Lads I suffer from hypochondria/somatic symptom disorder (medicated for it). I'm considering CBT therapy...

Lads I suffer from hypochondria/somatic symptom disorder (medicated for it). I'm considering CBT therapy. Although the cheaper route would be to get a book and try to do the therapy myself. I'm in a really bad spot going through hell this year. Any of you ever try to help yourself by reading a book or should I just go to therapy. Sorry if this isn't rhetoric right place for this question. Please don't ban me.

start with the greeks

Came here to post this.

Lol you fuckers I'm a regular here. How about your diary desu. But seriously when I mean have you tried a book for therapy I'm not talking self help I'm talking about manual on cognitive behavioural therapy. Anyone ever try learning something like that to help themselves? How did it go.

Books tend to target specifics. Not just bad feels. I think close to the majority of literary books do, on some level, show a cognitive-behavioural process. A character has a flaw, then they correct it.

How much Dostoevsky have you read? It's not often I recommend him and I know he's a meme but his literature is fundamentally psychological. It's the point of it, as it were.

True. I was thinking more along the lines of medical textbooks.

mental disorders aren't real, brainlet. keep taking your antidepressants though

Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria

They are.my brain chemicals are fucked. Family history of mental shit to

dw about it brainlet

>hypochondria/somatic symptom disorder

are these the medical terms for being a little bitch now?

It's not funny. If only you knew how I feel :( although I would not wish this upon anyone. 26 years of this and I'm finally going to therapy hahaha I am stupid.

hahaha

Reeeeeeeeeee I thought you guys were supposed to be smart.

Epictetus' Discourses is a fundamental text in CBT. You don't really need to look further than the greeks for now. You could pair a dose of stoicism and exercise with therapy, though it's up to you whether you wanna bother with therapy or not. I assure you would not if you just stayed the course.

try this book OP
you should be able to pirate it easily

I'd recommend taking female hormones and getting sexual reassignment surgery.

stop eating processed foods
exercise daily
get away from digital devices as much as you can
have conversations with those close too you often
don't smoke
don't drink
spend free time on constructive hobbies
read dank af books

coating a shitty lifestyle in chemicals doesn't fix the problem.

I do every single one of those Hahahaha. Even live with my loving girlfriend and have pets. Lmao they said a dog would make me happy hahahaha

Also my disorder causes me extreme anxiety when I'm "triggere" not depression.

Tell us your triggers, faggot.

Triggers as in something I find wrong with my body. Here I'll send you my most recent one. When I find something my mind automatically jumps to cancer and I get intense fear as if I've been told I'm dying. The anxiety won't go away until a doctor tells me I'm fine. This little spot that went away after a day or two had me thinking oral cancer.

Don't forget to measure the size of your moles (all of them) from time to time, they can develop into skin cancer.

Fuck off

ok brainlet

Enjoy your melanoma.

oh yeah i get that also.
my trick is sleeping it off or going back to christianity and thinking god still needs me to spread his "word" then i feel better.

what you're describing sounds to me like you finding something to freak out about because your life isn't going so great and you're focusing that dissatisfaction onto something like your health but idk.
either way calm down. honestly evaluate your life, your relationships, your job/career/hobbies/passions. also, try and be aware of the patterns of what you're thinking/saying to yourself.
be patient and just try taking it easy for awhile. stop reading up webmd shit and freaking out.
use your senses. look, smell, taste, feel, listen to things you enjoy.

i don't doubt that what you described is real in terms of it's symptomatic aspects but you have to realize that you're doing it (even if you're unaware), stop labeling yourself and thinking theres something biologically off with your brain. there's something a lot simpler and obvious there that's causing it and you have to take it easy be aware and let it reveal itself.

here's some pretty good advice:
>When you do not know the nature of the malady, leave it to nature; do not strive to hasten matters. For either nature will bring about the cure or it will itself reveal clearly what the malady really is. - Avicenna

It's very true. That's what I've been trying to do and now I need some help so I'm going to try therapy.

i'd suggest avoiding therapy it might make you functional but it'll also turn you into a robot.
don't be afraid to figure shit out, get angry about it then do something about it.