Does CBT work? Has anyone ever used it?

stop animal cruelty

l have social aniexty and am thinking about doing some CBT.

Has anyone ever used this & did it make any difference?

Would anyone recommend it for social aniexty?

Is it even worth it as l believe its a bit pricey...

Any advice would be great.

Victor

I've not used it, but from what I hear, it can be good for some people, however, it doesn't suit everyone. Talk to your current medical advisors about it.

Hersheys

stop animal cruelty wrote: »

l have social aniexty and am thinking about doing some CBT.

Has anyone ever used this & did it make any difference?

Would anyone recommend it for social aniexty?

Is it even worth it as l believe its a bit pricey...

Any advice would be great.

I've used it. I found it fantastic but you have to be willing to want to change your attitude. I'd recommend giving it a go - arrange a session with a therapist & talk thru to see if it's something that could benefit you.

stop animal cruelty

Hersheys wrote: »

I've used it. I found it fantastic but you have to be willing to want to change your attitude. I'd recommend giving it a go - arrange a session with a therapist & talk thru to see if it's something that could benefit you.

Thanks:) do you mind me asking round how much did it cost and did you have to do many rounds of it?

ordinary_girl

Hersheys wrote: »

I've used it. I found it fantastic but you have to be willing to want to change your attitude. I'd recommend giving it a go - arrange a session with a therapist & talk thru to see if it's something that could benefit you.

Agreed. I think the issue a lot of people have with CBT is that, at least when I started it, I wanted a quick fix to my anxiety issues but it takes a while. It took me a few months anyway, and it gradually started making a difference until eventually I didn't need to do CBT anymore. I'd definitely recommend it, I know it doesn't work for everyone but it's worth trying.

amtc

Yeah, I have

The main thing that I liked was that it was so structured = had a beginning, middle, and end.

Been to counsellors and whilst they were nice, wasn't too useful. Had to go to a pyschiatrist for a work thing and that was ok, but the CBT gave me a framework to live within. If you want the number pm me, I only did three sessions but use it every day

Taltos

amtc thanks for your advice, however please note as per our charter

It is not the done thing on the PI or RI forums to ask an OP to pm/msn/skype/email you. This is done for two reasons:

To protect those from trolls and other possible unsavory people posting on the internet when they may be in a vulnerable state. Threads on PI/RI are monitored by the mods so that bad and dangerous advice is not permitted and deemed unhelpful.

To protect posters from trolls and unsavory people posting on the internet who pose as a person needing help and advice and so that posters do not end up locked in to a pm exchange with someone they can not help.

Thanks
Taltos

eviltwin

I did CBT for an eating disorder. I have nothing but the highest praise for it.

Hersheys

stop animal cruelty wrote: »

Hersheys wrote: »

I've used it. I found it fantastic but you have to be willing to want to change your attitude. I'd recommend giving it a go - arrange a session with a therapist & talk thru to see if it's something that could benefit you.

Thanks:) do you mind me asking round how much did it cost and did you have to do many rounds of it?

Uhm it was €75 per session & I did 16 sessions. It wasn't just the sessions that we worked in, I was given homework to do, sheets to read, questionnaires to fill out to ponder. Therapist was really on the ball, lots of different things for me to try. It was expensive but worth every cent. I haven't reached my goal yet & am looking for a new decent cbt therapist as I had to move house but it's so so worth it.

wylo

The reason why CBT works is because with stuff like social anxiety and other milder disorders that arent fully blown clinical depression, the only reason you feel the way you do is because you believe complete nonsense in your head. As in you are literally believing the thoughts that arise, and it happens so bloody quick that you dont even realize a thought is even causing it, so when you walk into a room full of people you just feel like crap.
And CBT is basically exposing this crap.

Whats it like to not believe any thoughts? Well , suppose I told you right now to imagine you are a famous rockstar, and imagine yourself playing on stage in front of 1000s of people. Lets be frank, its not really doing much for you emotionally is it? Reason being you dont believe that thought. Whereas when you think stuff like "they think this about me", you DO believe that thought, even though it is equally untrue.

With CBT or any form of self inquiry or thought inquiry, be it through psychology , philosophy or spirituality you are challenging your own assumptions and beleifs and you literally stop believing what goes on in your head. When you do succesfully, as in REALLY see it through to the bitter end. Those negative thoughts will induce as much an emotional response in you as you imaging you are a rockstar, and eventually they dissolve altogether because there is nothing left to feed them.
You're rewiring your brain.

This takes incredible patience , discipline and a willingness to not take it so personally. Id recommend solid concentration meditation as a sort of helping tool, it will allow you to clear your mind a bit more while you go through this process. Dont be put off if you're not great at it at the start. Just try 5 mins to start with, then 10 and build it up over the weeks, its about quality not quantity.
Being highly concentrated is very difficult, someone who can focus on something without one flinching of thought for even a minute has absolutely excellent concentration.
I cant recommend it enough. It will just make the process easier.

I really recommend you take this willingness to change very seriously, because it will change your life, and you will realise that everyone else that doesnt suffer from that stuff is living a very happy healthy lifestyle in comparison to what you are living now. Even if it means a year and lots of setbacks, keep pushing!
Best of luck!

amtc

apologies, I hadn't read the charter. What I would say is that CBT for me worked as it was very rules/homework based.