I started to get panic attacks several years ago and talk therapy wasn’t working. I eventually found Lucinda Bassett’s Attacking Anxiety and Depression audio course and found it very helpful. She spells out the errors in thinking which cause anxiety and depression and how they lead to physical symptoms. I learned many important lessons through her heavily CBT-inspired course.
The most important short-term things to remember:
-The symptoms are not harmful. Don’t fear them. Ride them out.
-Slow down. Take deep breaths and speak slowly. This has a calming effect.
For the long run, she pointed out the main things that cause anxiety and depression in a person:
-Negative thoughts
-Unrealistic expectations
-Disaster or “what-if?” thinking
There are a variety of ways of dealing with these causes, but they all boil down to deconstructing incorrect/irrational thinking and replacing it with well-reasoned, realistic thinking. I wrote a daily journal, kept a log of negative thoughts and spent a lot of time reconsidering my expectations and beliefs. Of course, Bassett also includes a meditative breathing exercise in her course which I practiced three times a day (with some minor annoyance). However, all that practice came in handy because in nervous situations I was able to turn on the calm like a switch.
The effect was profound and has lasted me for years, but like others have mentioned, the effect can fade if you’re not mindful of it. I occasionally revisit CBT techniques and ideas from other sources, like David Burns’ “Feeling Good,” and this has helped me keep my anxiety and depression at bay. I have found that my symptoms of anxiety and depression return in small measure when I stop going to the gym and consume too much caffeine and sugar.
All in all, I have found CBT to be a powerful tool, but it requires a very strong commitment. I felt as if I was at the bottom of a deep hole before I started with it, but I decided I would fight it with everything I had before taking the leap to medication. Luckily for me, it stuck.