MainerMikeBrown
08-06-2011, 09:59 AM
Hi, this is my first post.
I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I had to deal with terrible anxieties in situations where there was little to be afraid of.
However, when others (such as therapists and friends) would try to reason with me about why I should calm down, and when I'd attempt to reason with myself, it helped very little.
Psychotherapy requires that the client be at least a somewhat reasonable person. But I was. So why wasn't talk therapy helping?
I now realize that the problem was, at that time, while I was a reasonable person, my brain chemistry wasn't. So I'd get panicky because certain situations would remind my brain of situations where I was in danger back then, and I'd get very nervous as a result, even though intellectually I was aware that there was no current danger.
Now that I'm on the right meds, I can now reason with myself and calm myself down when my anxieties get a little out of proportion with the situation. And therapists can do the same. The medications made me ready for talk therapy.
So for many, getting on pills that work for them is needed first. So for those who suffer from uncontrollable anxieties, don't give up.
I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I had to deal with terrible anxieties in situations where there was little to be afraid of.
However, when others (such as therapists and friends) would try to reason with me about why I should calm down, and when I'd attempt to reason with myself, it helped very little.
Psychotherapy requires that the client be at least a somewhat reasonable person. But I was. So why wasn't talk therapy helping?
I now realize that the problem was, at that time, while I was a reasonable person, my brain chemistry wasn't. So I'd get panicky because certain situations would remind my brain of situations where I was in danger back then, and I'd get very nervous as a result, even though intellectually I was aware that there was no current danger.
Now that I'm on the right meds, I can now reason with myself and calm myself down when my anxieties get a little out of proportion with the situation. And therapists can do the same. The medications made me ready for talk therapy.
So for many, getting on pills that work for them is needed first. So for those who suffer from uncontrollable anxieties, don't give up.