Any therapy besides cognitive therapy?

[Tintypographer]

Has anyone had any therapy to try and sort their depression besides cognitive therapy? Are there any options? If I try to simply reframe my situation then I'm still stuck in it and sooner or later i fall apart.

I need advice on what to do but therapists all seem to focus on how i.feel like much of psychiatry just discusses reframing your thoughts.

Anyone else get that same songs and dance from.their therapists?

 

[Bootleg Astolfo]

So far all iv'e heard from therapists is the bullshit cognitive therapy or shoving pills down your throat. Or a combination of both. Why fix the problem, when you can convince yourself there isnt a problem to begin with and drug yourself to the point where you can't even think at all.

 

[CoalmineCanary]

My therapist had this discussion today with me and his lack of unimaginative and typical solutions.

Things to research:
Art Therapy
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Medications to treat specific diagnosis
Micro-dosing Psilocybin mushrooms
Self-education, research, and awareness


I'm sure others can contribute more thoroughly to your question.
Good Luck.

 

[hoping to lose hope]

OP I would suggest reading about the skills that therapy teaches and DBT specifically as it can help you manage emotions if that is a problem for you.

So far all iv'e heard from therapists is the bullshit cognitive therapy or shoving pills down your throat. Or a combination of both. Why fix the problem, when you can convince yourself there isnt a problem to begin with and drug yourself to the point where you can't even think at all.

The problem is largely external unless you have disordered thought processes and are entirely irrational in which case a philosopher would do a better job than most therapists.
Therapy can help people who want to help themselves if they do not have gigantic problems but I think it is wrong to claim everyone who is depressed and wants to die is deluded and needs their thoughts corrected because the problem is the world itself in many cases.
I query why antidepressants are even given that title when they barely work better than a placebo anyway and that could be attributed to them being an active placebo itself as they have side effects.
Imagine if drugs for pain relief were as successful as SSRI/SNRI but of course you can always get given the anti psychotics that make you too sleepy/numb and detached from the world to want to kill yourself actively.

Therapy is basically a way to learn to cope when you realize life is fucked.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Oh yes one of the remaining epileptic inducing therapies.
We went from inducing epileptic like fits to lobotomizing and now we are doing the former with chemicals.
What is next?

 

[CoalmineCanary]

Oh yes one of the remaining epileptic inducing therapies.
We went from inducing epileptic like fits to lobotomizing and now we are doing the former with chemicals.
What is next?

You ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect?
I don't ask in jest.

 

[hoping to lose hope]

You ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect?
I don't ask in jest.

Not looking to argue or derail the thread so I will only respond saying if you would like we can do it in DM where I would be more than happy to see your point of view and perhaps even have my own corrected if the case may be.

 

[k75]

I used to have a therapist who specializes in CBT who told me DBT was more suited to suicidal ideation. Have you ever tried that?

I've also heard EMDR can be effective, but I've never tried that one. I had a friend who did it, though, and they said it helped. They had to repeat it periodically.

 

[CoalmineCanary]

There is also a CBT called ACT (acceptance commitment therapy) that might be worth investigating too.

 

[hoping to lose hope]

DBT was more suited to suicidal ideation

Why do you feel he said this?
Of course it can help regarding what you mentioned yet it is so much more.
The most effective therapy for borderline traits anyway.

 

[Nyxtus]

My therapist had this discussion today with me and his lack of unimaginative and typical solutions.

Things to research:
Art Therapy
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Medications to treat specific diagnosis
Micro-dosing Psilocybin mushrooms
Self-education, research, and awareness


I'm sure others can contribute more thoroughly to your question.
Good Luck.

This is an incredible point that isn't all that well known by a lot of people. I've been pushing this hard on this forum. I've read really promising reports done, that have cured or severely helped people with depression, anxiety and ptsd. The FDA has fast-tracked research and it's been labeled as a breakthrough in depression/anxiety/ptsd treatment. You can buy your own psilocybin kits and grow them yourselves, and I'm in the process of this as I speak.

That isn't to say it's a miracle drug. Think of psilocybin as a lever. On one side of the gate is your depression, and the other side is just a drainage system. The lever is incredibly hard to push down, but if you put in the work you can drain the depression. This is a stupid metaphor for getting therapy, practicing good habits and working on yourself. I know a lot of people here write this off as bullshit and have resigned themselves to this existence until they don't exist anymore, but I HIGHLY recommend anyone here that battles these kinds of issues like I do to look into it, educate themselves and give it a shot.

I know there's not a lot of optimism on these forums but I'm going to make a thread with progress and my findings once my psilocybin shrooms grow and I can dry them and start testing microdose capsules.

 

[k75]

Why do you feel he said this?
Of course it can help regarding what you mentioned yet it is so much more.
The most effective therapy for borderline traits anyway.

The context was that it was more suited than CBT, which does not work for me. I was referred to another therapist who did DBT, but we weren't able to work together for other reasons. So I'm not sure if it would have helped or not. Most of the clinicians I get stuck with do CBT.

Anyway, when I researched it, I did see that it's supposed to be very helpful for borderline but also suicidal ideation. I'm open to trying if I can ever find someone to work with.

 

[hoping to lose hope]

I'm open to trying if I can ever find someone to work with.

DBT is typically done in a group setting and you can learn the skills by practicing them yourself after reading the materials.
A therapist can help you implement the skills or provide advice using them but no reason you cannot learn them by yourself.

 

[k75]

DBT is typically done in a group setting and you can learn the skills by practicing them yourself after reading the materials.
A therapist can help you implement the skills or provide advice using them but no reason you cannot learn them by yourself.

In theory. But I'm at the level of depression where I might want to do the things but completely lack the motivation, and if I don't have someone like a therapist holding me accountable and basically making me feel guilty for not doing my "homework," I just won't. The only thing I can seem to do as far as self teaching is study suicide methods. :(

 

[Gnip]

I am male, and about to go completely sexist here. I have had a male psychiatrist since 2014, a superb gentleman in his mid 70's, and I had a female psychiatrist for 18 years before him.

No question whatever that females are far better listeners in general. There are a few great male listeners, and a few horrible female listeners. I definitely prefer female health care providers as a general rule. I haven't been a member of this site for long, but I'm detecting indications that more problems are being experienced with male therapists than female therapists.

Gender preference is your right. If you were having a good experience with a female therapist whose services you lost, and were given a male therapist who is inferior for you as a replacement, then demand a female replacement for the previous female therapist who was working well for you.

 

[Donk]

I question effectiveness of CBT. The framework is based on one's distorted thinking and develop the skills to be able to identity those distortions and correct them. Personally I didn't find it helpful but that's just me. I'm starting rTMS tmr due to the fact that I'm "med resistant". the combination of celexa and klonopin was working for me for some time. Unfortunately like any SSRI/SNRI they stopped working eventually. SInce then I've tried other Antidepressants but found them ineffective. hence, my psychiatrist decided to put me on rTMS treatment. i can't imagine I have any more fight in me if rTMS doesn't help with my MDD. Anyways, Feel free to PM if any of yall need to talk to someone about your struggles or whatever. OP I hope you find the treatment that works for you. Good luck. Peace

 

[hoping to lose hope]

I am male, and about to go completely sexist here. I have had a male psychiatrist since 2014, a superb gentleman in his mid 70's, and I had a female psychiatrist for 18 years before him.

No question whatever that females are far better listeners in general. There are a few great male listeners, and a few horrible female listeners. I definitely prefer female health care providers as a general rule. I haven't been a member of this site for long, but I'm detecting indications that more problems are being experienced with male therapists than female therapists.

Gender preference is your right. If you were having a good experience with a female therapist whose services you lost, and were given a male therapist who is inferior for you as a replacement, then demand a female replacement for the previous female therapist who was working well for you.

Not sexist as well since we can as a general rule of thumb ascribe gender specific traits to men and woman.
You are not saying every man has low EQ or every woman lacks rational thinking.

 

[Gnip]

I question effectiveness of CBT. The framework is based on one's distorted thinking and develop the skills to be able to identity those distortions and correct them. Personally I didn't find it helpful but that's just me. I'm starting rTMS tmr due to the fact that I'm "med resistant". the combination of celexa and klonopin was working for me for some time. Unfortunately like any SSRI/SNRI they stopped working eventually. SInce then I've tried other Antidepressants but found them ineffective. hence, my psychiatrist decided to put me on rTMS treatment. i can't imagine I have any more fight in me if rTMS doesn't help with my MDD. Anyways, Feel free to PM if any of yall need to talk to someone about your struggles or whatever. OP I hope you find the treatment that works for you. Good luck. Peace

I am curious about rTMS because ECT failed completely for me, as did CBT, BMT and seven of the eight classes of antidepressants. I have heard a few reports of rTMS succeeding where ECT failed, although I'm somewhat skeptical. I have been ruled out as a candidate for deep brain stimulation, but I wasn't crazy about the notion of an implant in my brain anyway, and I'm already well overqualified for psychiatrist administered euthanasia. (I'd just as soon have a psychiatrist kill me than commit suicide, the one instance where I would readily endorse having my brain autopsied afterwards to look for specific physical evidence.)

 

[CoalmineCanary]

I know there's not a lot of optimism on these forums but I'm going to make a thread with progress and my findings once my psilocybin shrooms grow and I can dry them and start testing microdose capsules.

Please do share your research with the mushrooms. I interested in hearing some more anecdotal evidence about this treatment as it seems promising for my case. Thanks for contributing.

 

[hoping to lose hope]

You can buy your own psilocybin kits and grow them yourselves,

Doing hard psychedelic drugs that are known for their ability to show revelations to the users like ayahusca for instance can feel as if you just did years of therapy in a single trip.
It can also make you worse though so use at your own caution.

 

[sephlove]

The point of CBT isn't that it's going to fix your thinking in a couple of months. Your brain has been wired a certain way for perhaps decades in a certain way. To undo this, takes a lot more than a few months or even a year or two. Also it must be done in combination with multitude of other things such as lifestyle changes, exercise, diet etc etc you already know this.

Also, sometimes you might actually be dealing with real problems in your life, and in that case you need more than just CBT, and actually develop better problem-solving skills. Majority of CBT work and these other skills can only be done outside of therapy sessions. Think about it. You're only in therapy for perhaps an hour or two every week (in general), outside of that how many waking hours are you by yourself or dealing with others? You're GOING to mess up, you're GOING to back track about 10000x times. It's a PROCESS, not a FIX.

I have done CBT for a while, when I was diagnosed with MDD, but later on they found out I also had PTSD, which requires some other types of therapies and techniques too. But I wasn't ready to deal with the trauma because I still lived with my abuser at home.

Also another type of therapy you might want to try is called DBT (Dialectical behavior therapy), and meditation directed by a guide/therapist.
I've also heard LSD and mushrooms can rewire your brain, when done properly with an experienced guide. (There are clinics in the US for this).

 

[Meditation guide]

Has anyone had any therapy to try and sort their depression besides cognitive therapy? Are there any options? If I try to simply reframe my situation then I'm still stuck in it and sooner or later i fall apart.

I need advice on what to do but therapists all seem to focus on how i.feel like much of psychiatry just discusses reframing your thoughts.

Anyone else get that same songs and dance from.their therapists?

I haven't read through all the replies but if I had intractable depression and could afford it I would try ketamine infusion therapy.

 

[k75]

I haven't read through all the replies but if I had intractable depression and could afford it I would try ketamine infusion therapy.

Afford is key. I really want to try it, but my insurance won't pay and the cost is prohibitive. I believe it could really help people, and it sucks there isn't more access.