LadyAngua12 years ago

I was sent by my GP for CBT... as a counsellor in the past myself I could see what they were trying to achieve with 'pacing' and so on. But I feel that Fibro/ME is so misunderstood, I am not able to plan my days, some days I can get up, others I can't. Setting goals? Yeah my goal is to get through a painfree week. It didn't work at all for me, but of course for others it might.

lynr in reply to LadyAngua12 years ago

I agree with you, I did speak to a counsellor about the gulit I was feeling and also the loss of my past life to what it is now, that helped to talk things through, She talked about being kinder to myself and if i needed to rest not get angry and annoyed about it and give in to it .Really just talking about accepting the condition,

I was given a book list to read and one of them was about managing chronic fatquie which I thought was an absolute joke , it stated if you followed the instructions in the book you would / could cure yourself by the end of it .!!!

Basically it was stating don't give in to feeling tired , stay a wake, get up the same time every day , even if you are tired ,mmmmm wasn't impressed with this book at all .

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LindseyMid12 years ago

It depends on how to CBT is carried out. CBT in principle can be extremely helpful for people with Fibro, but it has to be made clear that this is a series of techniques to help you not make yourself worse unnecessarily.

For example, if you find family get togethers stressful and overwhelming and this causes you to tense up, which leads to a Fibro flare afterwards, CBT techniques can help you recognise that you are tensing up in that situation and do something to avoid it, improve the situation (e.g. by asking people to talk to you one at a time and by meeting in a quieter environment) or deal with it better (do neck stretches and shoulder rolls to avoid tensing too much).

It is never a treatment for Fibro, but it can be a useful management tool.

Artyrosie12 years ago

I would say that it can be a big help in coming to terms with the big changes illness makes to your life. For example lynr you mentioned not being able to plan your days - CBT might ask you to think about why you feel the need to do so, and encourage you to accept that you just can't as a way of avoiding unnecessary frustration. It can be about learning to accept where you are and not beating yourself up about the things you can't do.

Nicola27Hull12 years ago

I am having CBT at the moment - I have had fibro from a very young age although many people do not believe it starts until you are older but medical records show I started my complainnts at the age of 4 with constant pain in my feet - anway - because I was so young I started to adapt the way I did the simplest things such as walking, picking up items, standing, sitting eating etc so I am having CBT to unlearn this behaviour and it has definitely helped with my flare ups I think it depends on the occupation therapist. My therapist is amazing and can see that my problem is learned behaviour and not mental health

fibrojude12 years ago

I agree the CBT is for depression , and its helpful , but i dont always feel depressed only when i get a flare and my legs go lead like and i feel like im having a stroke ,other wise i enjoy my good days and deal with bad one quietly alone my sister inlaw does fft i may try this for my anxiety though

cobweb12 years ago

I'm having CBT yet although it's very helpful, my counsellor is concentrating on my depression but my depression is very bad BECAUSE of my fibro, not the other way round.

lynr in reply to cobweb12 years ago

I can relate to this so much , I hope things go well for you xxx

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