; It's helped for years, and I never ended up as a junkie on the street, begging for my next fix of "crutch."

Psychologists aren't doctors. They can't dole out meds, so they have to knock them to keep themselves in a job. That doesn't mean that therapists don't serve a purpose. For some, they do. But do you notice how therapy is rarely, if ever referred to as a "crutch"? Hmmm...I know many people who have spent decades in therapy, bouncing from one therapist to the next. And if it helps them, I'm all for it. Do what gets you through, I say.

The best common sense advice I can give is remember that you are in control of what treatment you are comfortable with, and be suspicious of people who judge, scare or belittle you when you ask a question. Do they have an agenda? Don't let others take your ruby slippers away, even if you're feeling anxious. (Wizard of Oz reference, with the slippers being a metaphor for personal power) ;)

[Fasteel]

Timm

What was the 2nd Benzo that worked well for you? I'm trying to get my wife settled down after a bout for the last 2 weeks in hospital,
Thanks Greg

[timm]

Hi Greg,

Your wife should be under the care of a physician after having left the hospital.

I'm very sorry to hear about this difficult time, and I wish you the best.

[timm]

And if I could just add, I'm sorry if I'm sounding cold. It's a scary, vulnerable time when a loved one is hospitalized and I had posted a response, detailing what drug I was taking, and then I read it over and decided it was inappropriate and unfair, because comparing my situation to someone I don't know didn't seem right.

I guess the most responsible thing I could tell you is to not rule out benzos.

The one I didn't tolerate well, is probably the most common one people take, and you don't hear a lot of bad things about it, so my experience may not generalize well to others.

I do understand how scary these decisions can be though.

[timm]

Ok, I read one of your earlier posts and some of the meds she's on. I've been on a lot of them, actually.

The Ativan is the one I didn't tolerate well. Trazedone should make her really sleepy. I've been on that one too. I had forgotten about that one. I imagine she must be very drowsy from the combo. of meds.

I wish I could give you the right answer and fix everything. I really do. Keep reading, and hang in there. It could be a matter of backing off some of the drugs and replacing them with another eventually down the road. Like, to give perspective, when I had a list of bad experiences with drugs, it was over the period of years, not weeks. If there was some way to slow the process down...

[Fasteel]

Thanks Timm

I'm not looking for any kind of magic formula, but that current bunch of meds she is getting at the hospital is doing absolutely nothing for her in fact she feels far worse now than when she checked her self into the hospital.

I spoke at length with the attending psychiatrist this morning about the current meds the hospital has her on and this gal indicated that my wife should continue to be stoned out of her mind for another 4 weeks.? Unbelievable from our perspective.
We are scheduled for her first therapy session next Tuesday and an appointment with her shrink on wednesday. See what happens.
Thanks FS

[timm]

It is unbelievable, and can seem surreal for sure. Try not to forget about your own health in the meantime.

Remember to take some and leave some from the "experts" eh? Doctors as well as therapists. If it helps, I was told that Clonazepam was a relatively safe benzo to take over the long-term, and, for me, it did turn out to be safe, and allowed me to drop the other meds. It's maybe something to keep in mind for down the line. OH, and REALLY IMPORTANT, it was my family doctor who suggested this drug, and he knew my whole health history for years. I doubted him, at the time, because he wasn't a specialist, but then common sense reminded me that that he knew everything about me from my blood sugar levels, and family to what I look like naked. LOL (scary image) So, I thought, "Wait a minute, maybe I should give it a try."

I hope the therapy starts off on a great foot. Things will get easier.

[Beachgirl]

I agree about therapy being a crutch! But CBT teaches you to help yourself unlike traditional therapy. So you are in and out of it pretty quickly and if you use the exercises they help and if you don't they can't. The CBT book "Been there, done that? do this!" by sam obitz went beyond calling therapy a crutch and used the term "therapist junkie" calling himself one after using meds and therapists for years to no avail before learning CBT and getting himself better.

[rosey]

I have just recently started a course of CBT and the first thing I was told was that the principle goal is to help you to become your own therapist. To ensure that this happens as you become more confident in managing your anxiety independently the frequently of sessions is gradually reduced (from weekly, to fornightly, monthly, then follow ups after 3 & 6 months). That's far from trying to create a crutch I think. As I say, I have only just started but I was pretty impressed with this philosophy. The psychologist I am seeing works for The British CBT & Counselling Service, they are based in Richmond (Surrey) if that is close to anyone, so far I would definitely recommend trying them. Even if you do no more than look at their website, this is helpful.

[Robbed]

Psychologists aren't doctors. They can't dole out meds, so they have to knock them to keep themselves in a job.

Actually, I found quite the opposite to be true. Most of the therapists I ever saw actually pushed me REALLY hard to see a psychiatrist or GP in order to get on medication. I think that the thinking among these therapists was that medcation MIGHT make you feel better. And if you feel better, you might attribute at least some of it to the therapy and keep coming back. You see, recovery from anxiety is, by its very nature, slow. And most people want results NOW. If they aren't getting the results they want from a therapist, they will dump that therapist and move on. However, I have little faith in ANY therapist who considers taking medication to be necessary.