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How has CBT helped you?

I'm seriously considering having cognitive behavioural therapy because I haven't been coping as well as I'd like.
What are your experiences with CBT?

Reply 1

Kindred

Original post by Anonymous

I'm seriously considering having cognitive behavioural therapy because I haven't been coping as well as I'd like.
What are your experiences with CBT?

I had group CBT along with other types of therapy for OCD, Depression and Anxiety. I was at a bit of a crisis point when I had it and was not coping well.

I'll be honest, I don't really like therapy. I find it uncomfortable and a bit judgemental at times. That being said, I do think it helped.
I may not have appreciated it much at the time, but I think it has helped me to notice my signs of stress more easily and know better how to cope with it. I'm not sure how much it helped at the time, but i think it is helping now to prevent me getting back to that state and stop potential issues before they get out of hand.
I found it a lot better being in group therapy which supprises me. Rather than feeling like everybody was judging me i felt like I was in the same boat as everybody else and it wasn't all about me. I could just stay low if i didn't feel like contributing much that session. I think if nothing else it showed me that I wasn't alone and made me feel useful in helping others.
For me I was in a stage where I couldn't untangle what was real, what was in my head and how I was meant to react to any of it. It helped me get out of that mess even if just for a short while. I also ended up socialising with others in the same position outside of therapy which for me is quite a big deal as i'm not a social person.
I gues it also helped me to explain how I felt and what problems I had to others which really helped me feel less isolated and still manage to cope with socialising despite having odd behaviours which i usually hid because I was selfconsious. I think being open with people and coming out of my own head is what eventually helped me recover from most of it and I learnt to do that in therapy even if I didn't realise it at the time.

It's something I would deffinately try even if you don't think you will like it. I was supprised by my experience and at the end of the day if you don't like it you can just stop.

I hope you find something that works well for you and helps you start coping better :smile:

Reply 2

The_Lonely_Goatherd

I had CBT for 9 months on the NHS with a trainee psychologist. I wasn't too sure what to expect and was sometimes a bit sceptical of the work that we did in CBT, but ultimately I found it to be hugely beneficial. Even if I couldn't act on what I'd be taught, just the knowledge of what I'd been taught was quite illuminating (the whole unravelling thought processes thing). I used to suffer from mild-moderate social anxiety and it really has helped that so much :biggrin:

Less effective for my depression and psychosis but psychosis is hard to get rid of/stop :yes:

I'd really encourage you to go for it: I think everyone can benefit even in some small way from CBT if they really work hard at it and try to go in with an open mind and have a good therapist and are honest with said therapist :yes:

Reply 3

Anonymous #2

CBT helped me cope to some extent and how to act going forward but it only helped with anxiety and not completely either. I think you'll soon work out how much it'll work for you very quickly. They can only help you as much as you open up which is a double edged sword because I used to get anxiety over going to work and I never knew why so we couldn't really work through that.

I'm going to the doctors soon to try and get medication for depression and anxiety and I guess it's just too bad for me now.