Cognitive behavioural therapy
- replies: 3
I am 71, have suffered from moderate depression since adolescence. I exchanged a few messages here a year or so ago. I would like to ask about the experiences people have had with CBT. This seems to be all the rage; it seems impossible to find any ot... View more
I am 71, have suffered from moderate depression since adolescence. I exchanged a few messages here a year or so ago. I would like to ask about the experiences people have had with CBT. This seems to be all the rage; it seems impossible to find any other form of treatment now, apart from drugs. I want to emphasize that I do not at all want to discourage anyone from using CBT, and most certainly do not want to destroy anyone's faith in their treatment. I am very aware that there is a huge body of research that says CBT is effective. And if it is working or has worked for you, that is great, or if you are thinking about trying it, or are about to start such a program, I would encourage you to do so. However, speaking strictly for myself, I tried an online CBT program for depression and gave up halfway through. I had read a fair bit about CBT beforehand, and was skeptical, because I could not see how it could possibly work for me. Also, in my pre-retirement life, I was an academic and learned to skeptical about some research, where everyone jumps on a certain wagon for a while, so had doubts about the validity of some of the research. But at the same time, as everyone here knows, depression is no fun, and I was ready to try it, despite my skepticism. I gave up primarily because I felt I was being encouraged to tell myself lies, to convince myself that what I know to be true is not true. I realize that some thoughts are not helpful, but that doesn't mean they are not true. From the outside my life seems successful; to me, from the inside, it has been a waste and a failure. That is not a helpful thought, no doubt about that, but it is true, feels true too, and thousands of concrete experiences have proved it to me; every social interaction with a stranger proves it to me. Telling myself it is not true seems like the height of foolishness to me, would be like trying to convince myself that 2 + 2 = 5. When I was last here, someone mentioned finding success with a group CBT treatment. I can't see how that would work either. However, I would be grateful if anyone wanted to talk about how CBT, either in a group or not, was helpful to them. I am not asking because I want to attack anyone's treatment, but hopefully to understand how CBT has helped others. Thanks.