Posted by Medusa on August 6, 2002, at 2:38:18
In reply to Re: Anyone interested in CBT? Let's talk!, posted by MattDDS on July 8, 2002, at 1:49:12
Great topic. Thanks to everybody who's developed it! Hope you don't mind if I jump in a bit late.
Mist, what is 5-HTP ? I have the Burns book somewhere - time to dig it out and take a good look. I share your feelings of helplessness and inability to change anything. I'm tired of all of this inaction.
Matt, you offered this to Mist -
> Can you give me a specific example of one of your thoughts that is giving you trouble?
> Maybe we could work on it and beat the hell out of it! lol. I'll show you how I treat
> my negative thoughts!- would you (anyone else is welcome, too) be willing to take a shot at a few of my negative thoughts?
I have lots of clear negative thoughts and plenty of "wishes" that are negatively framed, but I'm only now learning to question them and ask what they really mean. For example, "I'm so lonely" practically never means that I want company! instead I really feel "I'm a loser", "I'll never get recognition and sufficient pay in a job I like", "I'm too ugly to hire", "I don't have any proper clothes to wear to the job I want even if I got hired". Reasonable responses to these have varying levels of believability (sp?) for me.
I've thought "I want someone to hold me", when clearly I didn't want that - it was available with no strings attached, and instead I left to wander cold streets at 2am. Upon examination, I thought I wanted to be held by someone who didn't expect or need anything in return - I wanted a mommy! Still not sure what to do with that one ... the ideal mommy figure is purely imaginary. Now, when this thought comes up, I think "heh, imaginary mommy" and try to find a more workable solution.
Often, no thoughts come - just images of suicide or of killing someone I'm upset with. (Well, of having them killed. But I don't know anyone in the mafia.)
poster:Medusa
thread:538
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/837.html