Does anyone know anything about cognitive behavioral therapy?

[lightningandsnow]

Does it work for anxiety? I'm thinking of looking into it, but at this rate, I'm not particularly hopeful that it'll pan out.

By the way, can I just say that the fact that you need referral from a family doctor for most anxiety treatment programs is completely stupid? A lot of them don't seem to know much about mental health, and I'm pretty sure mine either a) never got my (psych) paperwork b) lost it or c) never bothered to actually look at it.

ARRRGH.

At this rate, I'm pretty much convinced I'm destined to be a nervous wreck for the rest of my life. >_>

[Giant Robot]

1. More than I care to

I know the treatment end of it, not the being a client end of it, so my view may be biased.

It has been around a while, and there is a lot of good research that says it is helpful at treating things like anxiety and depression. it is a very dynamic form of therapy that will work to identify what thoughts and beliefs you have that are aiding the anxiety and work with you to stop them and change them. It involves a lot of work on the client's part, in my opinion, and homework is frequently given by the therapist.

The focus of this is symptom reduction, so you will basically tell them what is wrong and they will work with you on making whatever that is better. If you are looking for a therapy where you can talk about how your mother raised you, and potty training when you were a toddler, this ain't it.

I think this will be a good thing for you if you can find a good practitioner. This is widely used and like I said there is a lot of evidence to say this really works. Message me if you ever want to check anything out. Good luck!

[Bossy Monkey]

2. Recommend reading this, or anything by Seligman

http://www.amazon.com/Learned-Optimism-Change-Your-Mind/dp/0671019112
It should be in most public libraries (anyway, it's in ours). Good luck to you. I actually wrote Seligman and he wrote back, recommending a local practitioner. I wound up seeing somebody else, in fact a few somebodies. Down the line, I found out that I'm celiac, and all my anxiety disorders melted away. I hope that somehow you find such a simple solution, too, or at any rate peace by whatever means.

[BarenakedLady]

3. Yeah

I did it last year with my therapist, which she specialized in for my General/Social Anxiety. It's a lot of work. I think retraining your thought process is helpful, but you really have to make a commitment to it. It doesn't happen overnight. We worked on little things at first. I really hated role-playing. I gave up on it after awhile. When my depression got better (with meds), I found my anxiety started getting less and less. I was able to go back to college (which was a HUGE anxiety issue for me in the past). I'm still shy and reserved around new people, but I don't have all those negative thoughts anymore. Well, that's a lie, I still do but I can recognize them for what they are and deal with it better. Somethings are still a struggle for me, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be.

Good luck.

[Shakespeare]

4. Yes. It saved my life (major depression).

I'm one of the rare people for whom anti-depression meds just didn't work. My doc then tried cognitive therapy (several, several years ago), and thank god that DID work.

It takes a lot of work on your part, but the results potentially can be very, very good. I wish you much luck with this.

[Metta]

5. It's good stuff and works well with meditation.

Plenty of those around. Simple ones that refocus your attention. Energy follows attention, as I suspect you know.