Posted by mattdds on June 2, 2003, at 9:58:43
In reply to Re: CBT and metacognition » mattdds, posted by Dinah on June 2, 2003, at 8:52:17
Dinah,
What I am referring to is not "dissociation", though I can see how you might have thought I meant that, since you seem to be very preoccupied with your dissociative tendencies.
Nor am I talking about detaching yourself from trauma as a form of coping - that would be denial.
For me, this has been helpful, but haven't been able to apply it at "all levels of my being".
You seem to be saying that CBT merely creates other forms of psychopathology, am I correct? I have never seen any evidence behind what you are saying. Much to the contrary, CBT is being used for severe depression and panic attacks.
I don't get into this idea of having to rummage through all my old traumatic experiences and somehow, through reliving them, attempt to get rid of it. This seems unnecessarily painful and rarely helps, besides the cathartic nature of it. I don't believe you can get rid of it. So why not make peace with it? That's the difference between CBT and nondirective or psychoanalytic therapy. In CBT you are trying to "work your way around it", forming new neural pathways and focusing on them. There is good evidence behind this approach. Once fear circuits have been imprinted in the amygdala, they cannot be erased. The best you can do is work at a cortical level to form inhibitory pathways that quell that fear. This is what neuroscientists think is happening.
Another thing, I am not Buddhist, but I am quite sure the state you described (panic attacks, dissociation from reality) is NOT what Buddha had in mind. I mean, he didn't base a whole religion on denial, so I think your therapist had some misconceptions about Buddhism.
When I passively observe my thoughts, they sometimes become funny to me, and I laught at them. I feel less depersonalized, if anything! I take my intrusive thoughts less seriously and treat them as nothing particularly important, just like any other event in the universe. I can't do this all the time, but when I am able to pull it off, it greatly enhances CBT.Also, every time I post about CBT on here, you seem to have a tendency to throw discreet little jabs at me, as if you are bothered by me even mentioning it. Are you bothered by something I'm saying, or with me? Maybe I'm misreading you but I sensed some sarcasm and disbelief in that this has helped me. I've gotten this vibe before from you. I'm a bit put off by this, and perhaps you could explain why?
Regards,
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:230572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030529/msgs/230761.html