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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
If I sound patronising, please forgive me. I have only been accessing this site for about three weeks now and may appear to overstep the mark here and generalise. The one thing that frightened me while using this site is the apparent lack of THERAPY orientated treatment. It just seems that DRUG THERAPY is given first....with little mention of things like COGNITIVE THERAPY.
Please don't think that I have just come out of 'la la land'........I had been diagnosed with POST TRAUMATIC STRESS....which then led to DEPRESSION/ANXIETY and very very severe PANIC ATTACKS that crippled me for three weeks....and plagued me for the last two years.
My Doctor after a long discussion with me two years ago, said that part of the 'deal' she was making with me, was to put me on ZOLOFT, AND arrange for treatment with a well respected CLINICAL PYSCHOLOGIST......... I saw him the very next week, and continued to do so for nearly two years. We now email each other every month or so, just to maintain contact...
I never believed that medication was going to be a on-going thing.......I just assumed that the time will come and they will just be a thing of the past. I stopped the ZOLOFT nearly TWO months ago.....and am now totally relying on all the skills and techniques I learnt through my sessions....COGNITIVE and BEHAVIORAL treatment.
I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I didn't learn how to interrupt my OBSESSIVE thought patterns, and if I didn't learn the right breathing techniques, and didn't learn SELF-TALK.........there would be NO way under the sun that I COULD have come off the medication.......but I have........and although I sometimes struggle, I do have the KNOWLEDGE behind me......which mostly works, sometimes it doesn't as the MENTAL GYMNASTICS just gets too exhausting.....
Good luck to everybody,
I have decided to stop accessing this site....I feel that I am doing what is right for me, and I hope you all find the comfort and the help you need, whether it is through drugs AND/OR Therapy.
Dana
Posted by SalArmy4me on July 1, 2001, at 23:16:52
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
I don't know the exact percentage and I haven't done a study on it, but I would wager that most people on this site believe a _combination_ of medication and cognitive therapy is essential to relief in mental disorders.
There is plenty of room for your views on this site.
Posted by SalArmy4me on July 1, 2001, at 23:22:38
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
Check this out:
Posted by Anna Laura on July 2, 2001, at 0:39:19
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
> If I sound patronising, please forgive me. I have only been accessing this site for about three weeks now and may appear to overstep the mark here and generalise. The one thing that frightened me while using this site is the apparent lack of THERAPY orientated treatment. It just seems that DRUG THERAPY is given first....with little mention of things like COGNITIVE THERAPY.
>
> Please don't think that I have just come out of 'la la land'........I had been diagnosed with POST TRAUMATIC STRESS....which then led to DEPRESSION/ANXIETY and very very severe PANIC ATTACKS that crippled me for three weeks....and plagued me for the last two years.
>
> My Doctor after a long discussion with me two years ago, said that part of the 'deal' she was making with me, was to put me on ZOLOFT, AND arrange for treatment with a well respected CLINICAL PYSCHOLOGIST......... I saw him the very next week, and continued to do so for nearly two years. We now email each other every month or so, just to maintain contact...
>
> I never believed that medication was going to be a on-going thing.......I just assumed that the time will come and they will just be a thing of the past. I stopped the ZOLOFT nearly TWO months ago.....and am now totally relying on all the skills and techniques I learnt through my sessions....COGNITIVE and BEHAVIORAL treatment.
>
> I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I didn't learn how to interrupt my OBSESSIVE thought patterns, and if I didn't learn the right breathing techniques, and didn't learn SELF-TALK.........there would be NO way under the sun that I COULD have come off the medication.......but I have........and although I sometimes struggle, I do have the KNOWLEDGE behind me......which mostly works, sometimes it doesn't as the MENTAL GYMNASTICS just gets too exhausting.....
>
> Good luck to everybody,
>
> I have decided to stop accessing this site....I feel that I am doing what is right for me, and I hope you all find the comfort and the help you need, whether it is through drugs AND/OR Therapy.
>
> DanaHi Dana,
This board has been designed for sharing experiences about drug treatment: it is its purpose. Ther's another board, called Psycho-Social where you can socilaize and share experiences about therapies instead.
I did cognitice therapy myself: i thing it was useful , but five years after that i had second bout of depression and the skills i had learned didn't help me this time: i barely moved from the couch and couldn't eat at all.
If i was forcing myself i would puke right after having swallowed the food. Please, don't think i'm trying to scare but consider that drugs have been life-savers for some people.
Imipramine saved my life the last winter: i tried and tried, but no therapy could bring out from the throes of this terrible illness. After two months i decided to take the drug and it was a life-saver from me: i was becoming psychotic, felt like i was dead, my legs felt as they were dead, made of plastic. It was like being inside a storm: i was sticking to the couch falling in to a maelstrom of madness. Imipramine dragged me out of this storm: sure there are many things to be done, i still have to work hard on my self probabilly, but the drug is helping me to get this job done also.Wishing you good luck for your discomfort, whatever it is.....
Anna Laura
Posted by AMenz on July 2, 2001, at 9:34:13
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
This is typical. Treatment for anxiety disorders (PTSD being one of them) does involve cognitive therapy since the disorder consists of a trigger plus an underlying biochemical problem. Obviously desensitizing a person to the trigger situation, (whatever it is, cramped room, elevators, etc) will get the condition under control. Some people seem to recover just with therapy.
However, I defy anyone to treat a mood disorder without meds simply by talk therapy. If they prove it to me I will beat a path to their door.
> If I sound patronising, please forgive me. I have only been accessing this site for about three weeks now and may appear to overstep the mark here and generalise. The one thing that frightened me while using this site is the apparent lack of THERAPY orientated treatment. It just seems that DRUG THERAPY is given first....with little mention of things like COGNITIVE THERAPY.
>
> Please don't think that I have just come out of 'la la land'........I had been diagnosed with POST TRAUMATIC STRESS....which then led to DEPRESSION/ANXIETY and very very severe PANIC ATTACKS that crippled me for three weeks....and plagued me for the last two years.
>
> My Doctor after a long discussion with me two years ago, said that part of the 'deal' she was making with me, was to put me on ZOLOFT, AND arrange for treatment with a well respected CLINICAL PYSCHOLOGIST......... I saw him the very next week, and continued to do so for nearly two years. We now email each other every month or so, just to maintain contact...
>
> I never believed that medication was going to be a on-going thing.......I just assumed that the time will come and they will just be a thing of the past. I stopped the ZOLOFT nearly TWO months ago.....and am now totally relying on all the skills and techniques I learnt through my sessions....COGNITIVE and BEHAVIORAL treatment.
>
> I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I didn't learn how to interrupt my OBSESSIVE thought patterns, and if I didn't learn the right breathing techniques, and didn't learn SELF-TALK.........there would be NO way under the sun that I COULD have come off the medication.......but I have........and although I sometimes struggle, I do have the KNOWLEDGE behind me......which mostly works, sometimes it doesn't as the MENTAL GYMNASTICS just gets too exhausting.....
>
> Good luck to everybody,
>
> I have decided to stop accessing this site....I feel that I am doing what is right for me, and I hope you all find the comfort and the help you need, whether it is through drugs AND/OR Therapy.
>
> Dana
Posted by stjames on July 2, 2001, at 10:09:44
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
GOOD bye !
James
Posted by Lorraine on July 2, 2001, at 13:21:02
In reply to Re: SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by stjames on July 2, 2001, at 10:09:44
This is a great example of how divergent opinions are allowable and can be responded to with a sense of balance. I'm glad the group could do this. As for me, I believe that depression is like diabetes, which is treated through drugs, diet, and exercise. Depression is treated through drugs, therapy, exercise, meditation and anything else that works.
Posted by stjames on July 2, 2001, at 15:42:31
In reply to Re: SAYING GOODBYE ..Great responses all » stjames, posted by Lorraine on July 2, 2001, at 13:21:02
> This is a great example of how divergent opinions are allowable and can be responded to with a sense of balance. I'm glad the group could do this. As for me, I believe that depression is like diabetes, which is treated through drugs, diet, and exercise. Depression is treated through drugs, therapy, exercise, meditation and anything else that works.
James here...
I'm glad you took my response as it was intended, ie humor. I think we all agree with you that meds are part of the answer. This board focuses on meds
but that does not mean we think theay are a sole answer.James
Posted by rmshed on July 2, 2001, at 18:57:53
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
> If I sound patronising, please forgive me. I have only been accessing this site for about three weeks now and may appear to overstep the mark here and generalise. The one thing that frightened me while using this site is the apparent lack of THERAPY orientated treatment. It just seems that DRUG THERAPY is given first....with little mention of things like COGNITIVE THERAPY.
>
> Please don't think that I have just come out of 'la la land'........I had been diagnosed with POST TRAUMATIC STRESS....which then led to DEPRESSION/ANXIETY and very very severe PANIC ATTACKS that crippled me for three weeks....and plagued me for the last two years.
>
> My Doctor after a long discussion with me two years ago, said that part of the 'deal' she was making with me, was to put me on ZOLOFT, AND arrange for treatment with a well respected CLINICAL PYSCHOLOGIST......... I saw him the very next week, and continued to do so for nearly two years. We now email each other every month or so, just to maintain contact...
>
> I never believed that medication was going to be a on-going thing.......I just assumed that the time will come and they will just be a thing of the past. I stopped the ZOLOFT nearly TWO months ago.....and am now totally relying on all the skills and techniques I learnt through my sessions....COGNITIVE and BEHAVIORAL treatment.
>
> I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I didn't learn how to interrupt my OBSESSIVE thought patterns, and if I didn't learn the right breathing techniques, and didn't learn SELF-TALK.........there would be NO way under the sun that I COULD have come off the medication.......but I have........and although I sometimes struggle, I do have the KNOWLEDGE behind me......which mostly works, sometimes it doesn't as the MENTAL GYMNASTICS just gets too exhausting.....
>
> Good luck to everybody,
>
> I have decided to stop accessing this site....I feel that I am doing what is right for me, and I hope you all find the comfort and the help you need, whether it is through drugs AND/OR Therapy.
>
> DanaDana:
It is fantastic that you were able to open your mind and learn those techniques. Finding a good therapist is a big help. Consider yourself very lucky, I wish I could find the courage to do what you did. I guess we are all different in what we need and what we will and can do to help ourselves.
Congratulations!
Becky
Posted by Daveman on July 2, 2001, at 22:48:39
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
Dana:
I think you may not be clear on the "roadmap" for this site. "Psycho-Babble" is a site for discussions about medication. Other issues, including psychotherapy, are discussed on"Psycho-Social Babble". In fact, if someone starts a thread about non-medication issues, they get a polite but firm notice from Dr. Bob which starts with the word "Re-direct".
I myself am in weekly therapy with a psychologist in addition to my medications, and would not even think of having one without the other. But I've not gotten too far into those issues here, out of respect for the purpose of the site.
So, if you have questions or suggestions about medications, this is the place to be. But if you want to discuss CBT, then by all means "re-direct" yourself over to psycho-social babble. You might find some interesting stuff over there:)
Dave
Posted by Elizabeth on July 3, 2001, at 15:38:34
In reply to SAYING GOODBYE .... THANKS FOR SHARING, posted by dana on July 1, 2001, at 23:08:22
Dana, I don't know if you're even going to read this.
> If I sound patronising, please forgive me.
Umm...this sort of sounds like you know that you're going to be sounding patronising. I would think that it would be preferable, rather than apologising in advance, simply to refrain from doing the thing that you're apologising for. (Too late now.)
> I have only been accessing this site for about three weeks now and may appear to overstep the mark here and generalise.
Yes. Given your situation, it's understandable, for reasons which I will try to explain.
> The one thing that frightened me while using this site is the apparent lack of THERAPY orientated treatment. It just seems that DRUG THERAPY is given first....with little mention of things like COGNITIVE THERAPY.
This site is oriented toward discussion of medical therapies, and some people here have had bad experiences with "talking" therapies. Some of us feel that CBT and other talk-therapies have been forced down our throats even after we had made a good effort without much benefit. Other people have pointed you to the Psycho-Social-Babble board, which is for discussion of psychosocial (talk) therapies.
Posttraumatic stress is, by definition, connected to a specific experience, and it's commonly felt that psychological therapies such as CBT and insight-oriented therapy are helpful, if not necessary, for PTSD. The same is not always true of other anxiety disorders, mood disorders, etc.
BTW: typing in all-caps is typically interpreted as "yelling" (this is an old internet convention). I don't know if this is what you intended, but it's generally not considered a polite way to interact online.
Sorry you didn't find what you were looking for here. Do check out Psycho-Social-Babble; you might find it more to your liking.
-elizabeth
Posted by dana on July 5, 2001, at 2:13:09
In reply to Dana's goodbye, posted by Elizabeth on July 3, 2001, at 15:38:34
quite right !
This is the end of the thread.
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