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2024-03-27 3:02 PM

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Browse through 411.742 posts in 47.053 threads.

160,431 Members

Please welcome our newest members: Jgorilla, anna13, CCaballero, JJAY EVANGEL, VKATE DARLENE


12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Effects of Massage Therapy on Stress

Massage is very good for my anxiety, especially around my back, shoulders and neck. The problem is that it is too expensive. If not, I would have a massage every week. I do an auto-massage in my face and neck which I find very helpful.
 
In psychotherapy (especially talk therapy) it is difficult to see if it works, but with massage I feel the benefits right away. Maybe I will quit the psychotherapy and starting having regular massages instead.
 
I have found that participating in online support groups like this is so or much more effective than psychotherapy. I think this has to do with he fact that it is difficult to find an adequate therapist.
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Your Top 3- Words of advice

  1. Live the moment and appreciate the little things
  2. Write and work on the objectives that are important for you
  3. Manage your your time wisely
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Vacation!

Hello Ashley. Your advice is so important and I enjoyed the part when you referred "do not forget vacationing from the everyday grind"". I always enjoyed spending my vacations in other countries, and looked forward to the travel time, forgetting to relax in the present. Because of my personality I even became obsessed with this travel time, and didn't think in other aspects of life.
 
Now I am learning to change that and I am trying to live a more balanced life doing different things.
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Getting to Know the Members 2

I have been the king of procrastination for the last years. Result: I ended with a nervous breakdown and with severe anxiety and depression. I think it was my body saying it was time to change and stop the procrastination. I am a civil engineer and I was in a dead end job for 7 years. I know things are not easy right now with the bad economy in my country and abroad, bu it is time to look for another job.
After the breakdown last year I enrolled in a master degree program in business consulting and I plan to finish it on the next month. This program made me a better person providing me with more confidence and self-esteem.
 
I have a wife, no kids, but we plan to increase our family very soon with a son. My breakdown postponed these plans but now we are ready again for having a kid.
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Takeing charge!!

Hello Bren. I think you should  have more specific goals. For example, you must think in what you could be doing if you do not have so much anxiety, and then start from there to write your goals.
 
Remember the SMART principle for writing objectives.
 
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Exposure Plan - How long?

One of my treatment goals is to expose myself to stressful situations. I have a lot of stress when I have many things to do at one time and especially if involves going from one place to another.
 
In this way I developed a exposure plan to do several activities in one day with each activity in a different place. I am starting and ending with 3 and 8 activities respectively. The problem is that to do these activities, and because it involves commuting from one place to another, it takes me 2 or more hours to complete the experiment.
 
I would like to know if the experiment could be effective for so much time or I need to find activities that are less than one hour?
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Takeing charge!!

Hello Bren. I think the second and third objectives are OK but you need to work more on the first objective.
 
Think in this way: If you felt more positive about yourself what you would be doing differently.
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
4th Therapy Session - My Experience

 

This post is the 4th one dedicated to express what I am learning from each therapy session.

Pros:

Today was the forth therapy session with my new therapist. We begin talking about how I am feeling right now. I referred one more time how I think I could have a bipolar disorder and the symptoms that I have been experiencing. My therapist told me that probably I do not have a bipolar disorder, but he didn’t ask me for a complete clinical history.

On the other end, I have my doctor who said that my symptoms are associated with a bipolar disorder and that I have a good probability of having this disorder. 1 week ago my doctor prescribed me meds for the mood swings and since then I have been sleeping better as well my mood is stabilized. Before that, I was taking antidepressants for 3 months and I was feeling worse (insomnia and mood swings).

My therapist said that my depression came after the anxiety periods because I do not give me permission to relax and “recharge batteries”.

After the bipolar concerns my therapist said that it is important to know who I am, and connect my emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Everything we do have a reason and are based in past experiences. We talked about my life until I was 11 years old with good and bad past experiences. I talk about my parents, what were their behaviors and how was my education.

In the end of the session my therapist introduced me to some CBT techniques, some of which I already had learned on this program: challenging thoughts, planning pleasant activities and interact with other people.

Cons:

In the first post I said that I would allow my therapist to be imperfect but this does not mean that I do not write what he could improve. He said that I did not have a bipolar disorder even thought he didn’t know my clinical history. He introduced me to some CBT tools but did not give any papers to know how these tools are organized. Fortunately, I am self-motivated, and I use the tools that exist on this program.

12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Effect of Classical Music

It is funny because I lost the contact with music some years ago, but now I am founding its therapeutic effects and I listen to music according to my mood or situation:
 
classical - when I feel more anxious or agitated
easy jazz - after lunch and to help me with my digestion
80's - to lift my spirit
zen music (nature sounds and soft music) -while practicing yoga
contemporary music - when I want to discover new sounds
12 years ago 0 619 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
4th Therapy Session - My Experience

Hugs4u, I think my new therapist do not want to label me yet because he doesn't know me very well and it could be too soon to make such a conclusion about the possibility of being with a bipolar disorder.
 
~m, in the end we are the ones responsible for getting better, but I find that it is also important to gain some confidence in other people. How much confidence we give away is to be determined by each one.
 
Davit, after 3 months on antidepressants I was clearly getting worse. One week ago I started a new treatment with a mood stabilizer and a antipsychotic and I feel much better. My mood swings are stabilized and I am sleeping much better. With this new medication I also do not feel sleepy during the day.