TJ
I'm not so much perceptive as more like been there,done that. Also I work with different people with different problems so I realize that although CBT is basically one thing how you use that one thing is different for different people. Dr. weeks is right to a point and I think you are at that point. A plateau as you put it. You function but would like to be more. I hit that point a couple of years ago. This is where you go from the how to the why. You know the how, are you sure you want to know the why. It is a two edged sword. It is knowledge that you can't erase once you know it. It is knowing how the brain works and why it works that way. And it is not complicated at all though it may seem so. You will also be delving into things from the past that influenced you and your family and surroundings. Do you want to do this or are you satisfied with the coping skills that you use to function now and which got you to Dr. weeks point of functioning. Time will cure all till some crisis flips everything around and you have to build new coping skills. The things you can learn now don't change this they just make it faster, more automatic. But like I said it is a two edged sword it can give you a whole new batch of negative thoughts to deal with.
The mind works like a computer, everything is yes or no. except that the mind also does maybe. It is like having a search engine running steady. So why do you get moments of negativity? Because you have asked the "maybe" search engine to look for them. This too is why they happen during periods of stability and calm.
There is a big answer to all of this that will save you a lot of trouble. It is acceptance. One of Dr. Weeks words.
You have the ability to process information fast which is why you are good in a crisis. Unfortunately you also can use that same ability to search for all the negatives you have from the past in your memory. Even ones you don't think you remember. And worse even are the blocked ones.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by anxiety coming out of the blue for no reason. This definition is questioned by some experts and I agree with them. I/we think there really is a reason.
So although you can not stop the search engine and in intelligent people it is a bigger one you can give it more positives to search for than negatives and this is the function of CBT.
I strongly recommend you do the program to make sure you have all the coping skills you can get.
Ask your psychologist about the thought triangle and if you are ready for it, it is an eye opener. It is also a relatively new piece of information.
Do you know how to get a song from repeating itself in your head? Search for and play a different one. Same with obsessive thoughts, search for and play a different one, a positive one. But don't stop there because positives are not survival skills and are short lived compared to negatives, repeat it so it covers up the negative. You change it by burying it.
Davit
