CBT- How long for the benefits

jimbob29

I have been suffering from a lot of panic attacks lately and went for CBT the other day. I felt it went well but i still feel panicky. How long will it take before i start to feel the benefits?

ordinary_girl

It'll take a few more sessions before you start to notice any major effects. It's important that you know your panic won't go instantly, it takes a while and the progession is gradual. Have you started the breathing or muscle relaxing exercises yet?

Considering it's only your first session you still have a while to go yet, but believe me it's worth it. It took me roughly three weeks for my panic levels to go down while getting CBT, but everyone's different.

jimbob29

I've started the breathing excercise allright, find them hard to follow though as in how often i do them, must go into them in more detail in my next session.

Zen65

jimbob29 wrote: »

I have been suffering from a lot of panic attacks lately and went for CBT the other day. I felt it went well but i still feel panicky. How long will it take before i start to feel the benefits?

It takes a while to change your ways. Panic attacks can be triggered by many things, but learning to recognise the onset can help you "ride through" them. In time, as your control over your emotions/heart rate improves, they become less severe and so you feel less disturbed by them. In time, you can almost enjoy the rush that a panic attack brings, at least to the point where you can continue to function normally while you're having them.

If there are other factors at play (poor sleeping regime, lack of exercise, caffeine, etc) then be sure to tackle those issues too. You need to be able to "switch off" the brain for a while every day to ensure that you don't drive yourself into an oxygen-deprived state which triggers the attack. Get exercise, whether that is in the form of a brisk walk (don't walk slow.... the brain does not rest when you do) or something more vigorous.

Be at peace,

Z

ordinary_girl

jimbob29 wrote: »

I've started the breathing excercise allright, find them hard to follow though as in how often i do them, must go into them in more detail in my next session.

Took me a while to get to grips with the breathing exercises aswell. All you can do is practice, after a while when you feel a panic attack starting to begin your natural reaction will be to return to your breathing exercises, which will help to diffuse the panic. It'll catch on, but it may take a while.

jimbob29

Rest_Energy wrote: »

Took me a while to get to grips with the breathing exercises aswell. All you can do is practice, after a while when you feel a panic attack starting to begin your natural reaction will be to return to your breathing exercises, which will help to diffuse the panic. It'll catch on, but it may take a while.

What do i do when i panic when i talk to people, how i can i talk and do breathing exercises at the same time?

gossipgal08

http://www.recovery-inc-ireland.ie/

This is a self help group based on CBT. I find it brill.

ordinary_girl

jimbob29 wrote: »

What do i do when i panic when i talk to people, how i can i talk and do breathing exercises at the same time?

When that happens to me I make my excuses and go to the nearest bathroom, do the breathing exercises there and give myself ample time to calm down.

fatmammycat

It does take a little time to learn how to address panic using CBT, but the great thing is the more you use it the easier it gets and the easier it gets, well, the easier it gets ( very circular I know).
I used CBT to quell a fear of driving on motorways. I still get the odd flutter, but now I can tell myself, 'oh yes there you are, I"m afraid I won't be taking too much notice of you today)
Sounds silly perhaps, but it calms me to recognise it for what it is and not let it balloon into something it is not. Another thing I forced myself to do was stop avoiding the motor way - which I had done for a long time. I now drive on it five days a week. I am literally 'boring' my fear into submission with routine. I drove to Gorey and back recently, something I simply could not have managed this time last year.
Panic is a sickening fight or flight sensation and my heart goes out to you. But it can be bested and CBT is a wonderful tool. Once a few minor adjustments in my thinking began to take shape I was able to review the how and the why I was panicing. Knowing I wasn't actually going to pass out with terror was a really big step forward for me. Learning that panic passes was another. Stick with it, you'll get there- and good luck.:)

jimbob29

Rest_Energy wrote: »

When that happens to me I make my excuses and go to the nearest bathroom, do the breathing exercises there and give myself ample time to calm down.

But i'm doing a course at the moment, it's hard to go to the bathroom everytime when the tutor is talking to me and i start to panic.

ordinary_girl

jimbob29 wrote: »

But i'm doing a course at the moment, it's hard to go to the bathroom everytime when the tutor is talking to me and i start to panic.

Ah, right. Could you not perhaps mention to the tutor that you get bad anxiety, and are therefore uncomfortable with being asked questions on front of the class? I had to do this because it was becoming unbearable everytime the tutor aked me a question, but he obliged me when I told him and actually apologised. You'll be surprised how accomodating people will be. And other than that, he never treated me any differently.

Zen65

jimbob29 wrote: »

But i'm doing a course at the moment, it's hard to go to the bathroom everytime when the tutor is talking to me and i start to panic.

Speak slowly, take deep breaths during your sentences. Think of it as a game of skill, to punctuate your sentences with thoughtful inhalations. I have found myself using this technique when giving public presentations, at the early stages. Once you have mastered the technique you no longer fear the event and the attacks subside.


Be at ..... (inhales, exhales)... peace,

Z