anyone having or had CBT? Exposure therapy? just have some questions

[anniebear]

First of all.....uggghh its horrible!

secondly what if it doesnt work? what next or is that it?

thirdly, I am really struggling with the time it takes to do at home..I have 2 children one with special needs whom takes up all my time and doesnt leave me alone

and lastly, I am worried as I have got to listen to my worst fear again and again for 30mins (30mins at the mo) I am worried its going to have an effect on how I am feeling in general. I have already found myself going through things in my head , worrying about them and imagining them. whereas I hadn't been doing it as much

Hope that makes sense!! and thanks in advance for any help :)

It's pretty gruelling but it does work. It does tend to make you worse before you're better which is no joke. Have you any additional support at this difficult time? My fears were all about horrendously morbid things that were technically very possible and it does ratchet your anxiety up. The idea is your hierarchy should be set up so that it is challenging but not undoable in terms of your mood/anxiety levels.

It's very tough. It seems like a lifetime to me I had to recite those nasty gruesome stories daily. It's hard to have faith when doubt is the essence of your suffering but stick at it, it is worth it to be free.

Also mindfulness helps to deal with the fear..

Thanks so much. So hard as its all to do with my daughter who has a disability, the imagining again and again seems oretty torturish

what additional support do you mean?

Thats the other thing I struggle with, Yes I know the chances of the things happening are not huge, but they are still real and could happen.

hate all the morbid worries and thoughts :( thank you so for much replying xxxx

I had exposure therapy to deal with a phobia and it really worked. I had 8 individual sessions, not group therapy, I was offered the choice.
The homework took about 15 mins every day because I chose a time I could really concentrate on it. Probably would have taken longer otherwise.
I had to wait a year to have it on the NHS but it worked very well and was worth the wait. Good luck with yours.

Thanks. I , fortuantly didnt have to wait , the 30 to 60 mins a day is impossible! I start nodding off haha

Tell the therapist because they really want to work with you. Let him/her know you are really committed but you can only manage 20 mins a day (or whatever) and they will probably come up with something more workable.

Support to find time to do it e.g. someone who can take care of the children etc, a partner/family member/friend?

How old is your dd? Are your anxieties or obsessions health related/specific to her disability?

I think you need a very compassionate approach. Coming to terms with a child's disability is huge, beyond huge. While imaginable exposure is very effective for obsessions, I think where there are fears of real loss or harm that, while small, are possible this has to be addressed too.

Mindfulness and compassion based approaches can help you learn to live and live well with small realistic fears that would be catastrophic if they happened. It may be unrealistic to eradicate some fears but you can get great distances and the daily suffering can reduce.

Russ Harris wrote a book called The Reality Slap which is based on acceptance and commitment therapy which is a mindful cbt approach. He's written a few of these but this one might be relevant to you as it was written partially in response to his own experiences with coming to terms with his son's autism. It's in the kindle summer sale for a few quid right now. If you haven't a kindle you can download the app for pc or smartphone.

Ps you can do both... keep at your exposure too!!!

thanks, daughter is nearly 12. I have found out its all related to her. what happens if we are not here and she goes in a home and is mistreated :( so Im struggling to go out in the car with family members in case we crash, even struggle to go too far with hubby and myself as she will have nobody. shes a twin, they could be split . etc

I did tell her its pretty impossible, so instead of 30/60 mins daily we are trying for 30 mins 4 times a week

she said I hav e a generalised anxiety disorder, but with the intrusive thougts and the worries about my health I also have some OCD and health anxiety, but hopefully these will will ease with the treatments also

thanks so much, will take a look at the book

thank you xx