[neodoering]

Good day, fellow whack jobs. I am schizoaffective, have been for 11 years, and I have tried a number of medications with varying degrees of success. I see lots of discussion of anti-psychotic meds, with names like Abilify, Haldol, Risperidone, etc. thrown around, and there are the mood stabilizers like lithium that have such fun side effects. But I am not here to talk about drugs, only to mention them in passing to show that I am exercising due diligence in my fight against SAD. I take my meds every day and rarely forget, and they do have some effect against the illness.

I am a veteran, and a few years ago the VA got hold of me and asked me if I wanted to learn some Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training techniques to fight the illness. I said, 'hell, yes!' because like a good soldier I want all the weapons in my arsenal that I can get. The training took 6 months, twice a week for several hours a session. Some of it I found useless, but some of it was helpful. From this I got practice in recognizing psychotic thoughts then they attacked, before they took over, and methods for disarming those thoughts and replacing them with more helpful thought patterns. Long and short of it is, I had to personalize the techniques a little bit to optimize what worked for me, but CBSST WORKS! When the symptoms are not too strong, it is possible to have a mental battle with the symptoms and to overcome them. For me, this means that about 25% of the time I am able to successfully apply these techniques and win over SAD.

The disadvantage is that these techniques are a psychological struggle of your mind against your disorder. It is like any mental fight; you are a space case while you battle the symptoms, and to other people it looks like you are zoned out and useless. Your work comes to a halt, your conversations come to a halt, you forget what you are doing, and these fights can go on for hours. So what is the benefit? Not letting the symptoms own you. Fighting them on their own ground, and sometimes winning. And when the symptoms are weak, putting them down in short order.

So if you want a way of fighting your symptoms that doesn't have the side effects or expense of drugs, consider CBSST. I know the VA offers it, and I'm sure it's available through other mental health providers. If your symptoms are strong it's not too valuable, but if you've got a lightweight illness, this can really help you out.

[ray68]

I just bought a CBSST workbook today I will get it in a week . And I am actually going to the VA tomorrow to ask if they have any classes I can join. The VA here is really limited but I'm hoping!

[neodoering]

Ray;
I hope the CBSST techniques bring you relief. Sometimes they really help me, especially with repetitive or intrusive thoughts.

Onward!

[ray68]

I started looking at my book but I kinda want someone to go over it with me. I feel like if i do it by myself i will just be going through the motions and not do it seriously. but if i have someone holding me responsible i will probably get more out of it. :P

[here today]

This looks very interesting! I'm in another "domain" with my mental health issues, motivational/emotional not so much thoughts. Trauma, personality disorder traits, but not borderline. I tried DBT, which is about all they have for any personality disorder in addition to therapy, but it didn't help me. Definitely feel like I need social skills training, maybe modifying this program could help? I don't have a therapist at the moment, but this looks like something I might try with one, even if they haven't been trained.

Thanks!