[Universal]

check out what CBT has as what it cures:

Cognitive behavior therapy is a clinically and research proven breakthrough in mental health care. Hundreds of studies by research psychologists and psychiatrists make it clear why CBT has become the preferred treatment for conditions such as these . . .

Depression and mood swings
Shyness and social anxiety
Panic attacks and phobias
Obsessions and compulsions (OCD and related conditions)
Chronic anxiety or worry
Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD and related conditions)
Eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia) and obesity
Insomnia and other sleep problems
Difficulty establishing or staying in relationships
Problems with marriage or other relationships you're already in
Job, career or school difficulties
Feeling ?stressed out?
Insufficient self-esteem (accepting or respecting yourself)
Inadequate coping skills, or ill-chosen methods of coping
Passivity, procrastination and ?passive aggression?
Substance abuse, co-dependency and ?enabling?
Trouble keeping feelings such as anger, sadness, fear, guilt, shame, eagerness, excitement, etc., within bounds
Over-inhibition of feelings or expression

Now doesn't this seem to solve the DP problem at least in one way?
http://www.cognitivetherapy.com/basics.html

 

[bright23]

I've had 7 years of on and off CBT therapy and my life has really come full circle... find the right therapist for you and things will just keep getting better.

 

[Universal]

thanks for the reply dude, i'm just looking at this cbt site
they're saying buddha was an early CBT thinker

"SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA (c. 563-483 BC), better known as Buddha, was the first "cognitive behavior therapist" we know of, antedating even Epictetus by 600 years.

And unlike Epictetus ? who seems to have confined himself to enunciating general principles such as you have seen on the page devoted to his teachings ? Siddhartha left behind something analogous to a modern psychotherapeutic treatment manual. He was quite specific on many aspects of how one can go about reducing needless suffering. I have seen some of them appear to work strikingly well in my own, highly scientifically-informed, practice. As a result, I look forward to the day when my research colleagues study Siddhartha's meditation and related practices in the rigorous format of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) ? the "gold standard" of treatment research.

We usually think of Buddhism as one of the major religions of the world. Even in Asia it is regarded and practiced by many in a manner that resembles the Western religions we are familiar with. Yet it is also practiced, especially in the Theravada ("Elders") tradition ? believed to adhere more than other flavors of Buddhism to Siddhartha's own precepts and methods ? as more of a cross between a moral philosophy and an applied psychology. There is little appeal to the supernatural: much of what has come down to us over 2,500 years is a set of practical instructions on how to live ethically ? i.e., in accord with what Siddhartha regarded as natural law ? and how to meditate so as to approach or even attain enlightenment (Nirvana), which is defined as a state devoid of all dukkha (roughly translated from the Pali, suffering).

Rich boy finally makes good
Siddhartha was a son of King Suddhodana in a region of northern India close to what is now Nepal. He grew up and began his adult life in sheltered luxury. But at the age of 29, curious about the world beyond his family's palace walls, he made a series of secret forays into the outside world. There, he encountered in quick succession a very old man, a very sick man, a corpse, and an ascetic. Astounded by the amount of pain he had discovered in the human condition, he was inspired to leave his wife, young son and princely lifestyle behind and devote himself to penetrating the mystery of human suffering. For six years he traveled in India as a mendicant holy man ? an odyssey that left him disillusioned with extreme asceticism. Then, at 35, he set himself to meditate under a tree, having made a vow to himself that he would stay until he had realized his quest.

When Siddhartha emerged from under the tree, he believed he had found the secret of enlightenment (Buddha means "enlightened" or "awakened" in Pali). He gave over the rest of his life ? like Epictetus after his emancipation ? to teaching all who would listen. It appears that a good many people did listen to him ? and that his teachings were found to work in practice. (If they had not worked, he most likely would have become just another unsung armchair philosopher and low-fee psychotherapist instead of the major historical and spiritual figure he actually became.)

To get an idea of how a leading form of Buddhist practice looks and feels (Vipassana meditation, i.e., "seeing things just as they are"), the best guides I've found are Thich Nhat Hanh's "The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation" and Joseph Goldstein's "Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom." They contain specific instructions that you can try out for yourself, and they're listed on the Bookshelf page of this site."

http://www.cognitivetherapy.com/buddha.html

 

[falling_free]

Im having CBT at the moment, been quite effective so far although ive only had 5 meetings so far.

 

[Sojourner]

There do appear to be similarities between OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and DP "rituals" of examination of one's thoughts.

 

[terri*]

I guess I always like to get on the CBT bandwagon as it was what worked for me personally. I still think that also having a great biofeedback person to work with me helped me learn to bring my actual anxiety/panic attacks down. Nothing like watching them peak on a monitor and learning thru breathing and reprocessing your thoughts how to bring them down.

Best wishes to all,
terri

 

[enngirl5]

I've just started seeing a therapist for CBT and I think it works really well. We basically talk about my worrying and how I catastrophize everything. I take little worries and turn them into a huge deal. I'm learning to be more rational in my thought processes. Which is something I've had a problem with forever. So I'm crossing my fingers that some good will come of the CBT.

 

[Universal]

"Panic disorder (PD) is a chronic condition associated with substantial reduction in quality of life, and lifetime prevalence rates are approximately three percent. Role functioning is substantially lower in patients with PD than in patients with diabetes, heart disease or arthritis. Individuals with PD frequently use both emergency department and general medical services, presenting with high rates of unexplained cardiac symptoms, dizziness and bowel distress."

Imipramine and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Effective For Panic Disorder

CHICAGO, IL -- May 16, 2000 -- Imipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant), cognitive-behavioral therapy (a particular form of psychotherapy) and the combination of the two provide effective treatment for individuals who experience panic disorder, according to an article in the May 17 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

David H. Barlow, Ph.D., from the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University, and colleagues analyzed data from a multicenter clinical trial of 312 patients diagnosed with panic disorder. The participants were randomly assigned to receive one of five possible treatment courses: imipramine alone, cognitive-behavioral therapy alone, placebo (inactive pills) alone, a combination of imipramine and cognitive-behavioral therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy with placebo. Participants were treated weekly during the acute phase (first three months of treatment). If they responded to treatment they were seen monthly during the maintenance phase (six months following the acute phase) and then followed up for 6 months after the treatment was discontinued.

Using the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS), the researchers found that both imipramine and cognitive-behavioral therapy were significantly more effective than placebo during the acute phase. Using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale, they found no significant difference for the treatments compared to placebo during the acute phase.

The researchers found that the treatments were both significantly more effective than placebo during the maintenance phase using both scales (PDSS and CGI). More patients dropped out from the group assigned to imipramine alone than the cognitive-behavioral therapy alone, due to adverse effects of the treatment. By the end of the maintenance phase, the combination of imipramine and cognitive-behavioral therapy was superior to either treatment alone. "Our results demonstrate that both imipramine and CBT [cognitive-behavioral therapy] are better than pill placebo for treatment of panic disorder," the authors write. "Imipramine produced a superior quality of response but CBT had more durability and was somewhat better tolerated."

 

[Universal]

Anyone else have any luck with CBT? 8)

 

[falling_free]

Some luck, I say some luck as Im still very much dped and in my own mind, I still dont exsist. But CBT is starting to unravel some of my inner complexcitites and crap. so slowly helping me, though im still a brainfuck.