hypnotherapy or cbt? plz everyone answer!

[gcepeda]

im about to start therapy bc my anxiety is completely out of control and this has to end now. i cant live anymore, i constantly just think ab dying bc i cant deal another day with this. and im a happy person i swear to god...i would never want to die! so i really need as many people as possible to give me their feedback on whether hypnotherapy/hypnosis is better than cbt or vice versa to treat this problem. i am watching obsessed right now(which by the way i wanna go on so bad) and it just seems like cbt would be so effective if im chained to a bed and forced to see ppl vomit. but if hypnotherapy works too in less time, i rather do that....please guys help me out im so desperate!

[sage]

I just want to clear up a couple of things about the therapies that you refer to so you can make a more informed decision. CBT or "cognitive-behavioral therapy" is not the same thing as "flooding" (tying yourself to a bed, as you say). Flooding is one form of CBT but it hasn't been proven to have long-lasting effects and indeed it can re-traumatize a person. Proper CBT would be about GRADUALLY desensitizing someone from their fear and also being a trusted and compassionate companion to that person on their journey. It also involves helping the person to examine their negative cognitions (thoughts) and eventually changing them. (For emetophobes the negative cognition is usually something like "vomiting is dangerous.")

Hypnotherapy can be a helpful part of treatment. It helps you to relax and breathe properly which further relaxes your body. I have not actually heard of anyone being "cured" or even successfully treated using hypnotherapy alone.

Hope this helps and good luck with your treatment!
Sage
P.S. - There is an article I've written in the "information and research" section about diagnosis and treatment which should help you find appropriate treatment.

[gcepeda]

i just dont know what to do...i read your blog and it was inspiring but i just dont feel like i can go through what you went through unless a professional or doctor is with me to monitor me anpt all times. i just think if i were ever in a hospital and have to wait with someone while they vomit i would have a heart attack. i just let myself chicken out too often and i know that just forcing myself to do it is what would really help me. i feel soooo hopeless i just really need to know that there is a way to be cured of this phobia forever, or atleast so i can live my life, puke in peace and be there to help my family when they are sick also. this is my dream and the more i think ab it, the more i freak out

[asianeko]

I was treated using hypnotherapy alone, but I was also very stubborn about wanting to get rid of my fear, and I was milder than most on this site. I think a conjunction of both would be best for you. Hypnotherapy puts you in a mental state where you can accept things a bit easier and bring your emet into perspective. CBT (though I've never used it) would do most of the work I believe while hypno aided it.

[sage]

gcepeda: Hang in there and continue to seek help! I understand how you feel - how reading my blog would feel totally overwhelming. However the thing is....you're reading a story (for 2 minutes) that actually took 2 years of weekly therapy to completely recover. We began with the easiest, easiest things and never got my anxiety over 5 out of 10. Really, it isn't hard. It just seems that way when you look at it all at once.
Good luck!

[gcepeda]

youre completely right! i guess i feel like if someone were to tell me to sit next to someone while they vomit i would freak out but in two years from now after lots of therapy who konws how id feel. why does it seem like everyone on this site has gotten help in some form or another and still is in the same place! it feels like there is no cure....and only a few lucky ppl are able to get over it....you are the only person actually that i know of that i believe has truly recovered...(bc theres a lot of phony stuff out there that i tihnk are lies)....i just wish this was a more well known problem and that there were more specialists out there...i hate to talk to a dr that has never heard of this phobia...it makes me worried....also i dont have enough money to go every week....how much did u spend per week? i guess i could afford 50 dollars per session...i dont even know if thats a reasonable price

[sage]

Trust me, there are lots of people who have recovered from this phobia. The people who come to this forum day after day are people who are generally not in treatment, can't afford it, don't believe in it, or their therapists just aren't that good. And so they come here seeking help and support almost daily. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that and in fact people on here are a great help to one another but it's not the same thing as getting help and getting over your anxiety altogether.
Honestly, the majority of therapists ARE good - they are compassionate and understanding, and if you print out the "Get the Facts" article from the "Information and Research" section of this website and give it to your doctor or therapist to read that will go a long way. I've also written another article on there about diagnosis and treatment - how to find a good therapist.
Good luck! And stay optimistic!

[grdomzal]

Hey gcepeda... glad to hear you're planning on getting help. I'm currently undergoing CBT therapy and thought I'd share a few thoughts:

What you've described is basically exposure therapy, which is only a portion of my treatment. Exposure therapy sure does sound scary, but it really isn't. Like Sage has said, you take baby steps each time, and it's spread out a long period.

Before I started exposure, my therapist taught me several relaxation techniques. These alone were worth it! I do meditation daily (or at least I should be ) to keep my generalized feeling of anxiety down, and then there's other techniques to help prevent / pass through moments of panic. Learning how to relax is super important. It allows you to go into your exposure treatment feeling calm... and in the super rare cases where you feel your anxiety going through the roof, you can put on the brakes and return to reality.

Another aspect of my CBT has been identifying my self-talk and mistaken beliefs. Basically: Why am I afraid of being sick? A lot of the time it's some silly reason that after giving thought to, I see would never actually happen in real life!

I would recommend checking out "The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook" by Edmund Bourne. It offers really good explanations for a bunch of techniques (including relaxation). Even though the book can be used as self-help, I'd still recommend getting a therapist, or at least a trusted friend or family member to help you through it.

One last thought regarding the people who've gotten treatment, but still come back here for help: You get what you put into it. Simply going to a therapist isn't going to cure you. You have to do work, you have to continue after setbacks, you have to trust that there's light at the end of the tunnel. Know that recovery takes time, and that it may be weeks before you start noticing a difference. Consistency, at least for the first few months, is also really important. If I don't meditate at least every other day, I start to feel myself get anxious again. But after 3 months of treatment, I can tell you... I am a lot better off now than I was at the beginning!

Best of luck,

Greg

[BiggerPicture]

I totally agree Greg, i am doing CBT too but my therapist said we will try and do it without any relaxation techniques so that i do not become dependant upon them. It is really really hard to get motivated to do work at home, by myself with little to no encouragement but in therapy i feel like im there to get better. It is babysteps but it is stil scary facing something that i have been running away from for the whole of the time that i can remember! But i am seeing an improvement and it is worth the effort to try and get back to some kind of normality. I did try hypnotherapy and felt very positive after it, its just a shame that positive feeling didnt last!

[grdomzal]

Yes, my therapist suggested that I don't do relaxation *during* the exposure, since you want to desensitize to the anxiety as well as the stimuli. But, before, after, and any other time is OK, and in my opinion 100% required!

And yeah... motivation is a tough one. When I feel good, I think to myself: "Why bother, I should go out and enjoy this good mood!" But if I skimp out, then 2-3 days later I'm regretting it, and then it takes 2-3 days to get back into the good mood. I still make this mistake having only been at it for a few months... but I'm starting to catch on.

[asianeko]

Bigger, did you go to a therapist who would let you record the sessions? That is hands down the best thing I've done. I have a track of my last hypnotherapy session (which he provided me with as part of my set of 3 sessions) and I can take 20 minutes whenever I need to and get that positive feeling immediately

[BiggerPicture]

Asianeko - No, I never got a recording. I never even thought about it at the time TBH. I have a couple of relaxation sessions that I downloaded off the internet, but they are not phobia related so don't have the desired effect.

I'm still trying hard with my therapy though, but I expect this is "last chance saloon" for me to be phobia-free! :-(

[anxiousmommy]

Hi

I am new to this site and looking for support whilst I start CBT Exposure therapy. I have a severe phobia and have suffered with panic attacks and anxiety for 25 years. I have children of my own now and desperately want to be able to care for them whilst they are poorly in the way my mom cared for me. I am 28 yrs old now. I first tried hypnotherapy as exposure just sounded impossible. It didnt have any effect on my phobia tho. I paid a lot of money and went to one of the top treatment centres in England where I live. I have now started CBT and I have to say after just a couple of weeks I am starting to feel on the road to recovery. I dont find it easy in fact I would say it is one of the hardest things I have ever done. When I am in exposure I have a photograph of my 3 babies next to me and it helps to keep me calmer and strong. I am very very determined to beat this now and will definately not be stopping until it has gone and I am a success story. Good luck with your treatment and well done for being ready to start it! x