Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

[GeorgeandPeppa]

Has anyone had this and found it's worked for them?

I've got mild depression and anxiety, I'm not on any medication. I feel extremely overwhelmed and stressed about loads of things. Whenever something goes wrong, could be at work or something at school or nursery with the kids it feels like the end of the world. I'm highly sensitive to perceived criticism.

I have had a rough time of things which has set it all off.

When something bad happens I get very upset, don't cope well, it's all I can think about and it makes me feel physically ill.

Started my CBT today and it was positive but feels like a long road.

Has it helped anyone?

It did help me with some anxiety/phobias I had and for me it was just telephone based. It also worked really well for a friend of mine who had developed crippling social anxiety a few years back, to the point where she couldn't even leave the house. CBT helped her get back to normal functioning - although she can be bit shy/anxious meeting new people it's more like just a normal personality trait now rather than mental illness.

I do think you have to be fairly motivated to stick with CBT and also it's good if you are willing to try and adopt a positive outlook. A lot of it for me was about challenging negative thoughts, countering them with more positive ones.

I also think it's good to look at what might have triggered your difficulties, e.g. is anxiety something you've just developed over time that you're naturally inclined towards, or are there physical causes such as vitamin deficiency, thyroid issues, too much caffeine intake etc. Sometimes it can even be a mix of all of the above... I realised I'd gradually been drinking slightly more coffee and while it wasn't the root cause, sounds silly but I don't think this helped with the anxiety.

Good luck, I hope it goes well Well done for getting help.