Has exposure with CBT helped you

[harmony18]

Hi there..

Im in the middle of having cbt..its been about 5 weeks now and im now at the stage where my therapist has asked me to go onto this site and listen to sounds of people v* first theres a relax sounds..then you click onto the v* sounds..it goes up in stages to realy mild to hardcore sounds..

I went to listen to the mild one which was first and i hard him moaning ect but as he started to v* and all that sound that comes with it i had to turn it of..it made me have that frightening feeling i get if im there with someone..

I cryed because i felt like im not going to get better..

My Q is have any of you done this and got through it and it got easier..also how did you make yourself listen without turning the sound of or down..it was discusting and made me feel so ill..v* is such a discusting act..everything about it..why does it have to be so gross..i mean poo is not even that gross by miles and miles and miles!

[andee]

Hi Harmony, I was thinking of posting about my exposure experiences as well. I have gone 4 times and so far I have kept a thought log of all the "cognitive distortions" I have....and I had to write down my avoidance behaviors, distraction behaviors, and safety behaviors. Both were eye openers for me. And last time, I finally did some low level exposure. Since I avoid all words pertaining to "that," and I only say "get sick," he had me repeat a nice "vacation" word for 2 minutes, then had me repeat the word v****, and rate my anxiety from 1 to 10. It was awful to have to say it over and over, and my anxiety went to a 6, but then went down!! It's called habituation...if you hang in there with your anxiety, it WILL go down. So my homework is to say the word like that, and rate my anxiety. I couldn't believe it worked...I have hope for future exposures.

I guess the key is to go slow, not do too much at once, and also to stay with it until your anxiety goes down. So for your listening, if that is too much for you, then that means you need to do something a little easier. I'm only saying words right now, but he says I am pretty much where I should be. I like this guy because he really seems to understand the phobic mind and anxiety, etc. Keep me posted as to how you are doing...good luck!!

[harmony18]

Hi andee

Thank you for your reply..i am so happy your finding it helps and you realy get on with your therapist..ive heard meny people on here say they have been through lots because they just can click with them..im lucky to i realy click with the women i see and when im there and she tells me my homework i have such high condfidence..

I bet because you can see it does work it makes you stick at it and you can see the ligh at the end

Before there was the stomach bug in my house at the weekend..(the first one in 15 years) i was doing realy well.id stopped useing anti back hand gel,id started touching door handles, i came home and faced the music when the bug was in the house..then bang the bug arrives and it all goes down the drain.i wear gloves i bleached,i didnt sit with anyone..i came home from work and stayed in my room for 4 days which i normaly do anyway so didnt matter..

I am ok with words..i can say the words but i dont put them on here because i know some people like your self dont like to read them

Can i ask how did you get emet?

i will keep you posted.could you keep me posted aswell please

Laura

[andee]

Sure...I will definitely keep you posted...I got emet. at 10 years old (I'm now 42) from having the flu or something, and my doctor gave me medicine with codeine in it, and it made me violently ill. It was so traumatic that it just stuck with me. I was even hospitalized twice for malnutrition because I can't eat when I'm anxious...it was horrible. I am much better now, but can't seem to shake the real core of this phobia. PM me if you have more Q's...take care.

[harmony18]

oh dear i am so sorry to here this its a shame that when we go through something like this we cant shake it of like others..if we could we wouldnt have this phobia..i have this to because of something that happend when i was younger..i had it since i was about 6 years old and it kind of went away and i wasnt s* since i was about 11..but it didnt realy bother me..and still stayed away but it came back with force 2 years ago and its the worst its ever been..i can remember before this i had such a great life but now my brain is packed full of worry and stress everyday..its so draining and distroys your personality.. ill be here for you and so will lots of others!

Takecare and have a wonderful weekend..we will beat emet i promise