Posted by melinda on August 22, 2002, at 14:09:14
In reply to Re: CBT and Schizophrenia » melinda, posted by xjs7 on August 22, 2002, at 1:57:51
Hi xjs7,
(This is kinda long so bear with me.)Here's my take on the CBT. When you experience something, such as hear voices or have ideas of reference, there are thoughts that automatically pop into your head...automatic thoughts. The automatic thoughts elicit emotions and the emotions cause certain behavior. It's like a cycle...experience, automatic thoughts, emotions, behavior. From what I understand, the goal of the therapy is to actually change the automatic thoughts, which will cause a ripple effect and ultimately change behavior.
Each time I notice my mood change, like I get anxious of scared, I record it. I write the situation, my automatic thoughts, my feeling or emotion, the cognitive distortions I made, and the evidence I found for and against my experience. With this information I'll be able to decide whether I should believe my experience.
An example
Situation: "I'm reading the Wall Street Journal. The (Bill) Gates Foundation has donated a lot of money to Eli Lilly."
Automatic thought: "Bill is still watching me."
Emotion or feeling: "anxiety".
Cognitive distortions: "personalization, mind-reading, and maybe a mental-filter".
Evidence for: "The article was meant for me. Eli Lilly makes Zyprexa and I take Zyprexa".
Evidence against: "Why would Bill care that I take Zyprexa? Why would he watch me (of all people)? The Foundation also donated to other pharmecuetical companies. Why would the Wall Street Journal print and article just for me? It would have been easier just to send an email."Well, based on my evidence, I decided that it wasn't very likely that the article was meant just for me. I also decided that Bill probably isn't still watching me. As a result, the delusion became more of a passing thought that caused me to become slightly anxious. In the past it would have runined my day.
In the sessions we sometimes talk about a particular experience I recorded. Other times it seems more like a patient education session. That is, we talk about schizophrenia and voices. Basically he's teaching me how to do this stuff on my own.
The one thing I find creepy about schizophrenia is that I don't feel like I can trust what my brain is telling me. "Normal" people take this for granted...they trust all their perceptions. I don't trust my perceptions. The CBT has given me a way to determine whether I should trust my experience. It also makes me feel like I'm in control of my experience instead of my experiences controlling me.
I hope this helps answer your questions.
-melinda
poster:melinda
thread:947
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/958.html