Posted by Dinah on February 16, 2010, at 11:10:13
In reply to Treatment for Dysthymia, posted by tebasmm on February 15, 2010, at 23:32:09
I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds positive affirmations counterproductive!!! They ring with falsity to me, and that makes me feel bad about where I am right now.
I find balanced affirmations much more useful. Not "I am strong. I am nice to be around. People like me." But more "I am not precisely strong, but I manage to do what I need to do. Some people like me and some people don't. I'll never be popular precisely. But it isn't necessary to be popular to be happy. A small circle of good friends doesn't require everyone to like me. Just a few. I'm good at some of what I do, but other things I'm not particularly good at. That's true of most people. I wonder what I can do to either get better at those things, or to arrange it so those things aren't something I need to be good at."
Do you have a doctor of some other sort that you trust? I really liked my ob/gyn and told her that I was looking for a pediatrician with a similar philosophy to her own, and ended up with one we just love. My best pdoc recommendation came (gasp!) through my mother from a friend of hers. I found my therapist by attending a one day presentation on anxiety. In larger cities, I think those things are occasionally held.
I'm not familiar with the latest treatments on dysthmia. I'd think CBT was still the standard, and I think I've heard that DBT is being used for all sorts of things now. But many people don't fit neatly into a therapeutic model and good therapists are willing to bend and be "eclectic" to match their client's needs.
What is the pdoc/therapist situation where you are?
poster:Dinah
thread:937133
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20100128/msgs/937155.html