What do do when you relapse?

[StaceySGMW]

I'm sure there'll be other people who've been here.

You were doing well with emet, then it just came back, tenfold.

I'm in CBT and for 1-2 days afterwards I'll be ok, then I'll revert completely like I was before I started CBT.

Has anyone had any similar experiences? If so, what did you do to 'snap' out of it.

I'm feeling all panicky and anxious, ashamedly. I don't want to be like this, but I just can't get out of this vicious, downwards cycle.

[sage]

Setbacks are normal - they're even documented in the literature. So don't feel ashamed or beat yourself up about it. Another poster whose name I can't remember showed a graph her CBT counselor gave her where the phobic's line is a zig zag up and down....and the aim is a straight line, even though the line will be "higher" than "normal" people's line...because we'll always be prone to high anxiety.

Just do what you learn in therapy. Keep at it. Do all the homework exercises and work hard. Eventually the "setbacks" will become farther and farther apart and less acute.

Good luck!

[KaydeeJayde]

That was my graph. She told me a whole bunch of stuff about how the only people who have absolutely NO anxiety are people who are no longer living. Everyone has stresses at some point. We just have more than usual. I can explain more over PM if you'd like, but I think Sage is probably more qualified :P If you'd like to see the graph, the thread is in the Treatments section, under Pet Therapy and CBT