Posted by mattdds on May 31, 2003, at 16:51:59
In reply to Re: Larry, your take on CBT? « Larry Hoover, posted by Dr. Bob on May 31, 2003, at 14:29:31
> > As for CBT, my view on that is that a person
> > must first be in a mental and emotional condition
> > where that kind of therapy is possible. After
> > all to be cognitively capable means to be
> > unperturbed psychologically - making this
> > a bit of a paradox.I am living proof that this is not necessarily true. If you had to be "unperturbed psychologically" for CBT to work, then by definition it would not be useful for anything, which is obviously not the case! Why use CBT in the first place if you're not psychologically perturbed? That's the whole point of it!
When I began CBT, it was after multiple medication failures, and I was experiencing so many physical symptoms that I almost dropped out of dental school. I fallaciously believed that I *couldn't* study anymore.
But I started using the behavioral techniques. I started putting the horse before the cart, where it rightly belongs. I got my ass out of bed even though I did not think I could walk or much less think or memorize complicated concepts in physiology or biochemistry. My non-depressed friends were having trouble while healthy!
But I kept moving my eyes across the paper, even though I was completely sure I was not learning a dang thing! Just goes to show how distorted your thinking becomes during depression.
Guess what? I actually wound up having the best semesters in dental school - at least academically. I also began to see improvements in my mood.
The same thing applies to CBT. Often doing what you know needs to be done when you least want to do it is what initiates the process of healing. I could not think my way out of this depression, I was in it way too deep. I had to have the catalyst to begin the reacion, which in my case was "acting against my feelings", Kinda like your "couch days". I related so well to this.
If you can't change your thinking right away, at least you can change your behavior, even though it feels like this is impossible to do. This is the catalyst that starts to swing the reaction in the opposite direction! We are not just creatures of thought, but of ACTION!
You said, "You can't think your way into a new way of acting, but you can act your way into a new way of thinking". This is exactly what I mean! You rock!
Best,
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:230443
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030529/msgs/230455.html