Experiences with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

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I have trouble with recurring depressive episodes, and also with anxiety, and I may be getting therapy for that.
One of the options I was given is cognitive behaviour therapy. I've read about it and I'm not so sure if it would be suitable for me.

Has anyone had this type of therapy and did it work?
What was good about it and what not?

Yep I started getting it last year when it was found out I was self harming. It worked for me. It helped me to take an objective view of why I was doing harmful behavior and how to proactively deal with it. It sort of taught me how to do the therapy on myself.

Interesting you mention it because I learned about it during my psychology classes last year, and indeed it is very effective. The gradual systematic approach can most certainly help with anxiety.. in fact it is often used to eliminate intense phobias and other fears. I'm not sure how effectively it would deal with depression, but if you were able to gradually turn your negative thoughts around into positive thoughts, then perhaps it would help there as well.

Just did a quick research check, and yes it is apparently very helpful in dealing with both of those conditions. As I stated, they are gradual, and also don't flood you with negative stimulus. Those are advantages I suppose!

I took advantage of my Univ. offering such a therapy for free.

It is interesting because it helps you explore the source of your issues and make you aware of possible ways to cope with it.

In my case it was for things such as body language, small talk and other such socializing tidbits which I had never had much luck with... learned a lot but unfortunately just 'knowing' doesn't fix the fact that my brain just isn't wired to pick up these things automatically.

Personally, if your issues are anxiety and depression you could first try this therapy to gain an understanding of it and then go to a psychiatrist for medication which will literally fix whatever chemical imbalance is causing it.

Thank you very much, both.

Ezra, how did it work for you? What did you have to do?

I read/hear a lot about that it works well, but I'm not sure it would work for me. If the idea is to replace negative thoughts with positive ones, that's all fine, but I worry it'd be a bit like lying. The thoughts that make me feel bad are not irrational or negative, they are true. I have trouble getting and keeping jobs, and functioning in groups, and it is holding me back in achieving what I want. Those problems are what brings me down, and positive thinking isn't gonna fix that.
Once I'm already in a deep depression, yes, then I'm thinking irrationally, but what I want is to prevent the depression.
And with the anxiety: Perhaps it would help with that, but I am already 'reasoning' with myself to overcome all sort of fears. Sometimes it works, but not always, and even when it works; there are always new things -or repeats of old problems- that I am anxious about. This 'changing your thoughts' is more like taking paracetamol for a headache: it treats the symptoms, but not the cause.

Ah, Dantac, your post crossed mine.

Did the CBT only help you understand why you have problems or did you actually succeed in fixing them, or in coping better?

I'm already on medication, and that works. Not perfectly, but I can sleep again and feel much better.

Exactly why I have always thought that CBT was a pointless approach to Autism, since Autism is not an acquired behavior, but a physical miswiring in the brain. I think it's psychologically and emotionally detrimental to encourage a person to act entirely at odds with their neurology over an extended period.

OTOH, as a therapy for dealing with phobias and such, which are more related to trauma of the psyche and not physical brain makeup, they may be quite effective.

I don't like CBT..Never have. It does not work for me. Then again I don't know if I have an ASD at this time, I just suspect one (as does the therapist I see but we shall see how that progresses as I have only seen her a few times).

Personally I prefer the following to reduce my anxiety levels and alleviate depression:

1 The use of routines, such as regular times for doing chores, regular bed time, 3 healthy meals and fruit and nut snacks evenly spaced apart and so on. This provides me with stability. I tend to like sameness in certain ways so I can find the use of routine soothing. For example today is a Saturday and is my Ice cream and movie night. Every Saturday I do this. I look forward to it and feel soothed by it. I always have the same flavour and brand of ice cream (with my favourite spoon) but the movie I watch changes.

2 Although I like routines I do like to add in a little adventure. Every so often I like to go somewhere new or learn a new hobby or skill. I find learning very soothing and relaxing and it is great fun!

3 I also like relaxing activities such as time to pursue my interests (which mostly consist of learning to play piano, 40s musicals/movies and the paleo diet right now with a few other smaller interests thrown in) or time to read. Etc.

4 A healthy diet and regular exercise also helps. My diet is presently heavily influenced by the paleo diet and I swim 3 times and dance when I feel like it (I do like dancing...it helps that I live alone and can boogie when I want to without disturbing anyone).

5 Set goals for myself and achieve them. That can be fun especially if it involves learning something new.

6 Make sure to get plenty of sleep and stay away from things like alcohol. That kind of thing messes your mood around and worsens things. I feel it messes with brain chemistry in a way that is disruptive rather than beneficial.

It works for me to counter my depressive thinking when it gets really bad.

Other methods are more effective for my anxiety.

There are two negatives I can think of. One negative is that it takes a lot of work to analyze your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. The other negative is that you can get lost in analyzing everything, losing the focus on why you are doing the analyzing.

The positives are that I can do the CBT myself. I don't need a therapist to do it. I can do it anytime and any place for free. I just need to have a moment of uninterrupted thought.

The ultimate positive is that it works. For instance, if I have an unrealistically negative thought that is recurring, once I do the CBT thing, I can easily dismiss the thought and replace it with an affirmation. I don't get lost in the negative feelings because I no longer believe the negative things I am telling myself. When I say it works, I mean that it works for me for my depression.

I have found CBT much more helpful. I think because it's more based on rational analysis of what is happening instead of assumptions about what should be happening. So therapists doing cognitive therapy have just seemed more accepting of who I am.

Also it's done in a more collaborative way, I like that better than something done without discussion by someone who thinks they know what's in my head. If they are neurotypical, they really don't.

And while Willard may be right, I don't know how it's possible to live in this world with ASD without being traumatized, so it can be helpful that way.

It's been more helpful with my depression than anxiety. My depression can still get so intense it's hard to use what I've learned to think rationally again, but I think it shortens my depressive issues considerably.

My anxiety tells me if I stop being anxious bad things will happen to me. Sigh.

I've had CBT. It won't change you, but it really can help you get along in the NT world.

For myself, what was most important was discovering the relationship between my cognitions and my behavior. Because I am an Aspie, I am often unaware of my behaviors and how I am unwittingly sending off social messages. So I've trained myself to think (cognitive aspect) about how to get along (behavioral aspect) in the NT world. And that part has been helpful and useful, especially with regard to getting along with people and keeping a job.

So I suggest that you work with a therapist who specializes in CBT for Aspies. (And if any therapist starts talking about sex or the "narcissistic wound," fire him and get another.)

It wasn't that much different than other therapy and counseling stuff I have had most of my life. It is just a special approach. The therapist talks stuff out with you and helps you see things more clearly. Some of the sessions were intense because walls were being knocked down and stuff hidden revealed. I did a lot of crying. But it was all good, like a huge weight lifted.



Yeah, exactly. I can't see applying it to autism. Just some of the extra psychological baggage that comes with being autistic. I think a main one being difficulty or inability in expressing yourself to others and everything swimming around inside you with no outlet.

Thanks everyone. I think I'll give it a try, but I'll tell the therapist that if I don't think it works or if they make assumptions about what I think/feel/want without properly listening that I'll stop. That's what happened previous times when I tried to have therapy, but I'm a lot older now and hopefully less inclined to try and be nice and compliant.
Also, the other option is the sort of therapy where you just talk about your feelings - and that may be awkward. Or boring.

I'm still skeptical - I think I already practice CBT techniques when I'm not depressed, and yet it doesn't keep me from plummeting in deep depressions. But what JSBACHlover wrote: 'I am often unaware of my behaviors and how I am unwittingly sending off social messages' - I think that may be an issue with me too; people often seem to think I'm angry or that I disagree with them when that isn't the case.

Oh well, I'll see. I hope I won't cry, though.

Meanwhile, everyone who has experiences with CBT, please post! The more information the better.

There is no fix for it. It does help you understand how you come across to others (signals you send out) which may be something you never even thought of...or thought was something different... and helps you ID signals others may be sending to you (which again, you may have never even noticed or misinterpreted).

The only time I have read of someone with AS getting 'fixed' for a short time was through transcranial magnetic stimulation

http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/neuro/TMS_NYT.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-kY9zBXTiQ