Could You Tell Me About Cbt?

[negatively_positive]

Hello,

I would like help for PTSD but, as you might understand, it's difficult to decide to try CBT because I don't really understand what exactly they will do. I also don't really want to take medication as it has side effects and I just don't think mental problems like this can really be cured by drugs anyway. CBT, I've read, is the better path anyway and results can be good.

I've tried to read a little about CBT but I'm still unsatisfied with exactly what they do in detail. I know they help you face the experiences and learn to think and cope with them in better ways. They design skills and tools to help you when you have an "attack" or find yourself confronting the memories or aftermath of the trauma. But that's just too general for me. I'm really curious precisely, clearly, and exactly what they do.

If someone can suggest a resource or tell me very specifically what happens, I would really appreciate it. I imagine treatment can differ depending on the patient's needs but I'm very hesitant to go without knowing more. I want help but I don't want to waste my time going through something very uncomfortable without knowing more about what's going to happen.

I don't know if I'm being clear enough, but I hope someone might understand what I'm getting at. I just want more than "they help you develop tools and skills to deal with your trauma". That's just not enough to motivate me to walk into an office and sign up.

Thanks in advance for your response.

 

[KP the nut]

I have moved this thread into the Therapy Forum.

 

[pie]

I'm not sure if I'm in the right place any more. Is this the therapy forum??
I'm going to try and answer your question any ways.

So ... what you have written about what you know is pretty much spot on. In reality there isn't really any better definition.

The uncomfortable part is going to be there as it probably is in every therapy. Just imagine this... you have a wound that is dirty and before you put a band aid on, you must clean this wound first - that's the painful and uncomfortable part of therapy - getting through the emotions, feeling them, talking about them, processing and trying to make sense of what happened. Once you have done that you learn tools that therapist will teach you so when you are having a difficult moment you can use those tools to help yourself.

I'll give you an example of a tool I have learned and how it has helped me with flashbacks. I was to take a box and find five things; each thing had to do something with one of the 5 senses. So... for my auditory I had an iPod with my favourite music, for smell I bought a little bottle of vanilla/lavender oil, for visual I had photos of someone special to me, for touch I had my favourite rock I liked to rub with my fingers, and for taste I had hard candy. Those things I was to keep in my little box that I carried with me in my bag. And when I had a flashback or panic attack or anything like that, I was to take some things out of my box and stimulate my senses in order to bring myself back to "reality". In a way it sounds silly, but it has worked wonders for me; each time it got easier and easier. But that's just one of many many tools I learned.

I must say, currently I am done with therapy (after 4 years) and I am like a new person. I'm happy, I have a new job, new carrier, new place to live, etc. So going was definitely worth the effort, fears, and uncomfortable things I had to face because that's all part of the healing process.

Any ways... I'm not sure if I have helped you but good luck in whatever you decide.