[desenchantee]

Hi everyone
I am feeling really frustrated and wanted to talk about something that has to do with therapy methods for anxiety which I have been dealing with since I was a teenager. I wanted to ask if anyone has had experience with cognitive therapy for anxiety disorder or panic attacks. I have been in psychoanalytical psychotherapy for 8 years and although it has helped me understand many things about the roots of the problem I cannot shake the symptoms, the frequent feeling of anxiety for no reason and the general way of seeing the world as a frequently threatening place.. I am feeling like my work with my psychiatrist focuses too much on the past as a root of the problem but not so much in the present and the techinques to face the anxiety attacks that hit me too often!! I get so frustrated when I see that I still have the same reactions of insecurity, fear, anxiety and stress that subsequently result to periods of depression...despite all these years of work with an exceptional therapist. And yes, I am a lot better than I used to be, I can cope but still...Is it me? Is it the the kind of treatment that maybe is not getting through to me enough??
Any kind of comment, or feedback on this I would really appreciate..thank you

[Stronger]

I have found that DBT was somewhat helpful (never tried CBT though). Also, EMDR, if you have had any sort of past trauma. A psychoanalysis, I found only confirmed what I already knew (that I'm crazy and have enough issues to go round ten times over). But it might be helpful if the test is designed to tell you what kind of formal therapy would be best for you. Have you talked about it with your T at all? He/She probably knows you quite well by now and might be able to suggest something.

Let us know what you end up doing
Good luck, my dear!

[Fuzzybear]

I struggle with anxiety too... I also found psychoanalysis didn't help much with that. DBT is worth investigating IMO.

Good luck and please keep posting

[lala-land123]

I'm doing DBT now for my anxiety and will say it is worth investigating. But I'm also familiar with CBT, which helps you recognize negative self talk and work on those, and suggest if you're interested in trying it, go for mindfulness based CBT. It's essentially the core DBT skill with cognitive therapy.

[Harmacy]

CBT worked for me up to a point but it's a far too rational approach for an over emotional person like me. I understand the processes behind CBT and I get the logic behind it but in real life situations, sometimes the way I feel still doesn't fully respond to a logical approach - especially when dealing with highly irrational and manipulative people such as my family

Never tried it but I'd also suggest EMDR. A good friend of mine swears by it and they tried lots of other stuff beforehand. If your problem is to do with unresolved traumas from the past then EMDR could be worth a shot before CBT in my opinion.

[anxteach]

Originally Posted by Stronger

I have found that DBT was somewhat helpful (never tried CBT though). Also, EMDR, if you have had any sort of past trauma. A psychoanalysis, I found only confirmed what I already knew (that I'm crazy and have enough issues to go round ten times over). But it might be helpful if the test is designed to tell you what kind of formal therapy would be best for you. Have you talked about it with your T at all? He/She probably knows you quite well by now and might be able to suggest something.

Let us know what you end up doing
Good luck, my dear!

Ok, silly question... what's DBT? I get that CBT is cognitive based therapy, but what's DBT?

[Travelinglady]

Not a silly question at all, but a very reasonable one. DBT stands for "Dialectical Behavioral Therapy."

Now, I have one: What does EMDR stand for?

[BlessedRhiannon]

I've had the most success with some of the aspects of DBT. For me, CBT was frustrating and not helpful at all.

You might bring this up with your current therapist and let them know that you feel you need some more concrete coping skills for dealing with daily panic, as well as skills for when anxiety turns in to a panic attack.

For me, mindfulness has been very helpful in averting panic if I feel it building, and in recovering from panic attacks more quickly.

[PoorPrincess]

EMDR =

EMDR Institute, Inc. - What is EMDR?
EMDR therapy is recognized as an effective form of trauma treatment in numerous practices ... Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) ...
‎What is EMDR? - ‎Frequently Asked Questions - ‎Trauma Research

[desenchantee]

"You might bring this up with your current therapist and let them know that you feel you need some more concrete coping skills for dealing with daily panic, as well as skills for when anxiety turns in to a panic attack."
I discussed this with my therapist but she wasn't helpful. She put me on neurontin do stabilize my moods. It has been a month and so far it has worked well in combination with seropram but it's a really long-term thing (1-2 years on this combination of meds)

For me, mindfulness has been very helpful in averting panic if I feel it building, and in recovering from panic attacks more quickly.[/QUOTE]
I recently bought one of John Kabat-Zihn's books but haven't started it yet. Would you recommend any of his or other book on mindfulness in particular?