Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

[Delusion]

So who has had it? And are there any success stories?

I've been off medication for 1 year and I'm crashing again. Its been creeping up on me slowly ive been on a steady phase for 5 months now, before that 3 years of constant lows, before that always chaotic cycling. Its been coming back and I've been sliding, off the wall one minute, crying shaking in the corner the next. Nothing like my teenage years but severe enough to **** my life up quite spectacularly again. The psychosis never really goes away it only goes dormant when you dont entertain it. Its a heart breaking thing gaining the realisation that you are often completely paralysed with delusions that you believe so much are real or true. Only after you've been okay for a long time do you look back and realise what they were. For me they have always been paranoia always to do with friends and people I meet. Its starting to cripple all of my relationships again. Medication wont fix it, it never has done. I've passed up CBT so many times in the past. But maybe it'll help. I want to change and CBT requires your desire to want to change. My girlfriend doesnt talk to me all day I am asked why? I will probally say she hates me, shes seeing someone else, shes ditched me for friends, I bore her, I embarress her. What will the therapist do? Maybe shes asleep, maybe shes busy with work, maybe shes upset too, maybe her phone has died. Optimistic wild guesses rather than negative ones. All fine but would enough repetition of that ******** really change my thought patterns if deep down I dont want them to change? Not wanting to change isnt the problem, being wrong and being used is the problem. Something happens in which there are are multiple likely positive reasons or 1 highly unlikely negative reason I seem to always pick the negative. Simply because I know if I picked the positive and I'm wrong I will feel so weak, trusting and gullible.

I need a success story or 2. Tomorrow I'm going to book an appointment with my doctor, I likely wont be able to see her for 2 weeks and who knows where I'll be then. Probally alive though, hey not all negative after all. I want to bring up CBT with her instead of medication and this time I dont want to dismiss it.

[29sillygirl]

Linda's description of the way CBT helped her to rethink her situation with husband is a perfect example of how it works.  

My caution is same as Linda's....CBT alone without medication might not have the desired effect.  

CBT is work; focuses on the now...not what happened in childhood.  You are often given 'homework'.....I recall being given a sheet of paper to list my accomplishments after anal cancer treatment when I was feeling low.

My thoughts were such that I forgot surviving the cancer was an accomplishment.  I remember the therapist looking at my homework and passing it back to me, asking 'what have you forgotten?'.  So it works like Linda said....distorted thought in my case was that I had an odd sense of achievement.  Hah...I thought getting a college degree while in my 40s and working until I was 70 was it.  

You can expect a good therapist to catch offhand comments you may make and challenge your thinking.  So it is work....but with a huge payoff.

[lindahand]

CBT deals with disortions in thought. If you can replace a distortion with something healthier that is CBT.

For example I wasn't inviting my husband to pdoc appointments because I didn't want to over burden him - so I thought. After talking about it with the therapist we came to the conclusion that I didn't want to invite my husband to come with me to psychiatrist appointments because I was scared that he would leave me like my first husband did. Cognitive disortion. We went through what evidence there was that he would leave - none - and what evidence there was that he would be okay - he said he would support me whatever way he could. He's asked how he can help, etc. (I've got the world's best husband so I am really lucky). At the end of it I realised that I could ask him to come to psychiatrists appointments with me. I gained a support I had cut off due to a cognitive distortion.

I still have a lot of distortions to work on. lol. But at least one was cleared up. It isn't a panacea, but it legitimately helps. I think it would work best in combination with meds. I think if you are too unstable it may be too hard to have the thought processes for it to work - but I could be wrong.