"My Journey with CBT"

To preface, I did CBT for social anxiety and OCD.

Initially, I was very apprehensive and did not believe that this treatment would be beneficial, but I had exhausted all other avenues of treatment (from medication to mindfulness), and after a strong sales pitch from a close friend who had personally undergone CBT and raved about it - I decided to give it a go.

Upon meeting Sarah, she was warm and welcoming, but most importantly ‘human’. Previously, I had always found it difficult to discuss my mental health in the often clinical and sterile environment that is usually the doctors surgery in which you have ~15 minutes to accurately disclose the complications of your mind with a doctor who is desperately (and understandably) trying not to fall behind schedule.

However, Sarah built a fast rapport which eased my anxiety immensely, instead of feeling like I was discussing intimate and oftentimes embarrassing aspects of my condition to someone who’s schedule I believed I was impacting, I felt like I could have an honest conversation with someone who came across as completely nonjudgmental.

This was the first time I had the ability to really delve into the intricacies of the different aspects of my anxiety and mainly OCD without the fear of judgement and then the subsequent anxiety. I felt seen and completely understood, she was able to explain the processing of my issues which has given me a complete understanding of my conditions. She held me accountable, but was realistic when I had lapses in behaviour, I didn’t feel like I had to lie when I didn’t achieve my weekly goal in-fear of disappoint, instead she worked with me to come up with a new plan to tackle the issue from a different angle.

I truly believed I would never be able to get my anxiety and OCD under control and had accepted the sad reality that it was going to plague me for the rest of my life, but now I feel like I do have control. The amount of time that I save in my day-to-day life from not having to carry out my numerous rituals and the freedom that comes from not letting my anxiety dictate my activities has been incredibly freeing. Additionally, I have been prepared for the reality of when they might worsen due to potential stressors and how to combat it so I don’t ‘relapse’.

I cannot thank Sarah enough for the time, effort, patience, and kindness that she showed during this entire process.