i've had CBT for depression and then again for self esteem.
basically its about identifying the thought patterns that keep you depressed and the negative thinking you hae
e.g. the way you describe yourself in your own head, the way you perceive situations etc
it requires some effort to put into practice and you wont see immediate results but if you sincerely try to put everything from your sessions into practice it might help.
I've had it. It wasn't so bad. It's basically what was said above. Teaches you to identify what you're thinking and why you're thinking it, and how to turn it from negative to positive. It teaches you how to manage your mental illness, and seeks to .. tame it? Dunno if that made sense. Good luck. xxx
I had it and found it absolutely useless but I suspect that is because of the amount of effort I put it in! I didnt click with it and I didnt see how it could possibly help me so I didnt bother with any of the homeworks or anything.
i had CBT for insomnia & i suppose it could of worked, if i had put the effort in.
CBT seems to be very much about you working to get better, it seems to be about changing thought patterns, & looking at things rationally.
I'm not sure, I had CBT about 4 years ago now?
I think if you're willing to put the work in, it's really worth a shot :)
Urrrrgh, I've got to have that again soon :(
Really didn't like it personally, but I hate any kind of therapy.
Last time I had it I ran out laughing hysterically, rolled around on the grass outside, went home and never came back. But don't worry, I'm assuming it wont make you do that!
You have to do a lot of charts and diagrams. The good thing about it is it's easy to see what progress you're making because of all the charts and diagrams. It must help people because doctors like it.
Its ace if you can be bothered with it but I can't.
Im having CBT at the moment for depression/anxiety. You discuss your negative or triggering thoughts and have to practice changing these thought patterns. If that makes any sense at all. I cant tell you if it helps, ive hardly done any sessions and now my therapist wants to put me on some sort of longer term treatment??
Hope this kinda helps.
x.
Ps. Lol, ive done the bike test too....
'The Hardest thing to do in this world is to live in it'
They'll never see,
I'll never be,
I struggle on and on to feed this hunger,
Burning deep inside of me.
This link is to the website of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, has a quite detailed description of what to expect, good luck!
You should make amends with you.
If only for better health.
But if you really want to live.
Why not try and Make Yourself?
They diagnosed me as depressed 3 years ago, started discussing meds and CBT, and I did CBT, but not the meds. I found it entirely useless as the only thing I had any interest in was drawing, and it turns out I probably wasn't suffering from depression at all, so yeah, I don't know why I told you that, my jist of things is it doesn't help to be treated for something I haven't got, so I'll shut up.
But I'm supposed to be starting a CBT group therapy thing for social anxiety in the next week or so. Basically it's supposed to reprogram your thoughts into more healthy ones I guess.
*hugs* Good luck! My PM box is always open.
Take care,
Amy
Thank you for all of your help and support. I will no longer be coming to RYL. Semi-explanation will be inside my profile.
im having CAT at the mo which is very similar, have only had 3(?)sessions so far. but basically from what i understand and what ive done so far is the first few sessions they like to get to know you eg/ timeline of your life, family tree etc and homework has included a questionnaire about triggers, traps, snags....which evaluates how u react in certain situations to try and indentify what struggles you have.
then you start highlighting coping mechanisms, weakness etc how ever you want to call them and then creat spider diagrams of these are my weaknesses and then arms coming off saying this is how i could deal with it better etc
i havent got that far yet tho.....its not easy you really have to be prepared to work and think and want to get better. and also to be able to relive crappy things that you have tried to hide/put behind u that hasnt actually worked and is lerking and causing you to not work thro your problems and react with bad things, eg sh!
thankfully i am having it thro SLAM which is maudsley hosp in london for people that sh so they are very good cos they dont say "u have to stop sh-ing before we help you" they ask if i have done it but nothing further, they dont judge!
good luck xx
this pic is so i can always remember jen who was my l'il sock monkey friend who has left ryl and i miss her!!!
I'm having CBT... basically it's turning irrational thoughts to rational ones... I get set goals to do as well, such as go out for a walk when I feel depressed. Like others have said, you have to work for it... for me it does somewhat work but I find it draining and stressful to constantly analyse my thoughts to make sure they're "positive".
this pic is so i can always remember jen who was my l'il sock monkey friend who has left ryl and i miss her!!! 
