[JustJace2u]

I just wanted to pop in and quickly introduce myself. My name is Jace, I'm 42 years old and live in the Chicago area. I was just diagnosed in May with BP2 and MDD. Since February I have been seeing a pdoc and a therapist. The pdoc I see once a month and the therapist I was originally seeing every 3 weeks. My pdoc now wants me to go weekly. What the heck am I supposed to talk about on a weekly basis? I know it's probably in my best interest, especially considering I have had some suicidal thoughts in the past few weeks. Also, I consistently am putting myself down. What are people's thoughts on CBT? I know very little about it but have some workbooks that I ordered online, and I'm confused.

[thesnowqueen]

I guess the first question would be whether you are finding the workbooks helpful? If so, then CBT might be the way to go. If you are finding them annoying and besides the point, then it might not be the best approach in your case.

I found CBT very helpful (for chronic depression) but a)I had been seeing a T for some years when I stumbled on CBT through a book and b)The CBT therapist I saw probably was not practicing pure CBT in that he saw many clients long term.

[growlycat]

Welcome!! I have done psychodynamic therapy and cbt. For trauma issues and deeply felt pain I would recommend psychodynamic but for practical specific changes cbt was helpful also just in a different way for me. The biggest factor for success is the quality of the relationship between you and t.

[John Primo78]

welcome, I have found all of this to be useful in the few days that i have participated

[Nammu]

With a good therapist finding things to talk about is rarely a problem. The harder thing to do is leaving what you talked about at his/her office so you don't take it home with you. You might want to talk about coping skills first so you have a way to leave the stuff at the office. CBT was immensely helpful for me, it's a way of challenging automatic thoughts and beliefs that might get in the way of dealing with the depression.

[LonesomeTonight]

Welcome! Does your therapist have training in CBT? If so, they can help explain it more. Mine tried to use it for me with panic attacks, but it didn't really work that well on me. I know it's helped a lot of people though! As for what to talk about, I see a T (individually) and a marriage counselor (with my husband) weekly, and I can pretty much always find something to talk about. Sometimes it just ends up talking about how the past week went, how I'm feeling, what I'm thinking. And sometimes it ends up going back to stuff from the past, from childhood to more recent stuff, and figuring out how that affects me now. If you're not sure where to start, ask your therapist to lead you.

I hope it's OK to ask this part here, but can I ask what led them to diagnose you as BPII? I suspect that's what's actually going on with me, along with anxiety/panic disorder. I've had recurrent episodes of major depression starting in my late teens, which I've read suggests BPII. Plus some descriptions of hypomania fit (but definitely not regular mania.) My (now former) p-doc kept asking me about regular mania symptoms and acted like I didn't have BPII because I didn't have those. She also said I have so many things going on that it's hard to be sure what it actually is due to overlap (also have some OCD). My T thinks there might be something to the BPII (which could also explain my problems with some antidepressants I've tried). So just curious.

[Candle in the wind]

Hi there, i am currently in CBT and find it very helpful for me. After other things i tried i finally found something effective. I also found i had to be willing to do the work.
It cant help but to give it a shot! You never know

Good luck to you!

P.s.Love your username btw!

[runlola72]

**waving hi** I never thought I would be able to talk to T every week, but somehow we always fill the time, and I usually wish I could extend the session just to get a few more things in!

[JustJace2u]

Originally Posted by thesnowqueen

I guess the first question would be whether you are finding the workbooks helpful? If so, then CBT might be the way to go. If you are finding them annoying and besides the point, then it might not be the best approach in your case.

I found CBT very helpful (for chronic depression) but a)I had been seeing a T for some years when I stumbled on CBT through a book and b)The CBT therapist I saw probably was not practicing pure CBT in that he saw many clients long term.

I think I'm finding them helpful, but I guess only time will really tell.

[JustJace2u]

Originally Posted by Candle in the wind

Hi there, i am currently in CBT and find it very helpful for me. After other things i tried i finally found something effective. I also found i had to be willing to do the work.
It cant help but to give it a shot! You never know

Good luck to you!

P.s.Love your username btw!

Thanks for the input. I'm gonna give it a shot and see what happens.

My username just kinda came to me one day. My real name is Jace though ☺️

[JustJace2u]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

Welcome! Does your therapist have training in CBT? If so, they can help explain it more. Mine tried to use it for me with panic attacks, but it didn't really work that well on me. I know it's helped a lot of people though! As for what to talk about, I see a T (individually) and a marriage counselor (with my husband) weekly, and I can pretty much always find something to talk about. Sometimes it just ends up talking about how the past week went, how I'm feeling, what I'm thinking. And sometimes it ends up going back to stuff from the past, from childhood to more recent stuff, and figuring out how that affects me now. If you're not sure where to start, ask your therapist to lead you.

I hope it's OK to ask this part here, but can I ask what led them to diagnose you as BPII? I suspect that's what's actually going on with me, along with anxiety/panic disorder. I've had recurrent episodes of major depression starting in my late teens, which I've read suggests BPII. Plus some descriptions of hypomania fit (but definitely not regular mania.) My (now former) p-doc kept asking me about regular mania symptoms and acted like I didn't have BPII because I didn't have those. She also said I have so many things going on that it's hard to be sure what it actually is due to overlap (also have some OCD). My T thinks there might be something to the BPII (which could also explain my problems with some antidepressants I've tried). So just curious.

I went through a round of psychological testing a few months ago and the psychologist who evaluated me made the suggestion of Bipolar Spectrum Disorder and then in May I was talking to my pdoc and flat out asked him what I was being treated for, he said right now we are treating it as BP2 and MDD. I don't have psychotic episodes but I do go through different stages of emotion, especially depression.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by JustJace2u

I went through a round of psychological testing a few months ago and the psychologist who evaluated me made the suggestion of Bipolar Spectrum Disorder and then in May I was talking to my pdoc and flat out asked him what I was being treated for, he said right now we are treating it as BP2 and MDD. I don't have psychotic episodes but I do go through different stages of emotion, especially depression.

Thanks! I know I answered a few questionnaires when I first saw my p-doc, but she's left the practice so I'll be finding a new one. Maybe he/she will do some more testing on me. The symptoms list just really rang true for me.

[JustJace2u]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

Thanks! I know I answered a few questionnaires when I first saw my p-doc, but she's left the practice so I'll be finding a new one. Maybe he/she will do some more testing on me. The symptoms list just really rang true for me.

The intern who actually performed the testing said he was quite surprised at how many of the symptoms, etc. I checked off on a list of about 100 items. I'm really a mixed bag of emotions, except manic (I'm definitely hypo though).