Feeling hopeless about therapy
I have only been in therapy for about half a year before, and comparing what I learnt in therapy with what I read in an anxiety workbook, I would say things seem to move along slower with therapy because you only see your therapist once a week, whereas with a self self book, you can always practice a couple of tactics at one short instead of only learning one thing during one session with a therapist. For me personally, a therapist is more for encouragement and the times when you feel hopeless and need someone to push you on. However, I really wonder how I would really fair had I work with my therapist longer because I tend to hide things, even from my therapist because I feel ashamed of them or have trouble discussing certain private things with my therapist, which of course would impede progress since I am not divulging full details to her. But having said that, I would love to go back to a therapist again, but at $100 and above a pop for an hour's session, I just couldn't afford it now.
Among patients with psychiatric disorders, a significant number have a depressive disorder and coexisting symptoms of anxiety. The overlapping conditions present physicians with a confusing array of symptoms that, in the past, has made diagnosis and therapy difficult. Although the anxiety symptoms may not be sufficient to meet diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder, they can have a profound influence on the severity of and prognosis for the depressive illness. To clarify diagnosis when symptoms of both depression and anxiety are present, it is important to consider elements such as predominant mood, sleep patterns, psycho motor signs, and suicidal idealization, which serve to differentiate between the two disorders. Once a diagnosis is established, appropriate use of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy can help relieve symptoms and lead to a favorable outcome.