I have written in a previous blog about relapse prevention plans. Once a person is feeling better, no longer unduly anxious or clinically depressed, it is important to look at ways of keeping well. This can include how to respond if the anxiety re-emerges or the mood dips again, but hopefully we can go further than this and consider what for us constitutes living well. Continue reading “Staying Well”
Happiness will come when it comes
Dorothy Rowe, well known for her books on depression, says ‘If you make happiness your goal, then you’re not going to get to it. Philosophers have been saying it for thousands of years. The goal should be an interesting life.” Continue reading “Happiness will come when it comes”
Some tips for facing our fears
The idea of facing our fears has always been with us and has been much written about in ancient and modern scripts. Jim Morrison, of The Doors, said “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” I like this quote as it acknowledges the existential fear of freedom and is in keeping with a CBT approach to facing fears. Continue reading “Some tips for facing our fears”
Will my therapist talk to other people about me?
We all want to know that when we choose to speak with a therapist about intimate aspects of ourselves this will be treated with confidentiality. But if our therapist is unable to talk about us then how can we be assured that the therapy is going as well as possible? Continue reading “Will my therapist talk to other people about me?”
Is it always best to face our anxiety?
A strong principle for the practice of CBT is the facing of our fears. There is good reason for this, and avoidances can certainly cause us more trouble in the long run, but is there a place for avoidance too? Continue reading “Is it always best to face our anxiety?”