Approaching Mental Health Post- SCI with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
By Kelley Simoneaux
When you have a spinal cord injury your physical health is shoved to the front of the priority line. There are so many secondary health complications people with spinal cord injuries have to look out for.
But what about mental health?
Mental health is absolutely essential when you live with an SCI too. Daily we may cope with the anxiety that comes with care, depression that comes with loss, and seek the psychological stamina required to roll with the complications and difficulties of life with paralysis.
So where do we turn?
Sometimes our trauma has affected the very chemistry of our brains. There should be no shame in seeking to remedy this issue with the use of drugs like serotonin reuptake inhibitors under the careful guidance of a physician. Many of us have found some peace in therapy. Counseling by people with SCI can be particularly validating and effective. Talking out our issues should never be underrated as a means to finding peace.
Then there’s cognitive behavioral therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is more than talk therapy.
It’s a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to be effective for a range of problems including depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, eating disorders, and even severe mental illness.
Multiple research studies conclude that CBT leads to real improvement in mental health and quality of life. In many studies, CBT has been demonstrated to be more effective than other forms of psychological therapy or psychiatric medications.
What do you learn in cognitive behavioral therapy?
Psychological problems are based, in part, on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.
CBT encourages you to understand that your anxiety, depression, or other negative feelings are a product of how you’re thinking more than what’s actually happening. CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns.
Psychological problems are based, in part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.
CBT encourages you to change your behavior that isn’t helping. While our paralysis cannot be helped, we don’t have to wallow in misery. We must force ourselves to get up and out if possible. Get fresh air and sunlight. Push yourself to do activities and adventures and face challenges.
Can you really change how you think?
CBT teaches you to recognize distortions in thinking that are creating problems, and then to reevaluate them.
As a quadriplegic much of my stress comes from worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet. CBT encourages me to view this perspective as suffering prematurely and unnecessarily. Much of my depression comes from wishing I could still participate in the world physically like I used to. CBT encourages living in and making the most of the present.
CBT teaches facing your problems head-on, regardless of fear. Good cognitive behavioral therapy will teach one how to put problems in perspective and relax the mind.
The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy after a spinal cord injury is to teach us that while we can’t control every aspect of SCI life, we can take control of our perspective and subsequent behavior.
What I learned in CBT
In CBT I learned a lot about the dichotomy of control and how to let go when and where I just don’t have it anymore.
I learned to halt the automatic negative thoughts that contribute to my emotional difficulties, challenging them instead with objective, realistic thoughts.
Yes, its frustrating to wait on my care, but it doesn’t mean my whole agenda is ruined for the day, much less a lifetime, and no self pity is required.
Yes, I miss the ease of life on legs, but occupying the mind with all I haven’t lost is a much healthier way to spend my energy.
Always, I can ask myself: Are my thoughts valid? Am I suffering for no reason? Often I will find it’s the case.
If you’re struggling with mental health after an SCI
Check with your health insurance to find a provider of behavioral health services. You can also work on changing negative patterns of thinking independently. Check out this list of books promoted by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.