Cognitive behavioural therapy

[Danniie_91]

Hey all, has anyone tried cognitive behavioural therapy for your meet?? I did it for one hour than gave up due to seeing the pictures has anyone else had bad luck ??

[KaydeeJayde]

CBT was what by and large, helped me to recover. It was so helpful but you HAVE to be willing to push yourself, and you need to be willing to accept that sometimes, you may have to do some things that you don't want to do. It was SO hard for me, I'll be the first to admit. I'd go home and cry myself to sleep after a session because I felt like it was too hard, or that it was taking too long. However, CBT is, in my opinion, the best therapy for anxiety disorders and phobias if people are willing to work with their therapist. You definitely need to do more than an hour of it for it to make a difference. My suggestion would be to go back, and tell the person who was working with you that you don't feel like you're at the point where you can look at pictures, and ask them if you can work up to that. Good luck.

[NicManri]

It can work but it's for everyone. Also, every therapist has different techniques and different ways they go about things, so if this therapist didn't make you feel comfortable don't let it discourage you from finding another one

[Danniie_91]

I haven't been back in over 3 months as I keep going they won't help me as I've seen so many therapists over 5 years and they didn't help me get over my depression and my fear of food Ect as I also have an avid fear of eating at a new restaurant as I'm obsessed I would get fp. My boyfriend has been amazing tho , for example last night I had awful nauseau to the point I nearly cried but he managed to hold me in his arms and convince me I will be fine I soon calmed down , I love him

[Mrswilson1623]

Hello

I have had it regularly for a few years now, I find it helps but it does depend on your therapist, I have had a few where I haven't connected with them and found it wasn't as effective.

However since I gave birth to my daughter in December 2011 my phobia has become 100 times worse and I am about to receive EMDR therapy starting on 22nd December so hoping that works better for me!

I have also considered hypnotherapy, but very little is known about emet in the uk!

Stick with it x

[NicManri]

Let me know how EMDR goes, I've been interested in that.

[Mrswilson1623]

I will do fingers crossed it helps x

[Dairyfreelife]

Here's what my therapist had me do...
Make a list of everything and anything about V* that bothers you. I did not spell it out because it sounds like if pictures are a trigger, you may still be at the word trigger stage as well. Write it down. Put them in order from what least bothers you and what most bothers you. A good therapist will help you slowly build up to this.
Learn proper breathing. This is non-negotiable as breathing is everything when it comes to panic.
A good therapist will ask you to go only as far as you are willing and if anything is making you get anxious, they will want you to tell them. This lets them know where you are and where they need to go next.
Meditation or similar techniques are good for relaxing your body and mind. Your therapist should help you work on the thoughts that are negative and help you turn them positive. You must tell yourself these things every day for anything to be effective.
I went through about four therapists before I found the right one for me. Shopping for the right therapist is important. They may not know emetophobia, but they should know how to deal with phobias and be willing to help you with your specific phobia.
I have a workbook called The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. I do not agree with all the stuff in it, like eating certain foods will make it go away or natural type treatments that are unproven, but it has everything you could think of in there as well as I history evaluation. I have found it very helpful. It is panic attack trackers and measurements for you to help gauge your levels. I have even heard of the idea of thinking of panic/anxiety as an external being, which removes you from the equation, so when panic is starting, you tell it that it is okay, there is nothing to fear as if you are calming someone else down. It sounds weird, but it can be helpful for many people.
Most important is to not give up. CBT and exposure therapies take time. It is not going to improve in a day or a week or even a month. It will most likely take a couple years, but if you want to get over the phobia, you will get over the phobia. Damn this phobia. You will kick its ass. Or at least, that's how I have begun to think of it.

[greasydago]

Hi and sorry for the late post. I am a counselor who specializes in only CBT-because that seems to get the most results. Anyway, my question is you mentioned pictures? They typically are not part of the regime, but I guess as someone else mentioned, every therapist is different. I don't know what pictures they showed you, but was it "exposure" type of therapy? I would not do something like that, especially after only seeing someone a few times--actually, I would not do that at all. Yes, CBT can be very beneficial, but at the LEAST you need 10 sessions. I go longer because sometimes it can take 3 just to get familiar with someone. I suggest going to someone different to get comfortable, and if you do not like them, go somewhere else. I agree with what Dairy mentioned-a good therapist will not push you, but will encourage when you are comfortable. I have terrible emet, and I have to reel myself in at times and therapitize myself--haha--it works as I rationalize with myself as well.