Posted by sid on January 25, 2002, at 9:06:28
In reply to Re: David Burns, posted by Lisa01 on January 25, 2002, at 7:42:10
Behavior and thoughts affect brain chemistry. CBT does not pretend that depression is not a brain chemistry problem. It can be used, as well as meds to treat depression. It does not have a 100% rate of success, and meds don't either. Acupuncture can help too, and it does not have a 100% success rate either.
I did have success with CBT and acupuncture to get rid of a major depression, and I think CBT helps me everyday of my life now. It is some kind of emotional/psychological education that everybody should have in my opinion. The world would be a much better place if all of us were aware of the f*** up behavior, thoughts and relationships we carry on. But some people are not open to learning. I bever did much of the homeworks as I used to find them to anal for me. However I did understanf the different concepts that could help me and found ways to "catch myself" thinking or doing something that could hurt me in the long run, and change some of my behavior and thoughts. It was difficult at first, felt artificial, and then, with time and practice, it felt more normal. And the depression lifted.
Also, CBT has nothing to do with guilting the patient. Does a diabetic feel guilty because he has to learn to eat better and exercise more? Does he think that the insuline will do all the work, no matter what he does? Of course not ! So why do depressive people think the meds will do it all? I am not sure... I think it's another tool that can help, and I don't see why people don't use it more.
Since all this I thought I had chronic depression that would not lift, although I felt 90% better than during my major depression, which was horrible and not event-based. I still wonder how it is I did not kill myself then. So I decided to try meds for the residual depression. As it turns out, it seems I have an anxiety disorder, and my doc is not convinced that I still have depression. I did a test the other day and ranked very very low for depression and high for anxiety. So I guess I'm taking meds for anxiety at this point. I am not sure if different CBT techniques could help, I just got tired of making efforts and decided to rely on meds at this time. CBT does require efforts indeed, that's the downside: no free lunch. However, it does help for the rest of your life, even if it is not a panacea. Meds aren't either, from what I read on this web site.
poster:sid
thread:75408
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020124/msgs/91533.html