CBT Therapy books?

[Beachgirl]

Hi all!
I read the Sam Obitz book. And I agree it's a great read. I am attempting to do the Tea forms but I am unsure if I am
Doing them right...

Are the answers things that u actually feel or what u feel is right?
Are u supposed to think about the thought and dig into why u feel that way by asking question after question and then the answer by the answer to the root question or is it only a response to the initial though?
During the 20 mins a day do u go over the same thought of thoughts u have while
Sitting down? Or thoughts from the day before?
Sorry I am
Just confused on what to do
Thanks in advance for all help, and if chat is a better way to communicate I am
All
For it, I really wanna start helping myself
Pronto!
Lol
Thanks to all

Hi Tina,
Let me try and help. The Answers in the TEA forms are what is objective and realistic. For ex: if you have the thought 'blank is going to be horrible.' You would answer it with something like this: Chances are blank won't be horrible. Not many things are completely good or completely bad so it's highly probable blank will be a mixture of good and bad and my thniking it will be horrible only serves to make me feel anxious and miserable.
Obviously the more specific the thoughts the more specific your answers will be and the more helpful they will be in re-conditioning your brain to eliminate future anxieties.
Using the putting things back into perspective exercise is when you ask question after question to get at deeper thoughts to counter in the TEA forms.
I hope that helps?

[tinabeena]

Thanks it does, but also are the daily tea forms of thoughts from that day? Or thoughts from in general? Do u keep practicing the same teas form thoughts again and again? How do u know if you are doing them right? Will they help from depression as well? Sorry all the questions

[drksydeone]

Tina
I have also read SAMs book. It's fantastic. I do the t forms usually in the morning. Generally people with a and d tend to constantly have negative thinking habits and these thoughts left unchallenged are what starts the ball rolling into full blown attacks. I have seen great progress in my growth when I stick with them and notice that I can quickly fall back into old thinking habits when I don't. Stick with them and don't be so critical on yourself or the tea forms. Just do them. If you want to share some I would be glad to help you tighten them up. And absolutely I believe they help with depression. Action leads to motivation.

[Beachgirl]

Thanks it does, but also are the daily tea forms of thoughts from that day? Or thoughts from in general? Do u keep practicing the same teas form thoughts again and again? How do u know if you are doing them right? Will they help from depression as well? Sorry all the questions

I find that the TEA forms are most effective when you counter the inaccurate thoughts as you are troubled by them. But any thoughts you counter are helpful. The nature of our thoughts is that they are repetitive so it is not uncommon to be countering the same thoughts over and over again for a while. I found once I got a handle on my initial troubling thoughts they were replaced by others and then I worked on those. Even to this day I'll occasional have one of my original thoughts sneak back in, but they usually leave after one or two TEA forms on them.

[Beachgirl]

Tina
I have also read SAMs book. It's fantastic. I do the t forms usually in the morning. Generally people with a and d tend to constantly have negative thinking habits and these thoughts left unchallenged are what starts the ball rolling into full blown attacks. I have seen great progress in my growth when I stick with them and notice that I can quickly fall back into old thinking habits when I don't. Stick with them and don't be so critical on yourself or the tea forms. Just do them. If you want to share some I would be glad to help you tighten them up. And absolutely I believe they help with depression. Action leads to motivation.

Wow, nice post Drksydeone. Welcome to the board. I generally do my TEA forms right when I wake up and consistently doing them has helped me make them part of my routine and increased their value to me. I love your last part about action leading to motivation, that's awesome thx

[drksydeone]

Sam says that he always did his Tea forms in the morning but just doing them is progress. If we do them in the morning I couldn't agree with you more that we make it part of our routine or like Sam would say replacing a bad habit with a new better habit. Action leads to motivation which leads to more action is also from Sam so I can't take credit for it. Keep up the great work and keep tea forming. I notice how better I feel after doing them. Sam still does tea forms. He doesn't do them everyday but told me there is rarely a week that goes by where he hasn't done any. A few other great habits are making your bed each morning, wearing a counter so you can click all your accomplishments for the day, and drop the word should. About the counter, do tea forms mark it, make bed mark it, brush your teeth mark it and so on. He did it while he was overcoming his anxiety and depression. Anyway hope this helps. Have a great week.

[trackstar]

That's a lot of awesome input drksydeone. Where did you see Sam Obitz talk? I have only read his book (and swear by the exercises in it) but would love to see him speak in person. I don't post that often these days but welcome to the site, you have already added a new and valuable perspective! Love how positive and encouraging you are too.

[drksydeone]

Trackstar
After reading Sams book I felt that is exactly what I needed and wanted to contact him. I have worked with therapists before and always found myself not keeping with it or not getting much from it. I was really running around in circles. I knew I wanted to work with Sam so I contacted him and I told him my story. I wanted to learn from someone who has come through this first hand, so know I'm working with him and did in fact get to meet him on the west coast. One of the first things he said to me was if I knew the difference between stepping stones and stumbling blocks. I said no. He replied with "how we perceive them". How are you coming with the tea forms?? Keep me posted. I can help if you need it.

[trackstar]

Trackstar
After reading Sams book I felt that is exactly what I needed and wanted to contact him. I have worked with therapists before and always found myself not keeping with it or not getting much from it. I was really running around in circles. I knew I wanted to work with Sam so I contacted him and I told him my story. I wanted to learn from someone who has come through this first hand, so know I'm working with him and did in fact get to meet him on the west coast. One of the first things he said to me was if I knew the difference between stepping stones and stumbling blocks. I said no. He replied with "how we perceive them". How are you coming with the tea forms?? Keep me posted. I can help if you need it.

That's freaking awesome that you work with him directly drksydeone!!! I wish I knew it was that easy to work with him when I got started on my journey to recovery. Of course logistically I probably could not have worked it out anyway because he's in southern california right? He comes across well in his book, but is he a good guy in person or has he changed now that he's been better for years? I heard he speaks to groups regularly and I would really like to hear him speak sometime. I love the stepping stones and stumbling blocks quote thx for sharing it.
I also appreciate your offer to help me with the TEA forms, but I am pretty much fully recovered and just do the TEA forms for maintenance purposes now. Tell Sam you met a guy who really benefitted from his book and tries to turn others onto the TEA forms whenever possible
Take care, you are a great addition to the site and I'm sure your experiences will be helpful to a lot of people here!

[drksydeone]

Trackstar

I was kind of thinking to myself after rereading your earlier entry that you are recovered. Although you know what Sam would say you really never had anything to recover from only a bad thinking habit. I still fight him on that one. Anyway would love to hear your story where you found help and how you overcame your bad thinking habits. I have a feeling the tea forms really helped. Working with Sam took some doing. Had to submit in writing what I expect to get out of working with Sam. Had to jump through a few hoops, very much worth it. I do via telephone as I'm east coaster he's west coast. He tells me he sees a lot of himself in me which is a good thing. Anyway glad to hear you have picked up some new and better habits and still like to hear your story. Have a great week.