Posted by jane d on January 29, 2002, at 13:34:06
In reply to CBT and other experiences, let's talk, posted by sid on January 29, 2002, at 11:10:33
I should admit up front that my introduction to CBT was at the hands of someone who believed it was the ONLY treatment for depression and that has left me a little sour.
It's basic premise is that dysfunctional thoughts are always the cause of depression. I think that they are a symptom instead. I believe this because I have found those thoughts can totally disappear with AD's. Because I experience the thoughts as an intrusive overlay to what I feel. Because I don't think my core beliefs, the ones that CBT claims underlie depression, change consistently on a monthly basis with my menstrual cycle. When I read the case examples in Burns' book (or perhaps it was Beck's) I had absolutely no feeling of recognition. Those people were not like me at all.
So I think that even if CBT can reason someone out of every dysfuntional thought, every black and white exageration, they can still be depressed. All that has happened is that you proved to them that the vocabulary they were using to describe what's the matter with them is wrong. In other words, they will no longer say they can't get out of bed in the morning because everybody hates them. Instead they will be unable to get out of bed because of some undefined feeling that they can't put words to. But they will still be lying in bed. At least that has been my experience.
Could it have some benefit? Probably. Believing that everybody hates you is certainly going to make coping with depression harder. Acting on it by dumping your job or friends will do additional damage to your life. So perhaps it prevents side effects. Perhaps it helps get you out of bed 1 day out of 5. I think perhaps it makes it easier to "fake it" too by telling you what you are supposed to think in order to be like everyone else.
Jane
poster:jane d
thread:17445
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020125/msgs/17474.html