Has anybody tried Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

[GettinTrimmer]

If so, did it help? I need help to become confident.

thanks in advance for any replies!

yes - know lots of people using it and all really impressed.

yes I have had it for anxiety/stress. I couldn't take any meds as 6 wks preg when I had a bit of a breakdown. I'd got so stressed that I wasn't thinking straight and everything seemed 10 times worse than it actually was. CBT helped me breakdown that cycle of thinking and rationalise my fears and anxieties so that they were managable. I still use it now when I can feel myself getting my knickers in a twist about something, and it definatly helps me stay on track.

Yes - in combination with meds and it worked really well for me.

It helped me to turn negative thought patterns into more positive/realistic ones.

I found it really hard work and emotionally draining but so worth it.

Thanks for replies. I did go to one session, last night, I am practising already telling myself I can be successful.

Living/10pounds to go - did the counsellor delve into anything in your pasts that was causing the problems?

That sounds positive!

My CBT focused purely on the here and now - the negative thoughts and how to change their course. There was no deep examination of my past really.

But I do remember doing lots of searching for evidence. For example with the negative thought: 'I'm a failure', I listed all the 'for' and 'against' and then had evidence that this negative thought pattern wasn't grounded in reality. So this did require me to examine my past a bit.

That sounds good Living. I know that feeling of being a failure

I've had it before and it helped me. I also used to work in a special needs centre who used it a lot on the kids as well, teaching new ways to learn and different ways of approaching new things.

Once you're in the habit of examing the positive things about yourself, about everyone else, about your actions etc then they become second nature, you get better at it the more you do it. It can feel a little forced at first but that doesn't matter - keep going and it will help.