Usually, after the GP has looked at medication, they may offer CBT, or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I hope this blog will help to make it clear why this should be used as a therapy and I hope it will help you to understand why it does and sometimes doesn't work for people.
When we experience trauma and we feel low and disassociated, before medication is even mentioned and prescribed, CBT should be offered. I will do a separate blog on medication but for the moment I hope this will make sense!
We effectively suffer a form of damage to our brain when we experience trauma which forms a chemical imbalance ruled by fear and confusion, often stemming from the way we were raised to manage situations. For the majority of people, if they are supported mentally from the start, can understand why their reaction is such and how to move forward, and wouldn't need medication. Once we can manage the emotional reaction to the trauma, we can progress, but with everyone so afraid of being judged, we try to push it into the back of our conscious and push forward trying to ignore our reality. This is often because someone in our past has told us "others have it worse, stop moaning", or the other popular one "it could be worse". We are shamed for our our own personal experience and that's when the damage is caused.
CBT is designed exactly for that reason and it should be the first treatment the GP offers. We are confused by our thoughts, and we fight internally with how we think we MUST feel compared to understanding how we actually DO feel and this is where the self-destruction starts.
I love CBT as a therapy and I think if it's used from the start it can change lives, but if someone has suffered from mental health over a long period of time, it simply will not help. It didn't take us 6 weeks to get like this, and it sure as hell won't be 'fixed' in 6 weeks! For someone like myself that has Borderline Personality Disorder, it simply won't make a big difference. Our brains have been conditioned to believe, over the years, that it's our fault and that we are the root cause and is so deeply embedded into our minds that it won't change. I can find blame within myself that still affects my life today from something I did when I was 5, all because someone manipulated me and made me the root cause.
For people with BPD, Dialectic Behaviour Therapy is needed. We need to rewire the thought process and learn to remove ourselves from blame. It's hard, but we have to be the parent we needed growing up and understand what is right and wrong for us personally, understanding what our core beliefs are and how we move forward. The problem with DBT as a therapy is that it is rare to be given the option and if you don't attend all the appointments you will be kicked off the course. The reason for this is that it's such a deep and focussed treatment that if you miss 2-3 sessions all the hard work is undone and it's not going to work.
My personal view on CBT is that this therapy should be offered and available before medication. It should be something that's taught in schools, the value of understanding our internal thoughts is key to developing a healthier mental health reaction. I personally don't think it works as a single therapy as so many additional factors need to be accounted for, and additional therapies can help. This is why I specialise in Psychotherapy - it's a combination of multiple therapies that work for the individual's personal needs.
If you'd like to know more about CBT, DBT or any other therapy then please don't hesitate to contact me at hello@woodlandhealing.co.uk or book your FREE Discovery Call here.
Jo xx