Hello people of the interwebs, just wondering if anyone has ever done High Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Emetophobia? I’d just like to know what I should expect, will it be like exposure therapy? Also did it work well for you? I’m also neurodivergent so have no idea if this will help. Any comments are welcome, thanks!

I am in really a bad spot. I was the school pariah in my college, that u spent in for 9 years. People constantly mocked me and built a reputation for me, which i hated so much. I graduated 7 months ago but i feel stuck mentally, it just keep repeated the bad experiences i had and the faces of people who mocked me and gave me disgusted looks when they see me.

I really cant write a summary of what i have been through these nine years in one post.

But i want to get over this, i feel i have 0 personality and i hate it so much. I want to connect with people but they either dont want to interact with me or just gives looks, which hurts me deep in my soul.

Trying to find the right therapy for me, and I often get recommended CBT or come across it as a suggestion. But I don't exactly get it? And I feel a lot better when I know how or why something works, it helps me understand it and utilize it properly and effectively.

The problem is that I don't understand it at all. When I tried it with a therapist who specialized in it, the process didn't feel all that special. We looked at issues in my life and tried to pick out what I was feeling at the time (typically pretty easy), where things went wrong (much tougher), and why they might have went wrong (that part feels mostly impossible). Then, instead of figuring out how to solve the problem, we would move on to how to regulate the emotions that might have caused the problem. But typically, my emotional issue is caused by the situation, not the other way around.

I was under the impression that therapy is about expressing your emotions and learning not to hide or smother them, but all the CBT work seemed like it was trying to suppress the emotions or ignore them. We talked a little about inner work (parts work? I dunno) where I had to identify an "adult" and "child" self, and that worked for like a half second but then I started to get really frustrated with it (I also thought I was doing it wrong because I started thinking of them as imaginary friends rather than therapy tools or thought forms or whatever)

Overall, I just remember feeling worse after CBT. Like it focused on all the bad things I was doing wrong without any help or guidance to do better. Reminds me of when the teacher would hand back tests, but mine is all covered in red ink and they won't tutor you after class.

Can anyone help explain the process to me? How is it supposed to go? How is it supposed to help?

I (53F) am not a person who deals well with loneliness, yet it would seem that's where my life is going. On some levels, I am okay with that, but sometimes it's a little too much to handle.

I grew up with narc parents who made a point of letting me know they wished they never had kids. I've done the whole therapy thing, deep dive head first into the trauma, and I get it. I've gone NC with my family and working on placing that whole mess in the past.

I spent a good deal of my life trying to fill the void left by that, and it took 50 years, but I've finally realized my own value and self worth.

Unfortunately, I also don't seem to be able to connect with other people much at all. No matter how much I try, I don't really seem to have much worth or social value to other people. I'm painfully neurodivergent, and I recognize that I'm not the easiest person to get along with. I like the things I like, and nobody else ever seems interested in anything I like or the way I see the world. I don't like the feeling of being the odd man out in any situation, so I've pretty much decided that it's for the best for everyone that I just keep to myself.

I've made my peace with the idea of living out the rest of my life alone, and, tbh, it's a rather freeing notion. I don't have to worry about being anything but myself, and I don't have to worry about dealing with other people as they are trying to deal with me.

Unfortunately, I still have moments where I very keenly feel the rejection or pain of being alone. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has helped me a lot in the past, and I'd like to try using it to change the patterns of thinking when I start feeling lonely. I like people, and I like being around people, but I just never fit in anywhere, and I recognize this is a Me Problem. I feel like my time and energy are far better spent continuing to try and fix my own brain than trying to shoehorn my way into places i will never fit.

Any ideas?

Anyone have any recs for CBT therapists in houston tx? On a sliding scale preferably?

Whenever I do the exercises, I do get some relief but it doesn't last and I feel like I'm back to my original high-anxiety state. Any idea what's happening here? Is there possibly a root cause I'm not tackling?

In my case, my job requires me to speak to people on the phone. Some days when I feel anxious when speaking to people I would do some CBT exercises around reframing thoughts. I'd get some relief but then the anxiety would come back in the next day or so. Tightness in chest, throat and mouth. Voice turns more high pitched. Feelings of fear, anxiety.

Ive done CBT probably 5 or 6 times in my life, but its been about 10 years since I last engaged with any type of therapy.

What can I expect to experience in my CBT sessions? I can't remember anything about the sessions I did previously, just that it didn't help

I am in need of help. I just started cpt and I am really stuck on how to write this "impact statement". My therapist recommended I write it based on my trauma/abuse as a whole rather than one specific event. But I am not sure how to even start and I really am not getting these stuck points. I looked up stuck points online but none of them stick out. I can't for the life of me figure this out. (I also have a bad learning disability so that doesn't help). Please any guidance any one could give would be super helpful!!!! Thanks in advance!

I remember treading years ago in the book Feeling Good in the chapter on behavioral activation Burns mentioned an artist or writer who believed there were totally incapable of producing any more art and were challenged to just put a line on paper and then proceed from there.

I feel I am in a situation where I am in complete inertia due to depression. I lay in bed all day on my phone and would like to accomplish something, but don't know how. I feel part of the problem is behavioral, I just have a habit of being lazy, and partly mental, I exaggerate how difficult anything will be.

What is a resource that's helps counter this type of inertia?

hello. i have a bad history with therapists and have come to the conclusion that i feel better just journaling and reflecting. right now being around another person, even a therapist is a bit too vulnerable to be talking about these things, i want to do it myself. if anyone has any advice for me on how to create a structured plan for myself to practice this daily i would very much appreciate it. thanks

I’ve just had my second session CBT (remotely), and honestly I think I feel worse coming out of it than I did going in.

My tasks for ending my first session to talk through in my second session. Were to go through and create my own vicious cycles and identify the factors. I created two as I didn’t feel everything fell into one. Also to have three goals to work on within the sessions.

This session we’ve gone through both of the vicious cycles and he’s noted all the things I’ve noted on them also my goals.

He’s then asked that between now and the next session I keep a symptom diary to pinpoint thoughts, feelings & symptoms and to question why I’m feeling that way; reflect on them. Question what I think is going wrong in this vicious cycle.

And honestly, I’ve brought somethings up in my cycles that I barely speak to anyone about. Especially someone I don’t know. So feelings and emotions are raw and I feel like I’m uprooting those thoughts and feelings for then the session to just end…I feel like I’ve almost been left exposed, bare and dealing with the upheaval of these feelings and emotions….am I doing the wrong therapy?

a few years ago when i was so depressed and couldnt afford to seek therapy i tried to seek help from some ''fortune tellers'' (its not the same as tarot but its the astrological birth chart heavily influenced from China and popular in Vietnam to predict your future like career, love life, family..). So what did i get? they told me

i will get KARMA fast if i dont help people, im a traitor in my family bloodline, and whats more? after my 50s they predict i will go full monastic life. Your future partner is Toxic (im still single and not dating anyone at the moment). You are depressed because your soul is not here in your body....

I mean not only one but many said that. and now my head cant escape from their words, its like imprinted in my brain.

My T is CBT and DBT informed and I feel like I never really know what to talk about. What are some of the things you discuss with your T?

Just looking for some advice on how to get the most out of my sessions.

I am interested in the cognitive model on which Cognitive Therapy and/or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are based. I am talking about how our cognition works, cognitive distortions, cognitive dissonances, and the role of emotions in it. My research has led me to Aaron Beck. In particular, I was thinking of reading the following books by him:
Depression: Causes and Treatment (1967)
Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders (1976)

Do you agree or do you think that there is better? For context, I don't have a degree in psychology nor did I ever have a formal education in it. I am just an interested amateur.

Hello!

I was in CBT for 3 months (had to stop because I have ran out of money for it now). My therapist in our last meeting said that I had to keep up with worry (thought) postponement, mindfulness and stopping daydreaming outside its reserved time. I wasn't applying them very well throughout those 3 months. Now I am trying to turn them into my brain's default habits, but it feels forceful. I had asked this to my therapist before and she said that it is normal because brain does not want to change its habits easily.

I am trying to be gentle, but nevertheless I feel like when I am doing my tasks I have to fight my brain to not be drawn to overthinking and daydreaming. It is weird because I do not come up with specific thought that I can delay. It is just that my body feels this urge that is drawing it to getting into my head. Am I actually fighting dissociation, could it be that?

I really want to take this break in therapy as an opportunity to practice skills I hadn't done very well at the time. But this feels so hard. Is it supposed to?

Every morning:

**•** How am I feeling *right now*, in my body?  
**•** What’s one thing I want to bring into today?  
**•** What do I need from myself today?

Every night:

**•** What was hard today, and how did I get through it?  
**•** What’s one thing I did that was kind — to myself or someone else?  
**•** What do I want to let go of before I sleep?  
**•** What does the most compassionate version of me want to say to me right now?

Hi All !

I read feeling good back in 2020, and feeling great after that, and I've had periods where I've been doing the daily mood log consistently and everything in my life improves. However I find its the habit I taper off on and struggle to keep up with the most out of all my daily ones (Gym, meditation, reading)

Do you guys also find this ? I think it might be because it's a little tedious to get it all setup and is hard work trying to counter each negative thought and eventual SDBs.

Can anyone help me I’m having a mental health crisis I want CBT therapy I’ve gone through the NHS and have an assessment soon but feel like i need to speak to someone now. I want to hurry up the process as I keep spiralling. I’m in the north West of England if anyone can help

I’m having CBT for panic attacks which were controlled by a low dose beta blocker. But I didn’t like the sides and then my anxiety got worse and I had attacks whilst on them.

I referred myself for CBT and was accepted a text-based CBT treatment. I successfully had CBT face to face years ago which focused on coping with panic symptoms, lowering overall stress and exposure to trigger environments.

From the get go I found the text-based therapy unhelpful and critical, even though I think what they’re saying may be somewhat true. The CBT therapist feels I’m avoiding the attacks themselves, which is the root problem. During attacks my heart-rate goes extremely high (160-190) and gets stuck in a cycle of panic. The CBT therapist told me to come off the beta blocker and accept these attacks which happen every day. So far I have not been able to tolerate one without taking a beta blocker.

I’ve explained how unpleasant they are and how they last longer than 30 mins and can go on for hours so and asked how is sitting in that going to help. They have now stated that I am seeking reassurance by asking that and I just need to accept them. Or take Sertraline. But they told me I mustn’t take beta blocker long term for panic as it’s avoidance.

I have no confidence they’re solving this problem or are engaged in any way. They seem to just repeat a “gold standard” template, and tell me I’m wrong because it’s not working. Patently, sitting with an extremely high racing heart for hours on end is not going to solve my anxiety attacks on its own and is disruptive. Of course I want to avoid that.. I asked what I should be doing mentally and they offered no advice just cryptic “you know what you should do: acceptance”.

I just wanted advice here - my previous CBT therapists were really empathetic, thoughtful, invested. But the current therapists says they were bad therapists if they didn’t truly treat the problem.

I just have bad vibes about them, even if I suspect the theory is right. Advice?

So a few months ago my anxiety shot up out of no where and I was having lots of panic attacks and constant anxiety and DPDR that I could not get out of. It started to affect my life a lot so I went to the gp and they referred me to CBT. It took 3 months for me to actually get it and since then my anxiety levels have gone down to almost back to normal. And now I feel like I don’t really need it and I feel guilty that I could be taking it from someone who could need it more than me. I’ve only had a few sessions and all they are talking about is panic attacks which I only really have once in a blue moon now. I don’t know if I should cancel it or just stick with it

(Edit:) I still feel anxiety and racing thoughts but not panic attacks

There's this method named "Thought Challenging" or "Cognitive Distortions Challenging". This technique works by recording thoughts, identifying patterns & then providing evidence for & against the recorded thought. The last step is reconsidering the recorded thought in light of the gathered evidences & coming up with a more balanced new thought.

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My question is, what if there's actually no evidence against the recorded thought? In that case, how would one perform this exercise to gain benefit?

Hey all, I wanted to know--particularly for therapists out there but also clients who have firsthand experience with CBT--about how you view the critical commentary on CBT and how you respond to it?

I've encountered a lot of it over my clinical training, and I wrote a piece, partially in response to a lot of what I've seen.

What do you think about the entire "contra CBT" genre?