How long have you been with this therapist? And why were you concerned that you had been in therapy too long?

There is a lot of repetition in therapy, as it is a common way we internalize things, simply by hearing them over and over again. If you've been with her for 6 months-year, then I'm not sure either one of you can say the therapy isn't working. If it's been 3-4 years, then maybe....

Also, is it the fear of dizziness or the fear of being ill that you indicated was your primary reason for therapy? It's hard to tell from your posts. Either is completely understandable don't you think?

The whole world goes cock-eyed and out of control when we are dizzy. I would be afraid of it too. Fear of illness is also a valid, but manageable concern.

Either way, I know you don't believe in medication, but the data are very clear on this. Problems with anxiety can be helped with medication. I'm not talking about complicated depression or anything of the sort, I'm specifically talking about anxiety.

If you had an infection, you would be wise to take antibiotics. If you had diabetes, it would be wise to take insulin. If you had high blood pressure, you would take an ACE inhibitor, or whatever.

I ask you to only consider that anxiety is a medical condition that manifests with physical symptoms. It can wreak havoc with your body - your heart, your kidneys, your adrenal glands, even your bones. But all that aside, if it is interferring with the quality of your life, then it may be worth at least considering that route, because (well according to my belief system) we only get one shot at this.

Now I'm not saying you need to start out on a powerful psychoactive med, but a mild dose of a beta blocker (this is not even a psych med) or a low dose of klonopin might really help you, or at least give you some respite from your symptoms.

Maybe even enough such that you could start in therapy to work on issues that support the anxiety and finally get at the core of the problem. I don't know. I've always done therapy in combination with meds.

Neither of these meds I mentioned (when dosed correctly) will turn you into a brain dead zombie, alter your personality, or change the core of you. I especially like these two drugs because they've been around forever and ever - no big safety issues are likely to come up. Yes there is an addictive potential for the klonopin, but it's a slow acting benzo, there is no immediate "hit" that so often drives addiction. You might just simply find some relief, not a cure, but some relief.

I don't know if you've had bad reactions to drugs before, and this is certainly not a "YOU HAVE TO DO THIS" post. Not at all. If anything, this is a "I hope you can find the help you need" post.

Let me end by saying that I think that it is malpractice for a therapist to terminate a patient because the patient will not go on medication. That's just unethical. However, if a therapist truly believes that he/she can no longer help a patient, then the ethical thing to to (IMO) is to refer the patient to another provider that might be of benefit.