Posted by needesp on September 14, 2005, at 18:48:21
In reply to Re: feel like i'm weak/failure for using XANAX aga » Emily Elizabeth, posted by chess on September 14, 2005, at 12:31:36
> ee
> yes i asked them ... their disagreement lies in what uncertainty is ... one T says that you must accept all uncertainty with ocd, even the uncertainty of your own actions (like i might actually go crazy or kill myself or someone else) ... one T says that when you accept all uncertainty and don't reassure yourself then the thought is not reinforced because reassurance tells the brain that there is something to be afraid about ... the other T says that there is nothing wrong with reassuring yourself because this promotes self-confidence as long as the reassurance is REALISTIC (so if i'm afraid of a thought that i might jump over a bridge on purpose, one T says to accept that i might jump over the bridge and then walk across the bridge and feel the anxiety as many times as needed to habituate to the anxiety and thus the thought, while the other T says that there is nothing in reassuring myself that I don't want to jump over the bridge and thus i won't jump over the bridge and then walk across the bridge and feel the anxiety as many times as needed to habituate to the anxiety and thus the thought ... see my confusion? i think the main idea is to do the exposure because this is what actually works, it's just very scary for me to do this kind of exposure and accept that i might do it (but then the T would say GOOD! the more anxiety the better and then make sure you do the exposure to prove to yourself that the thought and anxiety don't really matter!)HI,
My son has severe OCD.
He has tried CBT but is not sure that he likes it (he will do the more simple CBT like trying to replace negative self-defeating cognitions with more realistic and positive ones but even that is very hard for him).
He probably finds it so hard because his obsessions are difficult to treat with exposure and respose (i.e. death/killing/etc). These types of OCD thoughts can loop around inside his head until he feels very ill. The only escape is to take Seroquel or (unfortuneately) he smokes MJ (which relieves the OCD thoughts in the short-term but increases his OCD in the long term).
His main hope is that high doses of AD's over a long period of time will eventually lesson his OCD symptoms and allow him to apply CBT in his life.
OCD is exhausting to watch....I can only imagine what it feels like to actually have it!
Response and exposure therapy is really hard and takes an exceptionally committed individual to keep at it! CBT is good for panic attacks (interoceptive exposeure like you have done) and invivo (real life) exposure (like walking over the bridge). But it is hard to do so you should go very very easy on yourself....
Hang in there. I think it all boils down to a combination of right meds, right dose, CBT and committment.
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> > It sounds like you are back to the same struggle that you posted on the therapy board a while back. Did you ever ask the 2 T's about the differences in what they taught you? I was wondering how things turned out for you.
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> > Best,
> > EE
> >
> > > the frustrating part for me is that cbt teaches you to accept and allow the anxiety because it's really just harmless physiological sensations and irrational thoughts, and the more you accept and allow the anxiety the more you'll habituate to it, only thing this takes time and meanwhile it can be overwhelming and frustrating
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> > > > does the anxiety not make sense? Like when you are not going through anxiety, do you look back and think that it was ridiculus to feel worried. I was just wondering, because right now I am going through anxiety. I am trying hard not to. I too just took xanax again tonight.
> > > > took some lastnight and this morning.
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poster:needesp
thread:554734
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050914/msgs/555095.html