Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

[PourMeAnotherOne]

Has anyone had this? I'm considering going to my GP to see if I can be referred to this.

I am not mentally ill as it were, but I'm suffering with anxiety that just seems to be getting worse. I need to kick start my brain, stop worrying all the time, stop beating myself up about everything in my life / personality. I just generally want to gain some confidence and learn how to handle things more calmly, more rationally etc.

Will this help me?

I'm doing it for anxiety, well OCD really, but it comes from anxiety. It's actually going well. It's definitely worth a go.

Yes, it very probably will! Well done for having the guts to address your anxiety.

I know there are plenty of mumsnetters who it hasn't worked well for. But in aggregate it does work well. I suspect, like everything, the quality of person doing it makes a massive difference.

Thanks. For me it's mainly wanting everything to be perfect and the minute I do something "imperfect" (which is all the time) such as mispronouncing a word in front of a colleague or thinking I've said something to someone even slightly offensive then that's it, I'm beating myself up and cringing for days. Always thinking the worst, always worrying about fucking everything. Always criticising and unable to accept literally anything about myself from appearance to personality to voice. What if what if what if etc. It's doing my head in.

Most people think I'm so confident...

I know there's no quick fix and only I can help me but I'd just love to be kinder to myself and relax a bit. I'm hoping something can help me with this and I've heard about CBT. I definitely don't want to go down the masking it all medication route.

CBT done well is amazing for the sort of thing you describe. It helps you fix the thinking errors. After about week 3 or 4 I could suddenly see that it was going to work because I could see the logic of where it was going. It's a great relief when it starts to kick in. I strongly recommend it.

Try reading dr Claire weeks self help for your nerves
Life changing book might save u having CBT for now xx

CBT is really good when done well and if you can commit to it. You have to do all the homework, no matter how stupid you think it is. It didn't work for me but I have bigger problems. I went for the anxiety and then realised that it was actually the least of my worries.

Think I'll give it a go

Yes, do try it. I've done it a couple of times over the years.

CBT is fantastic

I did a worksheet / exercise thing for what you’ve got which is titled “the mind bully” and basically says - you wouldn’t let someone externally speak to you like your mind bully does, so why do you listen to it? Then every time your mind bully takes over and say out loud “no thank you!” Or words to that effect. Feels loopy but actually very helpful!

Mind bully! That's it! It's locking me in a cage and telling me I'm not good enough to get out of it

Glad to help :)

Google it for more info but read this:

www.getselfhelp.co.uk/mindbully.htm