| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| ktulu |
Posted - 09/20/2011 : 11:06:12
I had been doing cognitive behavior therapy for a while, but I know Sarno says this is the wrong type to try to deal with repression. I don't know of any TMS therapists in my area, and I'm struggling to find some that will do phone or skype therapy. So my question is, if I call a therapist in my area, what type of therapy do I need to ask them if they specialize in? Thank you! |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| jjh2go |
Posted - 09/26/2011 : 18:57:08
There are a lot of interesting opinions and experiences regarding therapy on this thread. My experience has been "digging in the deep, dark past" has been the best thing I've ever done. Furthermore, I let my dreams guide my therapy. I have many recurrent themes and feelings that come out of my dreams. I focus on those themes and feelings in therapy, and it has been very effective. Javizy said it best by saying "it can be as easy as paying attention". I agree. I pay attention to what my unconscious is telling me in my sleep, and I pay attention to my feelings during the day when I am conscious. I also pay attention to my past feelings by meditating on the past and bringing those feelings out. It has all been effective for me. |
| bryan3000 |
Posted - 09/24/2011 : 14:54:43
Ktulu,
I would just answer to your thread by saying that I personally don't think CBT is a bad thing. I work with a CBT therapist. I think it can be PART of a solution that helps you accept the symptoms as not being dangerous.
But, to look into the other half of the equation might not be a bad idea, either. For that, working with a TMS therapist might help you out.
There is a therapist here in LA who does work through Skype with patients. His name is Alan Gordon. Here is his link:
http://www.painpsychotherapy.com/
I can't vouch for his therapy results. I can only say that I talked to him at length in order to find a referral for myself here in town. He was extremely knowledgeable about TMS, was kind and caring on the phone and spent way more time with me on the phone than he had to, considering I wasn't paying him. So, do your own due diligence on him... but he does work via Sykpe and does understand TMS thoroughly.
Good luck in your search.
_____________________________
-1/2010 - Developed chronic sinus problems. ENTs/Docs can't find anything
-5/29/2010 - Doc gives cocktail of allergy meds which induces first ever panic attack/anxiety.
-7/16/2010 - Anxiety stays/worsens - put on Xanax
2/1/2011 - Began Xanax taper - Withdrawal starts - full body chaos
-6/11/2011 - Last dose of Xanax. Physical/emotional chaos continues for several months.
-Now: Taking it day by day, looking for real answers and ways to heal myself without medical poison. |
| bryan3000 |
Posted - 09/24/2011 : 14:49:11
quote:
Originally posted by balto
quote:
Originally posted by wrldtrv
Regarding therapy that delves into the deep, dark past, I've done that and stopped after about 10 sessions because it seemed all it did was make me depressed without providing any new insights. I feel I have already thought about, talked about, written about in journals, all that stuff endlessly already. What else could be discovered.
My thought is the same. It doesn't make sense to me how in the world it would help anyone by looking for something deep, dark, and negative that happened long long ago and re-live it. It totally go against the 'live at the moment' philosophy.
Balto,
I haven't been a big believer that "digging" is the solution for most anxiety sufferers, either. But, over time and speaking to many people... I've come to understand that a certain amount of self-awareness can be obtained by having a better understanding of yourself. This sometimes requires psychoanalysis.
An example for me... the first time I met with my therapist, he noted that I was muting my anger at the doctors who I had felt had a pert in putting me in this state of anxiety. I never thought of it that way. I simply thought I was trying to be civil, and not overly angry about life. Turns out, he was right. He nailed me on this one. Deep down, I hated these ####ing physicians. They were incompetent, uncaring bastards in the hip-pockets of the drug companies. None of them could figure out what was happening with me... so one finally just started firing drugs at me until they made it worse... much worse.
So, I had rage I was playing off as "just part of life." "Hey, that's just how it goes sometimes... I know they're trying to do their best." My therapist called me on it immediately, and since... I've tried to be more honest with what I'm feeling about these types of things. Again, one tiny example of how a seemingly rational and at least functionally intelligent person may have NO idea what's really going on in his/her own head.
I will say this, it is EXTREMELY difficult to find a quality therapist. It's no wonder people waste so many years. I live in Los Angeles and you'd think we'd have the best here. We don't. Most I've seen have been awful. It took a lot of time/work to find qualified therapists.... and I'm still looking, honestly. (Working with a TMS qualified therapist here soon.)
I'm just saying that I see a lot of your posts attempting to put people off of the idea of psychotherapy... and I'm not so sure it's good advice. Better advice might be that each individual might need something different, and for some... a greater self-awareness acquired through deeper introspection with the help of a qualified professional might be the answer.
Once again, the need to create a "one-size-fits-all" answer for these topics really leaves me scratching my head.
_____________________________
-1/2010 - Developed chronic sinus problems. ENTs/Docs can't find anything
-5/29/2010 - Doc gives cocktail of allergy meds which induces first ever panic attack/anxiety.
-7/16/2010 - Anxiety stays/worsens - put on Xanax
2/1/2011 - Began Xanax taper - Withdrawal starts - full body chaos
-6/11/2011 - Last dose of Xanax. Physical/emotional chaos continues for several months.
-Now: Taking it day by day, looking for real answers and ways to heal myself without medical poison. |
| balto |
Posted - 09/22/2011 : 20:40:04
quote:
Originally posted by wrldtrv
Regarding therapy that delves into the deep, dark past, I've done that and stopped after about 10 sessions because it seemed all it did was make me depressed without providing any new insights. I feel I have already thought about, talked about, written about in journals, all that stuff endlessly already. What else could be discovered.
My thought is the same. It doesn't make sense to me how in the world it would help anyone by looking for something deep, dark, and negative that happened long long ago and re-live it. It totally go against the 'live at the moment' philosophy. |
| wrldtrv |
Posted - 09/22/2011 : 20:08:46
Regarding therapy that delves into the deep, dark past, I've done that and stopped after about 10 sessions because it seemed all it did was make me depressed without providing any new insights. I feel I have already thought about, talked about, written about in journals, all that stuff endlessly already. What else could be discovered.
I actually prefer cbt because it is at least short-term, practical, deals with real life issues, and you can do it w/out a therapist. All you need is a good book and the discipline to work at it until it is second nature.
ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) is similar to cbt except that it takes a mindfulness approach and doesn't try to dispute cognitive errors, but simply notice and accept them. The Happiness Trap is a good act primer.
Finally, I really can't say I have ever found THE perfect therapy and I have tried many over the years. In fact, I would say that 90% of the therapy I have tried has been either simplistic or worthless. There is a lot of crap out there! Buyer beware, especially if you are footing the bill yourself. |
| Javizy |
Posted - 09/22/2011 : 15:47:56
quote:
Originally posted by jjh2go
Sure, if that is your goal. Unfortunately, eliminating conscious fears doesn't have much to do with TMS and getting rid of the symptoms. I suppose it depends on how you get rid of the fear. If the fear is just suppressed, then that is not the way to go. I've suppressed a lot of emotions over the last few decades. Now I'm paying for it.
All I can say for sure is this - My hands have gone numb during psychotherapy. My sciatic pain gets horrible. My upper back hurts. I get all kinds of symptoms, because I'm letting some of those emotions break into consciousness. Then, after a few days or a week, I'm just a little bit better than I was the week before. I'm not a "book cure", and it's a very slow process. But, it is working for me.
Sorry, I wasn't necessarily suggesting it's ideal for TMS treatment, at least in terms of delving into repressed emotions, but more that it has valid uses. For example, a lot of TMSers suffer from a conscious fear of their symptoms, catastrophise about their lives and condition, hold self-defeating beliefs etc. I don't see why it couldn't work alongside psychotherapy, if it fit in with your aims.
Admittedly, I haven't delved that much into CBT itself, and I wasn't aware that there's any element of suppression. To me, it seems like a western take on mindfulness, which is all about awareness and acceptance and the natural change that comes from being able to objectively observe what's going on inside your head and body. Another mindfulness spin-off is ACT, which is excellently summarised in the book The Happiness Trap. It might be worth a read because your CBT therapist seems to have done you a bit of an injustice, although a good book on mindfulness would be just as informative.
When I started becoming aware of my ridiculous automatic reactions to stress and consciously feeling what it was doing to me, the change towards a measured response to it came about naturally. After reading a little bit about neuroscience (namely how an overactive amygdala can be desensitised by activation of the frontal lobes), this process became even clearer. It can really be as simple as paying attention, which is why I said CBT is a bit contrived, since you have workbooks and diagrams and God knows what, although this may appeal to some people.
Like I said, repressed emotions are a different ballgame, so sorry if this seems like a digression. I believe in an integrative approach to all health problems, so I like to explore different options, and it can good to have some power in your own hands instead of relying on a therapist. ACT and CBT have been recommended by a number of users on this forum, as well. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're making progress, and don't be discouraged by how long it takes. |
| jjh2go |
Posted - 09/22/2011 : 12:27:20
Sure, if that is your goal. Unfortunately, eliminating conscious fears doesn't have much to do with TMS and getting rid of the symptoms. I suppose it depends on how you get rid of the fear. If the fear is just suppressed, then that is not the way to go. I've suppressed a lot of emotions over the last few decades. Now I'm paying for it.
All I can say for sure is this - My hands have gone numb during psychotherapy. My sciatic pain gets horrible. My upper back hurts. I get all kinds of symptoms, because I'm letting some of those emotions break into consciousness. Then, after a few days or a week, I'm just a little bit better than I was the week before. I'm not a "book cure", and it's a very slow process. But, it is working for me. |
| Javizy |
Posted - 09/21/2011 : 09:18:08
quote:
Originally posted by jjh2go
I have done both. I've been through CBT therapy, and it was a waste of time in my opinion. Maybe it was my therapist. This is just my opinion, but it is the kind of therapy where the therapist is trying to "fix you". You are broken, and they are going to use logic, and a bunch of behavior research and they are going to try to "fix you" by telling you what is logical and what is illogical about your thoughts, feelings, and behavior. The unconscious mind is illogical and irrational, and I don't think applying logic to anything in that realm is very useful. Again, maybe it was just my therapist. I hope there isn't an army of therapists trying to "fix" people using logic.
You need to dig deep. Since my psychodynamic therapy started, I have uncovered an enormous amount of "baggage" from my past. Feelings that have been repressed for decades, and are now coming to the surface. I have also found recurring themes through my life, and I have also learned how to interperet my own dreams. Only you can interperet your dreams, and when you start to understand yourself better, you start to understand some of the themes and patterns in your dreams. I wish you well.
I don't know about your unconscious, but certain elements of your brain work in predictable ways, and your conscious mind certainly responds well to logic. CBT seems a bit contrived to me, but it can still be very effective by exploiting what we know about the brain. A lot of people believe certain things about themselves, like a fear of public speaking, are unchangeable, but the mind is less mysterious than it seems in many ways, and you have much more control over bad habits, thought patterns, fears etc than you may think. If anything like this is your goal, then CBT is well worth a try since it generally takes around 6 sessions, compared to potentially endless and horrifically expensive psychotherapy.
Repressed emotions are a different bag altogether, and really outside the scope of CBT, I feel. Psychotherapy is a big grey area really in terms of science, so I guess you just need to experiment and find what helps you improve. I don't think it's possible to offer guarantees when it comes to this, but keeping an open mind can go a long way. |
| ktulu |
Posted - 09/20/2011 : 18:01:53
This helps a lot. Thank you! I definitely hope to uncover all sorts of baggage. :) |
| jjh2go |
Posted - 09/20/2011 : 12:01:57
You need someone trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy, or insight-oriented therapy. Or, my therapist runs it all together, and calls it "insight oriented psychodynamic psychotherapy". The whole idea is the expression of feelings.
I have done both. I've been through CBT therapy, and it was a waste of time in my opinion. Maybe it was my therapist. This is just my opinion, but it is the kind of therapy where the therapist is trying to "fix you". You are broken, and they are going to use logic, and a bunch of behavior research and they are going to try to "fix you" by telling you what is logical and what is illogical about your thoughts, feelings, and behavior. The unconscious mind is illogical and irrational, and I don't think applying logic to anything in that realm is very useful. Again, maybe it was just my therapist. I hope there isn't an army of therapists trying to "fix" people using logic.
You need to dig deep. Since my psychodynamic therapy started, I have uncovered an enormous amount of "baggage" from my past. Feelings that have been repressed for decades, and are now coming to the surface. I have also found recurring themes through my life, and I have also learned how to interperet my own dreams. Only you can interperet your dreams, and when you start to understand yourself better, you start to understand some of the themes and patterns in your dreams. I wish you well. |
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