If I really missed it that bad, I wouldn't be here.

Hi SS,

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Frankly, I don't know where I would be without therapy - yes I do, lost! Slowly, but surely, therapy is enabling me to get my life back. I am a victim of childhood trauma and that has shaped my view of myself and the world around me. That view is severely distorted and it is that that gives rise to my anxiety. That much I know. It is now a case of slowly chipping away at that distortion to enable me to see things in a more realistic light. It isn't easy and there are times when I feel I'm going nowhere but, when I stand back, I know that things are getting better.

What I have found is that some therapies (e.g. straight 'talk' therapy) has had minimal value for me. Instead, I favour structured therapies - for example, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and/or REBT (rational emotive behavioural therapy). I also like the approach of schema therapy, from which I have benefitted greatly. And, there are others. No shortage of choice.

Good luck!

V.

Hi Vergil -- I was really interested in your discussion of what different therapies have worked for you. I don't know if you had a chance to see it, but Serenity Seeker and I started a discussion at the end of my introductory post yesterday about the behavioral concept of “Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intention”. It apparently is being used with good results to help people in moderating their drinking patterns (in conjunction with naltrexone). I didn't have a chance to discuss it in detail with my doctor, who alas has moved. I wondered with your experience if you might be able to interpret how we could apply it to our drinking? I'm afraid I haven't figured out yet how to cut and paste here or I'd transfer my description (it's under the Lurking Until Now discussion). Thank you!

Hi sabrina,

I have to say that I had never heard of MCII until you mentioned it. It kinda illustrates what I said above, i.e. that there is no shortage of choice out there. However, I'll check it out on the internet and mention it to my therapist. I'll get back to you.

All the best.

V.

Hi sabrina,

Well, I decided not to procrastinate - so, I jumped straight into this one! I discovered an article by Peter M Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran entitled Implementation Intentions. My initial response is that it looks like pretty sound theory but would probably be difficult to put into practice. Unless, perhaps, one had been coached in this method by someone who is fully conversant with MCII. However, my suspicion is that such people are almost certainly few and far between. This looks like a very new technique as evidenced by the fact that I didn't find much when I googled 'MCII'. Your mentioning MCII has certainly piqued my interest and I shall pursue it further as it is clearly relevant to anyone who is trying to reduce their alcohol intake.

So, thank you for introducing me to MCII.

Once again, all the best to you.

V.

Hello again, sabrina,

Although the following study was not related to people reducing their alcohol intake, it still makes for interesting reading:

http://download.journals.elsevierhealth ... 008313.pdf

Of particular interest is the following statement:

"The self-regulation technique - mental contrasting with implementation intentions - was effective for initiating and maintaining behavior change. It is a low-cost intervention component that requires only a single session to learn the technique".

Serenity Seeker, I apologize for hijacking your thread but I am aware that MCII is a topic that is of interest to you. I must confess to having got a bit carried away on this occasion but that often happens when I discover something new. Sorry!

V.

HI virgil -- I'm so glad you think there might be something to MCII. I do too, if I could just figure out how to apply it in very specific ways to changing my drinking behavior, as they did with people's exercise patterns. For example, a work sheet to work through. And I'd be very interested in what your therapist says about it. I'll ask mine about it too :>), though she isn't the doctor who told me about it initially. And I too am sorry about hijacking Serenity Seeker's thread -- I am so computer illiterate I didn't realize this was a thread. Should we start a new one somehow? Thanks for all the support -- it is such positive reinforcement to know there are other people out there who are sharing the same path.

No worries about hijacking my thread, Virgil and Sabrina I'm very interested in your discussion and I now have my answer about my warm glow. It's gone for good and I just have to work on replacements. I keep wanting to try to have some washout and AF days and then try exercise or sex or making some really great food. It's hard to imagine that those will feel as good as the alcohol (but my husband would sure love it if I replaced alcohol with a sex addiction)

Virgil, I also had a rather traumatic adolescence and have attended therapy for a year. It was just straight talk therapy, and ended up being incredibly valuable to me, though I resisted it all the way. I really wanted to be assigned homework and things to do so I could get better faster. I looked into cognitive behavioral therapy and really wanted to try it, but by that time I had been going to my therapist for a while and it seemed too hard to switch. Anyway, I learned throughout that year a lot about the value of just being present with myself, not always using an assignment to escape or hide. As I cannot afford to get back into therapy right now, I'm going to try and be my own therapist. I think when I do start looking around for a therapist, I'll look for someone that does Hakomi therapy. I've heard lots of good things about it and I think the body-centered approach would have some valuable lessons for me.

Hi SS,

You have illustrated my point entirely - so much choice out there. I've never heard of Hakomi so, if you do decide to go down that route, I'd be very interested in knowing how you get on with it.

All the best.

V.