cbt or drugs?
cbt or drugs to help with anxiety?
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I haven't done either but If I had to choose I would go CBT. With drugs you have to find the right one and then you are never really sure what will happen when you stop taking them. CBT changes the way you think and therefore SHOULD have better long term benefits. After all it is our minds that have us in this horrible situation.
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I totally agree with Jan on this one. I have not done either too. I don't want drugs to fix things. My reasons are I don't to play for something that prob won't even work. Plus I don't really want to fix things by taking something because I feel I won't be able to do it without the drugs. CBT is suppose to be able to change our thinking and how us deal with it on our own.
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yeah i totally agree, the doctor keeps wanting to put me on drugs and im very against it but again he wrote me another prescription. im very anemic at the moment and been dizzy weak tired for nearly the 3rd week, hopefully get the iron tablets to help it soon, but before this i was doing better but he keeps sorta forcing me on pills and i dont want that, it is your mind, and the side effects from the tablets are awful, then not to mention the coming off them, i think il stick to my cbt for now, thanks
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I'm doing both. I needed the drugs to right the chemical imbalance in my brain and the CBT to question my thinking process. I agree, i am not looking forward to coming off the drugs(again) because the side effects can be a pain, but for me, i needed the drugs as CBT alone was not helping my mood swings.
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I believe CBT, but with me, I need to get off my backside and do the stuff its personal motivation for me, its helps this stuff but I don't bother with it and am selfish and unmotivated to do it. But I don't want to use drugs, but feel I may give in because I'm vunreable and sick of feeling this way. But I think its individual circumstances and choice, sometimes both can work together and for some it might be neither and other options, because I feel it cant be just either cbt or drugs or both its got to be more than that.
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yeah its a hard one, i feel i can do it without i have a phobia of feeling poorly, when am feeling ok, i feel ok and happy about everything so i dont feel am that down in the dumps to do something i see as drastic and be put on pills for a course of 6 months and then the coming off them, i just cant help but wonder i could be amazing after taking them, and then again i could not, but its not a magic pill and with motivation and changing thoughts i feel im doing better, say before my anemia i started going out on my own 7 days a week, which i havent done in a long long time, and only being in my new area after moving a matter of 5-6 months, so i see myself improving somewhat
Thankyou all for you opinions it helps a lot -
CBT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have done BOTH methods (paxil and ativan, before CBT). The drugs dulled my anxiety, but didn't alleviate it entirely, and it also dulled all my other senses and emotions - except for ANGRY.
CBT changed my entire world, and gave me my life back.
That said - everyone reacts differently to drugs and whatnot, just because they weren't for me doesn't mean they aren't for someone else. And CBT...you have to be ready. It's hard to explain what "ready" means, exactly, but when you are: you will know. If you're not ready, if you're not 100% committed to the CBT and doing everything you are asked and really, truly deep thinking on the questions and whatnot - it won't work.
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im currently doing cbt and sorta giving it my all but soon as am feeling better with my low iron am going to put my all into it, i was before this and i started to do good, i think cbt is the way i am going to go, just wish my doctor would listen and stop forcing pills onto me! llol thankyou
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Accepted Answer
As mentioned previously medications can help. For some they work great and others they can make it worse. A lot depends on getting the right medication and dosage for you which is pretty much a trial and error ordeal. CBT worked great for me when the medication I was on was working. That is when I did the best. I had zero anxiety and went 3 years with no panic attacks. I am off of medications now as my body has become tolerant to them and they stopped working and actually made my anxiety and panic attacks worse. CBT is effective if are able to apply it correctly. Unfortunately I am not able to affectly apply CBT like I would like right now but I am working on getting there. Its a slow process and you have to take baby steps. Set backs take a lot of work to get back to where you were. For me I have to slowly expand my comfort zone which is working.
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proudmummy09 - Doctors can be very bad for that - but keep in mind that it is YOUR body, at the end of the day...and you have every right to say no to their suggestions of medications. (even if it can be stressful to have to do it)
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I'd go for CBT but that's because I've had medication for my depression and it didn't work. Go with what you think is right, and listen to your doctor (even if you don't take his/her advice!).
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im doing cbt and the set backs are very hard but i have improved and im not exactly crying everyday wanting to kill myself, i used to feel like that but these days am laughing and smiling a lot more, i think i will keep to cbt, it will take time but im confident its working
