Anyone Else Have Trouble Implementing CBT Therapy?

Hi:

 

I've been on CBT Therapy for about 8 months with an extremely reputable psychologist/specialist, as I know it will play an increasing role in managing my anxiety as a I taper off Valium (both during and afterwards).  Nevertheless, I've continued having trouble implementing it, especially pushing back against negative thoughts.

 

I was wondering if there was anyone else who had the same experience.  How did you handle it to make your CBT more successful?  Were there other types of therapies that you tried and found more helpful?  Any books that were able to help you make it really work?

 

I do mindfulness meditation and find that helpful when I can concentrate, but there's only so much meditation one can do in a day.

 

Thanks for your insight!

I tried CBT therapy, but I didn't get a lot out of it. For one thing, the therapist wanted me on an AD, and I refused. He also didn't understand a thing about benzos. I was wishing for too much from him. So I quit that. Then I went to EMDR. That was also not the best for me.

 

I bought some CDs for an online course called Dynamic Neural Retraining. But I started getting anxious form the exercises. There are a lot of things to follow through on, and I wasn't ready to do that because my brain wasn't working right.

 

Then I went to regular therapy. I had a lot of medical trauma that I wanted to work through, and the practitioner was good with that, but then I started talking about benzos again, which was a mistake because, again, she didn't understand much. I ended up leaving there.

 

Now I've thought of doing CBT again. Maybe I'm more realistic now. But I haven't taken the step of finding a therapist. I've also thought of getting in touch with Dr. Jennifer Leigh, who knows all about the benzo experience. But I haven't done that yet.

 

I also tried hypnosis. Unfortunately, after I finished the program, I was trying to deal with an awful drug allergy and forgot all about listening to the audio he gave me. I want to start on that again.

 

My brother-in-law, who had been in benzo withdrawal/recovery, read The Worry Cure and did a lot of the exercises in there. He also went to a really wonderful therapist for CBT. I think it does make a difference what therapist you use.

 

I think a person has to have continued focus to do the exercises. As of yet, my focus is still off. And as soon as I get into a wave or have a lot of symptoms, I shift my focus to that and forget all about doing whatever it is that I was doing before.

 

GOOD LUCK!!!

I tried CBT therapy, but I didn't get a lot out of it. For one thing, the therapist wanted me on an AD, and I refused. He also didn't understand a thing about benzos. I was wishing for too much from him. So I quit that. Then I went to EMDR. That was also not the best for me.

 

I bought some CDs for an online course called Dynamic Neural Retraining. But I started getting anxious form the exercises. There are a lot of things to follow through on, and I wasn't ready to do that because my brain wasn't working right.

 

Then I went to regular therapy. I had a lot of medical trauma that I wanted to work through, and the practitioner was good with that, but then I started talking about benzos again, which was a mistake because, again, she didn't understand much. I ended up leaving there.

 

Now I've thought of doing CBT again. Maybe I'm more realistic now. But I haven't taken the step of finding a therapist. I've also thought of getting in touch with Dr. Jennifer Leigh, who knows all about the benzo experience. But I haven't done that yet.

 

I also tried hypnosis. Unfortunately, after I finished the program, I was trying to deal with an awful drug allergy and forgot all about listening to the audio he gave me. I want to start on that again.

 

My brother-in-law, who had been in benzo withdrawal/recovery, read The Worry Cure and did a lot of the exercises in there. He also went to a really wonderful therapist for CBT. I think it does make a difference what therapist you use.

 

I think a person has to have continued focus to do the exercises. As of yet, my focus is still off. And as soon as I get into a wave or have a lot of symptoms, I shift my focus to that and forget all about doing whatever it is that I was doing before.

 

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Terry:

 

Thanks for your thoughtful post.  Funny enough, my therapist is actually the one who wrote the Worry Cure!

 

I think it does come down to focus and motivation at the end.  And I, like you, am struggling with the focus part as well.

 

Good luck to you as well in your journey!

Thank you! And I agree, focus is key to being able to implement changes.

 

Wow, the author of The Worry Cure! Very interesting!

Oh boy I can relate to this one!

 

I have done so many CBT session I stop counting.  It work so well for patient in general I started to think something was wrong with me.

 

The last I have done was a group therapy, my response to it was very different that other patients.  The therapist told me that with my type of OCD, PTSD therapy works better.  I tried and it was a big difference for me.  I did not even know I had PTSD.

 

I am not saying that PTSD is the therapy you need, but maybe along the way you will find a clue that will bring you to something that works better for you.  In some cases CBT is harder to implement for certain people and your not alone.  Maybe it will take more time, but your not alone.

 

 

Wishing you the best

Oh boy I can relate to this one!

 

I have done so many CBT session I stop counting.  It work so well for patient in general I started to think something was wrong with me.

 

The last I have done was a group therapy, my response to it was very different that other patients.  The therapist told me that with my type of OCD, PTSD therapy works better.  I tried and it was a big difference for me.  I did not even know I had PTSD.

 

I am not saying that PTSD is the therapy you need, but maybe along the way you will find a clue that will bring you to something that works better for you.  In some cases CBT is harder to implement for certain people and your not alone.  Maybe it will take more time, but your not alone.

 

Wishing you the best

 

Alicia:

 

Thanks for your insight!  I have an unusual variant of what may be OCD with extremely frequent (sometimes almost nonstop) obsessive intense/intrusive ruminations about perfectionism and unrealistic catastrophic thoughts about failure (but without the traditional checking, cleaning, etc. habits).  So your suggestion may be very helpful.  I will talk with my therapist about it.

 

Wishing you the best as well.

Well mine is perfectionist and ruminations too, with catastrophic thoughts and no counting or cleaning but obsession of symmetry in my house but no were else.

 

And exemple of catastrophic though:

 

English is not my first language and in one of the post I did yesterday, I made a mistake and forgot a word. When I red it after it kinda look bad, so it started a cycle

-people are going to report me for that and I no longer will be allowed on the site

- my friends and family will learn that I have been report on a help site and they no longer will want to speak to me

- i wont have anymore support and will be alone

- since I don’t have any support I won’t be able to take it, I will loose my job and die alone

 

Does it sounds familiar???

 

Hope your therapist can help you find your way, will pray for you

Yes, I can relate. Anxiety is my number one symptom. I am finding it very hard to keep under control. I have tried CBT and mindfulness and see a therapist. For me, I know as soon as I open my eyes in the morning how the day will be. Yesterday was good, but usually I wake up to the feeling of crippling anxiety. I hope you'll have better luck!

I am so sorry you have to go through  this , :-(

 

Sometimes I feel it's not fair but we don't live in a fair world.

 

Me I don't know when I wake up what type of day it's going to be, but it can be a nice day, then in a second it flips and turn into big anxiety, like if I am afraid that the good day will go away and because of that I am getting anxious and  then it switch to a bad day, oh boy!

 

I never understood why CBT didn't worked, but I feel like I was missing a tool that I needed before the therapy.

 

I hope today is a good day for you, if not I sent you all my prayers

CBT is an effective tool to have in your repertoire. As you're saying it is really challenging to implement, especially when we're in the throes of stress and anxiety.  It doesn't help to get frustrated with ourselves for not being good enough at it!  I think we're most likely to benefit by practicing it very gently, one small step at a time. 

 

My therapist gave me a really good image a few years ago - you're going for a walk in the woods; you see the well beaten path you usually take; instead of taking it you decide to start a new path with a sense of curiosity and soon enough you have forged a new path.  Obviously, the new path represents not going down the path of your usual favorite cognitive distortions.  Easier said than done, but again, taking one small step at a time.

 

It might be worth asking your therapist about ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.  It was developed as sort of the next generation of treatment after CBT.  It works hand in glove with mindfulness/meditation and as the name connotes, it builds on the idea of acceptance as opposed to resisting our old friend anxiety.  Definitely worth exploring. 

I highly recommend the book The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety by Forsyth and Eifert.

For guided meditation, I love Headspace.

 

Wishing you healing and relief.

 

 

CBT is an effective tool to have in your repertoire. As you're saying it is really challenging to implement...

 

YES - this can be an effective tool for many people. For some of us it's a "Mileage may Vary".

 

Years ago for a few months a new (to me) therapist tried to implement CBT. I couldn't get past the "Yeah, right. Now tell me about the tooth fairy"... Now that's just 'meh', for all the world it sounded like trying to believe in Santa Claus again. That was 20+ yr ago, the CBT process may have evolved since.

 

An excellent, very effective Therapist tried EMDR. I couldn't get past the "touchy" part, allowing earphones on my head. So he went to a more experience and cope aproach - that DID work well.

 

SOME of the "elements" of CBT (back then) such as "Thought blocking" and "pull out the bad tape, cue up the good" are still useful now.

 

It's VERY much a "Different courses for different horses" journey.

 

Hoping it works for you 

 

PS - I have Autism. Probably why my mind "couldn't get" CBT, EMDR, Hypnosis, etc. It's VERY likely other folks get some good results

very useful information!

 

Much appreciate!

Many CBT therapists go to ‘weekend’ courses to learn it.  My own therapist told me so.  I feel it has to do with the way the teach it.  The BEST CBT based experience I’ve had, and it saved my life, was attending free weekly meetings of Recoveryinternational.org.  They have helped millions of people.  I was fortunate to attend a live meeting locally but you have to check to see if there are any around you. If not, they have online meetings almost daily. Check the website.  I feel ‘live’ is much better but it depends whether you have one locally.  Meetings are FREE. 

 

This is not religiously based at all.  It IS CBT based but this method was created in the 1940’s by a neuro-psychiatrist, Dr. Abram Low.  What therapists teach now is a watered down bunch of garbage in my opinion.  I’ve not had one person report benefit from it by a therapist but I have known mANY people to recover using Recovery International.  I don’t think you will have any troulble implementing their method. 

The BEST CBT based experience I’ve had, and it saved my life, was attending free weekly meetings of Recoveryinternational.org.  They have helped millions of people.  I was fortunate to attend a live meeting locally but you have to check to see if there are any around you. If not, they have online meetings almost daily.

 

AHA!!! So there's a reason I couldn't go along with what sounded like a "Hat-full of Hype"!

 

THANK YOU for this excellent info and the valid source. They're not "Live" in my State (TN) and probably noplace near my rural end (truck has about a 30 mi round trip limit) - but some websites don't work with my security settings.

 

I'll look around at the REAL DEAL.

 

Thanks Again

LC

Well mine is perfectionist and ruminations too, with catastrophic thoughts and no counting or cleaning but obsession of symmetry in my house but no were else.

 

And exemple of catastrophic though:

 

English is not my first language and in one of the post I did yesterday, I made a mistake and forgot a word. When I red it after it kinda look bad, so it started a cycle

-people are going to report me for that and I no longer will be allowed on the site

- my friends and family will learn that I have been report on a help site and they no longer will want to speak to me

- i wont have anymore support and will be alone

- since I don’t have any support I won’t be able to take it, I will loose my job and die alone

 

Does it sounds familiar???

 

Hope your therapist can help you find your way, will pray for you

 

Yes!  Exactly!  This is exactly what rumination and intrusive thoughts what catastrophization feels like.  Thank you for sharing.  It helps to know one is not alone in this journey.  Praying for your recovery as well.

CBT is an effective tool to have in your repertoire. As you're saying it is really challenging to implement...

 

YES - this can be an effective tool for many people. For some of us it's a "Mileage may Vary".

 

Years ago for a few months a new (to me) therapist tried to implement CBT. I couldn't get past the "Yeah, right. Now tell me about the tooth fairy"... Now that's just 'meh', for all the world it sounded like trying to believe in Santa Claus again. That was 20+ yr ago, the CBT process may have evolved since.

 

An excellent, very effective Therapist tried EMDR. I couldn't get past the "touchy" part, allowing earphones on my head. So he went to a more experience and cope aproach - that DID work well.

 

SOME of the "elements" of CBT (back then) such as "Thought blocking" and "pull out the bad tape, cue up the good" are still useful now.

 

It's VERY much a "Different courses for different horses" journey.

 

Hoping it works for you 

 

PS - I have Autism. Probably why my mind "couldn't get" CBT, EMDR, Hypnosis, etc. It's VERY likely other folks get some good results

 

Open to trying anything.  Do you have more info on the modified version of EMDR (cope/experience) that you used?  Thank you for your insight.

CBT is an effective tool to have in your repertoire. As you're saying it is really challenging to implement, especially when we're in the throes of stress and anxiety.  It doesn't help to get frustrated with ourselves for not being good enough at it!  I think we're most likely to benefit by practicing it very gently, one small step at a time. 

 

My therapist gave me a really good image a few years ago - you're going for a walk in the woods; you see the well beaten path you usually take; instead of taking it you decide to start a new path with a sense of curiosity and soon enough you have forged a new path.  Obviously, the new path represents not going down the path of your usual favorite cognitive distortions.  Easier said than done, but again, taking one small step at a time.

 

It might be worth asking your therapist about ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.  It was developed as sort of the next generation of treatment after CBT.  It works hand in glove with mindfulness/meditation and as the name connotes, it builds on the idea of acceptance as opposed to resisting our old friend anxiety.  Definitely worth exploring. 

I highly recommend the book The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety by Forsyth and Eifert.

For guided meditation, I love Headspace.

 

Wishing you healing and relief.

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply.  I'll definitely speak with my therapist about ACT.  Headspace is basically my most used phone app at this point.  I've completed essentially every course they offer related to anxiety, depression, etc. and am doing them for a second time.

Hey Guys,

 

    CBT is helping me.  I basically just change the channel in my MIND (NOT EASY) and when bad thoughts try to come back, I DETERMINEDLY go back to the thoughts/memories I PREFER even if I have to do it a THOUSAND TIMES!  I'm GOING TO WIN!  We cannot control these darn Benzos but we CAN control our minds and even GUARD THEM!  It's NOT EASY.....  You still fear some fear ...some anxiety/worry when a bad sxs hits and feel as if you could CRAWL out of your skin.  BUT, if you keep practicing you begin to gain more and more control each time you practice it.  And the sxs don't go away right away, can take months........yes, months.  But with practice it goes away little by little and you gain control over the worst sxs.  Yes, you still feel fear........but you don't LET it MASTER you.......you are controlling how you react to it.  That's the TICKET, that's the secret and that's the Ultimate Victory over it.

 

    Also, I listen to stuff when it gets really difficult that I know encourages and calms me.  Most nights I don't listen to stuff, but some nights are more difficult than others and even that does not calm me, so I work the thoughts in my Mind to gain control back again with thoughts that inspire me, visuals that encourage me and make me smile.  Also, if I have to get an ice pad on my head, that helps too and even a heating pad on the core of my body helps too.  Whatever you can use to feel comfort.

 

  Some nights I am awake all night.......more often than I'd like, but I still do CBT to get through the night.  Thinking of ourselves as "Victims" is the very worst thing we can do.

I think ahead of when I will be off this and on my way to restoration.  That helps me a bunch.

 

    Hope this helped someone.

My understanding of CBT is it is challenging the beliefs that you have.  However, I had a really hard time figuring out what that even meant.  Like, my therapist would keeps asking me if I believed all kinds of weird stuff and I'm like "no", but my feelings and actions might say otherwise, but it all was a big messy blob to me.  Then she told me to write all my thoughts down.  That did not help at all.  I have pages upon pages of "I feel awful.  I'm in pain. Everything hurts.  People are being mean to me."  Etc...None of that helped either. 

 

But now,  I am a year out.  I finally understand what the whole challenging belief thing is, and honestly, I could not access those types of thoughts while on benzos.  It was as if the benzos silenced or muted my inner voice. Which, I guess it makes sense that it would help anxiety. That was the little voice that would say things like, "This doesn't look safe!"  or "Remember what happened last time!" .  But it turns out, without this voice, I feel like I was just running around with no idea how to direct myself.  I look back and honestly, I am very upset that I was on these drugs and couldn't hear my own thoughts.  Without that voice, I don't feel like I was truly a whole person, or truly me. 

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