How effective is CBT[Cognitive behavioural therapy?]

[Neebo]

I was just wondering how effective the treatment of CBT is in dealing with Social Phobia because I suffer from it really badly and I am currently on a waiting list for it. If any of you are having CBT or have had it then what doe's it consist of or how doe's it help with SA/SP? And doe's it help inthe long term?

 

[Fighter86]

I am under going CBT right now.

Bascially, CBT is a sort of therapy that teaches u how to change your mind set, recognise your rational & irrational thoughts & practising pushing back the negative & irrational thoughts. This in turn is suppose to lead to you being able to function better socially as u r able to see that the thought that 'oh no, that person hates me' is irrational but rather the explanation 'so he isn't talking to me, well, maybe he's having a bad day' is more rational & thus makes u feel less anxious.

Well, as to CBT's success rate, quite a number of people have found it successful. But I have my doubts bcoz when I am really anxious, all that my therapist has thought me goes out the window...So that I am still stuck with my irrational thoughts but of course, I keep thinking they r not irrational.

Hope this helps

 

[Neebo]

Hi Fighter86, thank's for explaining to me what CBT is all about it has been a great help as I wasn't sure what exactly it was and I was a bit anxous about it but you have put my mind at rest Thanks again and best of luck to you

 

[Fighter86]

Welcome...bty, u could check it up on the internet. juz type in cognitive behaverial therapy(pardan spelling errors) on google & hit the 'search' button. u wld be sure to find something useful...

 

[Egmanns]

Cbt Therapy

In my opinion it is essential in overcoming SA, the reason being because of the negative thinking associated in social situations. I am about 80% over my SA and i wouldnt even be close without CBT. The thing you have to realise is it wont happen overnight, you will be in pain probably most of the time if its anything like how mine was but gradually you will overcome it. Im 22 and it took me prob 2 years as you make mistakes and learn by them. Now i go out clubbing, i am loud and confident, i just have the occasional day when i am anxious. All i can say is do it and stay with it, i promise you, you can overcome it. If you have any other questions dont hesitate to ask.

 

[Neebo]

Hi Eggmanns,I am glad that you are almost completely over your socialphobia and would really like to get to where you are. I would love to be cofident and go clubbing And I hope that I can achieve that too 8) I will work towards acheiving that goal. You have giving me inspiration to fight this SA/SP all the way Best of luck to you and keep it up

 

[IcanDoIt]

Re: Cbt Therapy

Im 22 and it took me prob 2 years as you make mistakes and learn by them. Now i go out clubbing, i am loud and confident, i just have the occasional day when i am anxious. All i can say is do it and stay with it, i promise you, you can overcome it. If you have any other questions dont hesitate to ask.

exactly with u dude. took me around 1 year+ to overcome about 90% of SA.

like u, i would also say stay with it..

i did not go to psychologist or psychiatrist, but i learnt cbt on my own, thru workbooks online, and i tell u its not easy..

and yah, once u overcome it, u can conquer almost anything, your life, your sufferings in the past, any obstacles that come ahead you..

i am a confident and calm person now..

 

[kevincadogan]

cbt

does anyone have any good books/websites for learning cbt?

 

[Joanne Bruce]

Hi, go to anxieties.com. The Dr. on the web site, is an expert on CBT and phobias, ocd and he wrote a book "Dont Panic" and it tells you how to face you social fears or any fears. You can also email him. I feel like no one ever reads my post. From Joanne

 

[DepecheEyes]

I was just wondering how effective the treatment of CBT is in dealing with Social Phobia because I suffer from it really badly and I am currently on a waiting list for it. If any of you are having CBT or have had it then what doe's it consist of or how doe's it help with SA/SP? And doe's it help inthe long term?

There's basically two techniques: cognitive restructuring (cognitive therapy) and in vivo desensitization (Exposure Therapy). Of the two, the latter is so essential to reducing its severity that there has been research supporting that it alone is enough!

Anyway, cognitive therapy identifies your automatic thoughts and disputes them if they are unrealistic and impractical. Almost all of the time, they are cognitive distortions, like fortune-telling, which is to overestimate the likelihood of a negative event happening. Eg. "I'm going to say something stupid for sure!" "If I blush in front of everyone, they will despise me!"

As for disputing them, this can involve finding evidence that support or contradict your beliefs, making a cost-benefit analysis (advantages and disadvantages of holding onto your beliefs), defining terms, etc.

As for exposure therapy, this will involve identifying both your complete avoidance and subtle avoidance (aka safety behaviors), which involves distraction (listening to your ipod or reading a book while in social situations), substance use (drinking alcohol to reduce the anxiety), over-protective behavior (wearing plain clothing to avoid attracting attention or over-preparing for a presentation), etc.

Once you identify your self-defeating behaviors, you start to use more constructive behaviors, mainly facing your social situations and giving up your subtle avoidance completely. For instance, you stop drinking alcohol and go to the party despite feeling very anxious. You also face the situations repeatedly.

Many times, you will face the social situations to challenge your automatic thoughts even further which is known as a Behavioral Experiment or experimental technique. For instance, the alcohol-drinker believed if she went to the party sober, she would say a lot of stupid things. But when she went to the party sober and it didn't happened, she learns it is unlikely to happen.

Anyway, that's only a little info right there. If you want to know more check out:

1) The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook

2) The Feeling Good Handbook

 

[sabbath9]

ACT works better than CBT, for me anyway.

 

[jennismortal]

The multi-component, CBT-I program included comprehensive evaluations of patients' habits, attitudes and knowledge concerning sleep. The program was designed to involve six to seven treatment sessions. Specific strategies included education on sleep regulating systems, sleep scheduling recommendations, sleep hygiene education, sleep consolidation therapy, stimulus control therapy, relaxation training, cognitive therapy and mindfulness training.
According to Wetzler, a related study found that of participants who completed at least four treatment sessions of CBT-I, 78 percent of those using sleep medication for three or more nights per week were able to completely discontinue use of sleep medications. Findings from this study indicate that those who discontinued use of sleep medications not only stopped using drugs to sleep but also slept better than when they were taking sleep medications

 

[kayelle]

I feel that CBT has been a great help for me in overcoming my anxiety, but I do think it needs to be used with something else, like I've been reading some ACT workbooks and some self-esteem workbooks, or just having it along with just normal 'talk-about-your-problems, childhood, deeper emotions, etc.' therapy. The therapist I go to is a practising psychotherapist and psychologist, so what she does with me is like CBT and exposure therapy, etc., along with figuring out what caused my anxiety in the first place, what happened in my life that made me end up this way, etc.
But I definitely find it beneficial in learning to cope with and overcome anxiety. Good luck

 

[satstrn]

you have to be extremely brave and willing to risk your ass to get anywhere and it is VERY hard at first, but yes very effective once the momentum picks up...i assume this ive been at it for a few months havent gotten anywhere im not brave enough

 

[jennismortal]

Some CBT therapies are more oriented towards predominantly cognitive interventions while some are more behaviorally oriented. In recent years cognitive behavioral approaches have become prevalent in correctional settings. These programs are designed to teach criminal offenders cognitive skills that will reduce criminal behaviors. It has become commonplace, if not pervasive, to find cognitive behavioral program strategies in use in prisons and jails in many countries. In cognitive oriented therapies, the objective is typically to identify and monitor thoughts, assumptions, beliefs and behaviors that are related and accompanied to debilitating negative emotions and to identify those which are dysfunctional, inaccurate, or simply unhelpful. This is done in an effort to replace or transcend them with more realistic and useful ones.
It is one of the most effective treatments for conditions where anxiety or depression is the main problem.
It is the most effective psychological treatment for moderate and severe depression.
It is as effective as antidepressants for many types of depression.

 

[mismeek]

Nina pretty much summed it up.. i looooove cbt! it helps me understand myself and people around me better.

 

[Sinar_Matahari]

Hi, go to anxieties.com. The Dr. on the web site, is an expert on CBT and phobias, ocd and he wrote a book "Dont Panic" and it tells you how to face you social fears or any fears. You can also email him. I feel like no one ever reads my post. From Joanne

Thank you for posting the website. I'm about to check it out after I'm done here. I often feel that people aren't reading my posts either. I suppose this is a large forum so one can't keep up with all the posts. I quote people's messages or ask questions so someone is bound to answer back.

 

[Noca]

In my studies and search for a cure for SA ive found CBT to be the only treatment that ive tried that gives permanent results. Through the exposure part of CBT(the "B"), I no longer have problems making eye contact while talking, i can speak on the phone much easier, leave my house etc.

I still have much to go till im cured but at least ive made some progress.

 

[hope4myfuture]

Re: Cbt Therapy

In my opinion it is essential in overcoming SA, the reason being because of the negative thinking associated in social situations. I am about 80% over my SA and i wouldnt even be close without CBT. The thing you have to realise is it wont happen overnight, you will be in pain probably most of the time if its anything like how mine was but gradually you will overcome it. Im 22 and it took me prob 2 years as you make mistakes and learn by them. Now i go out clubbing, i am loud and confident, i just have the occasional day when i am anxious. All i can say is do it and stay with it, i promise you, you can overcome it. If you have any other questions dont hesitate to ask.

Egmanns,
Did you do CBT using workbooks, or with a therapist or both? That would be really helpful because you're story is making me very hopeful

 

[JackOfSpades]

Very.
You won't get over social phobia unless certain thought patterns/associations/bias's are corrected. This can happen on it's own, or it can happen by actively working towards it. But waiting for it to happen by itself is like sitting on a bench waiting for a job offer.

Also, the longer faulty thought patterns go unchecked, the more danger there is they'll progress into harder to tackle problems. Avpd, schizophrenia etc.

My two cents.

Edit: I've also made large positive strides quickly from CBT (more DBT, actually) and it's been through a workbook, not a therapist's guidance.