I think when you are in crisis, CBT has limited impact. I know when I am extremely anxious or depressed, all the irrational, intrusive thoughts bombard me. My skills learned in CBT just don't seem to work very well. That is not to say CBT is pointless. My therapist is wonderful and she points out the skills I did acquire through CBT and how that made the episode easier to handle. Can you tell I am a big fan of CBT.

I am also a big fan of meds. Better living through chemistry is my mantra. There are a lot of good meds out there for anxiety. Also, when I feel good, I can internalize more of the skills I learn in CBT. That way I will have even more ammunition in my arsenal for the next episode.

It's kind of an iterative process. I handle each subsequent episode (and in my future there is likely to be another episode) better than the one before.