Friday 27 October 2017

# anxiety # blogger

Group Therapy for Anxiety: My Experience

So this is something I was incredibly reluctant to share however, I then realised that the fear was me sinking into a mindset I work hard to help people out of. All of my volunteering is based around helping to remove the sigma surrounding mental health and giving people the confidence to speak up and seek support! Therefore, I thought it would be silly of me not to share my own experience in hope that it gives someone else the confidence they need to get help too.




How it all started:

So a month ago I started group therapy for my Anxiety and this was a massive thing for me. I had originally been offered therapy when I was in sixth form however, was very quick to shut it down as the mention of it terrified me. However, fast forward a few years and I finally bucked up the courage to head back to the doctors and accept it, knowing that I couldn't put it off any longer.

When I stepped into that building on my first session, I didn't know what to expect. I had already stood outside for a good 20 minutes, debating with myself if I should just turn around and leave... however, I didn't. I pushed myself to do it and I am so glad that I did.


My expectations & experience in a group:

I know for many (and for myself) the mention of group therapy can feel incredibly daunting. Why would anyone want to sit in a room with other people and have to talk about all of your problems? I hate even mentioning when I'm feeling a little low to my own friends and family so why would I tell strangers?

This was a thought that continued to run through my head right up until the end of my first session when I came out feeling so high spirited and like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Sitting in that room with 5 other people (and two therapists) was not as scary as I had built it up to be and instead had been incredibly reassuring. I went from feeling alienated and as though I was the only one feeling that way, to feeling much more reassured.

Every session I grew more and more confident in what I was doing and more sure that my fear of group therapy had all been for nothing. It felt great to listen to what other people had to say and to see that we were really all in the same boat.

The mention of a group had been the aspect that had put me off for years however, it ended up being nothing to worry about. Instead, it had been something I enjoyed and looked forward to every week instead! Therefore, if group therapy is something you're put off about, then just give it a try and I promise that you'll be pleasantly surprised.


The Course Content:

In the 4 weeks we covered a range of different material but nothing got too personal. That was my biggest fear when it came to the group as I wasn't too keen on sharing my personal life with anyone (little lone strangers). Therefore, I was reassured when the aim of these particular sessions was to provide tips and resources to help deal with the anxiety, rather than our own experiences.

They were always so open for us to share our own personal concerns however, this wasn't forced on us either. It was the perfect balance.

The course was based around CBT and every week we were provided with a booklet full of information and useful ways to help ourselves. Some of the topics/resources that were covered included:


  • The vicious cycle (ABC)
  • Worry Diary
  • Setting goals
  • Classifying worries
  • Worry Time
  • Autonomic symptoms and managing them (briefly covering panic attacks)
  • Refocus practice and abdominal breathing
  • Problem solving

Each session was only 1 hour long so everything was covered fairly briefly however, we were always given 'homework' tasks. This just gave us chance to work on anything they had talked about in the session and practice using the resources they were providing us with.


To conclude:

I completely appreciate that group therapy isn't for everyone however, it is definitely something I would advise trying out. Although everything we covered was incredibly brief and on a very un-personal level, this can be enough for some people.

I found everything I learned in these sessions incredibly useful and will definitely be using them from now on. However, they were also very aware that after 4 weeks of group therapy you were not going to be 'cured', it doesn't work like that.

Therefore, don't think that group therapy has to be it. If you do try it out, you can always move on to one-on-one afterwards to touch on topics that are a little more personal to you.


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