Thursday 29 January 2009

Down the therapy road again.....



This afternoon I decided to google therapies in my area in the south west. Haven't a clue why. Because I really don't know if I believe in therapy anymore. When I have seen a new therapist in the past it normally makes me really confident for a couple of weeks or more and I start to believe in myself. Which is good.. But never lasts!

Could it be the same as buying new clothes? Having new clothes to wear gives you confidence doesn't it? Then having anything new like a new car, a new puppy, or even when you have a new bf or gf gives you that confidence buzz.. So does therapy work?

Going private with therapy can cost hundreds of pounds or more. I told my sister on the phone today how I have been thinking that therapy may be a confidence booster, she said well if you think that you may as well spend a few hundred pounds on clothes and get confident that way!
Which is true really. That would make me feel great for a while.

My sister Kim works in the mental health team in her area. She helps people to get back into work or tries to get them interested in a college course etc. Kim goes to a number of meetings and courses which she learns more about my condition. I know one meeting last year she got very upset about what she heard about how hard it is for someone to live with a mental health illness. Agoraphobia came up as one of the hardest things to deal with. This hit home for my sister as she has seen her little sister grow up with this condition.

I started to write down the diffrent therapies in my area.. and I have decided to go with hypnotherapy again. I last had this properly when I was 18. It worked rather well then, but something happens in my head that my agoraphobia gets worse again after a few months of doing well. So I am willing to try it again.

I rang a few therapists around my area one is quite far from me - still in the south west but the traveling time would be an hour and a half.. This man is a hypnotherapist and he does EFT also.
He sounded really nice on the phone and I felt at ease but I think he is to far away to see each week really, so I will put him on hold.

Another therapist I rang - he lives about 6 miles away from me. He concentrates on NLP
but he sounded a very strict therapist and takes you out walking etc to make u face it!
Which is probably the best way to deal with my issue but seemed too scary talking about it!
lol.. so I haven't chosen him. Saying that, he is coming to my house on Tuesday morning for a one to one first session to find out my problem.. that can't hurt can it? So we will see..

The last therapist I had on my list I had found on the internet was a nice medium built man with grey hair and a grey beard.. I know this as he has a pic on his website lol
and on the phone he seemed a very sweet and gentle man. He is a hypnotherapist and a pshycotherapist. He lives actually 4 minute walk from me lol what a find!! whoo hoo.
He is coming to my house on Monday evening at 8pm so I will let you know what happens.


Here's a hypnotherapy visual aid. Concentrate on the centre circle. What do you see?

14 comments:

Bookworm said...

I'd love to know how your hypnotherapy session goes, and i love the visual aid you posted. It's really neat!

Nicky said...

Best of luck, I hopr it goes well

Drew said...

Glad to hear you're reaching for forward progress. That's always a good thing. Choosing your therapist based being kind and gentle and living close to you sounds like avoiding your fear. You mentioned the "strict" therapist that makes you face the fear. You mentioned that his is probably the best way. It absolutely is. Its the most worrisome, frightening, panic-inducing way, but in the end its the only way to do it. All the "gentle" therapy in the world is doomed without actually facing the fear and going through it.

I know, this sounds harsh, but its true. I know exactly how afraid you are, but the fact that you want to get better speaks volumes about it. I bet you're much braver than you give yourself credit for!

Anonymous said...

The only thing that has ever worked well for me is a good cognitive behavioral therapist. Emphasis on GOOD.

LOVE the graphic!

Dr. President said...

I have agoraphobia also I'm 36 I've been suffering from it since 2002, so for all of my thirties.

Rachael said...

I've always wanted to try hypnotherapy but never got round to doing it. Ive always thought my anixety is too bad for that though so i'd love to know how your sessions go. I hope it all goes well for you.

Good luck!
take care

Anonymous said...

I am a recovered agoraphobic and am not a big believer in therapy. First, I don't know about you but I had trouble getting to therapy because I couldn't leave my house. When I finally took enough Xanax to get to a therapist, I could hardly sit on the couch because of the panic. The therapy went nowhere. I ended up recovering after I followed a self-help program that taught me the skills I needed to relax and think differently. I know everyone's case is different - but therapy is really expensive and can go nowhere like you say. In the end I realized no one could fix me.

Penny Pincher said...

That visual aid is amazing. Being blind in one eye i often miss out on visual illusions but this was mesmerising. Welcome to the blgoshpere . .

Anonymous said...

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Kaci said...

I hope the appointment goes well. :) I have tried hypnotherapy, the guy was very nice and I still listen to his cd that he copied for me.

Kate said...

Hi thanks for your coments guys.. My hypntherapist cancelled on me last minute but is seeing me next thursday no a week to wait grrr trying to get him to come earlier.. The other man came he was nice :-)

But am waiting to see the other hypnotherapist also will do a post soon to update u x

KatduGers said...

Hi, I hope the new appointment went well. I found your blog through Robert's, and I think it's amazing to read both of your blogs and get both of your perspectives.

Stop by my blog for a blog award!

Teena Vallerine said...

Oh my! this is a little un-nerving! Don't like it at all. But I love that deep shade of purple on the outer ring so I'll just stare at that! LOVE the name of your blog. So perfectly apt for you x. t.x

Mina said...

Hi Marie, I'm also suffering from anxiety and later on developed agoraphobia. I'm Mina btw, and I'm only 21 yrs old. Anyway, it's nice to read your blog, it makes me feel not alone anymore.

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