cognitive behavioral therapy without medication?

Question

I going to start Cognitive Behavioral Theray in a few weeks, and I don't want to take any medication.. I Pshcholtrist put me on Lexapro, and i have only taken 2 and feeling really bad.. So i decided not to take it anymore. I wanted to know if i can be sucessful with out medication???

Ps, i get panic attacks

Answer 1

I think it's good that you've taken this step to cognitive behavioral therapy and I could understand that you don't wish to take any medication. Who likes to? Sometimes the brain is a little off and to correct that imbalance, it needs the help of an antidepressant to help keep the flow of those brain chemicals. There's nothing wrong with that. Our bodies are all different. My recommendation would be to at least give the Lexapro a try. Some of these medications, especially antidepressants, take about a month until they're in your system and you begin to see a difference. I think it would be too soon to stop and if you do want to, make sure you tell your doctor first so he/she could help you make a safe withdrawal. It may be possible this is not the right medication for you and you may either need an adjustment with dosage or a different antidepressant. Sometimes it takes a little while to find the one that really works. You can be successful without medication, but a combination of the two can be really good sometimes. But these concerns should be discussed with your doctor. And if you get panic attacks, especially severe, you should probably be taking some type of medication to prevent them or calm you down when they occur. Good luck.

Answer 2

Side effects are common at the beginning of therapy but usually dissipate with time. Try to follow your doctor's recommendations. It will take a number of weeks to assess if the medication is working for you. The combination of medication and cognitive therapy is often more successful than either therapy alone

Answer 3

I feel your pain. Although I couldn't live without my medicine. I only take two and have been for 15 years. But, I have thought often of going off them because I want to be free. I have been in Cognitive Therapy and it works if you have a great therapist. You have to be willing to work hard. Nothing comes easy. Is there any other drug for you to try? Try therapy with a different drug, then you can wean off that drug with the supervision of a therapist. Good Luck

Answer 4

well your psychiatrist must have thought you needed and antidepressant (lexapro) or they wouldn't have given it to you. usually meds and therapy are used together to help treat depression and/panic attacks. you should not start and/or stop medications on your own without talking to your doctor. if you do not like the way your medications make you feel talk to your doctor. there are many medications out there. you may not have to take medications forever. sometimes they are just used for a short period of time (like 6 mons) to get you out of the situation you are in until you learn thru therapy how to cope with your depression and/or panic attacks

Answer 5

I'm almost positive you can be more successful without meds and only CBT.
Psychotropic medications are a temporary solution to a problem that won't simply disappear due to a med. It's not like you have a bacterial infection that can be cured by an antibiotic.
Trash the meds and take the CBT.

Answer 6

YES CBT can work without meds, but depending on the severity of your attacks meds may be the fastest acting solution to stop them. Meds are not forever even if you do take them.

Be VERY careful stopping meds esp Lexapro cold turkey the withdrawl effects can be worse than the panic attacks. It may take up to a few weeks for the meds to stabilize in your system they don't work instantly ( most meds anyway).

Talk to your doc about not wanting to treat with meds, if your DR isn't willing to try or explain to your satisfaction why they feel you should be on meds go shopping around for a new DR!

Answer 7

yes I treat it natural

I take
moodlift 2 pm
bcomplex 3 am 2 noon
plus therapy
the vitamins I order through this site
that I know that this co. is good
http://besthealth.go.cc
any question email me
just a little therapy a lot of people out ther are dealing with panic attacks almost every person in there life is going through
some kind of panics

Answer 8

I am not a doctor or a Psychologist but if you were diagnosed and told to be treated with Lexapro, then you should be doing what the doctor says because it is involved in your treatment.
You can be successful without medication but it is urged that you take your medication along with your treatment.
CBT is difficult to utilize when the patient is not cooperative and the doctor can not discover your thought processes and determine where your deviant thoughts occur. I would recommend continuing your medication.

Answer 9

Welll.... the psychiatric journals have proven that even though therapy works slower it usually works better with longer results. With medication it's quicker nut the results tend to wear off generally soon after you are taken off of them.

It might work but you at least need to tell your shrink. If you can convince him the he/she may actually be able to compensate for it some way. Remember; it is illegal for them to force meds on you unless they can show you are a threat to yourself or others-- despite what they tell you.

Answer 10

It worked for me. I had "major recurrent depression" which simply means I had it bad enough to want to die in the worst way possible. I was given all sorts of antidepressants, went to several doctors, had a couple of hospital visits (one for attempted suicide), and weeks of group therapy. It wasn't until I got this book: http://www.seekwellness.com/bookstore/books/book65.htm that I began to get better. FYI, he covers panic attacks and anxiety very thoroughly. It's all about confronting your fears and reprogramming your thought processes. It's somewhat difficult, but well worth it.

Read my story here:
http://www.geocities.com/seabulls69/AntidepressantThatWorks.html