Exposure therapy -- anyone tried it? Thoughts?

Addi · Newbie User Joined: Jun 19, 2008 Posts: 1

I think if you want to try the exposure to overcome the social phobia (which I still dont have much 'balls' to do) i would do it slowly. Dont start where its going to overwhelm you and keep you from never trying again! Just start like driving around in the car, to going to the convinience store and taking your time. to going to the grocery store and starting a small talk converstation with the cashier...etc.

Coper · Newbie User Joined: May 30, 2008 Posts: 45

I motivate myself to make small talk with my acquaintances in a rather unorthodox, but, I think, effective way: I make it a rule for myself that I can't 'pleasure myself' if I haven't talked to anyone since the last time I did. It works, too! I admit I don't always have the self-discipline to follow my own rule, but usually I do, and it motivates me to try a lot harder to find opportunities to talk to people. And if I do go for a long time without talking to anyone, I get horny and start to notice girls more, which just makes me even more motivated to break out of my shell.

MotherWolff · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:26 am Post subject:

Hey bleach do you have a therapist? If you do, maybe you could ask him/her to begin an exposure therapy program with you. I haven't experienced it myself with my own therapist but I read that the therapist could gather people who also have SA and have you introduce yourself to them and they introduce themselves to you(yeah that sounds very scary to me Confused

). But that is just the first step. Each situation the therapist presents to you becomes increasingly challenging, but they are done at a slow pace.

However, in order to "stay in shape" I believe the therapist will suggest that you practice social conversations in your everyday environment, like saying hi to pass byers(even though you don't know who the hell they are) and responding back to people who are speaking to you with eye contact(very hard for me to do).

So maybe it would be easier for you to do exposure therapy within the organized social situations a therapist could set up for you. And then, from what you have learned from that, you could gradually test out your social skills outside the therapist's office. Its kinda hard for me to give out advice that I feel is very unsettling for me to even follow. Sad

Heeeey, I got 19 posts now and that's exactly how old I am. Very Happy

(Even though I look like a pre-teen)

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bleach · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:55 pm Post subject:

No I don't have a therapist.

tpdarlo · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:51 pm Post subject:

Exposure therapy needs to be done gradually. You need to make a list of all the scenarios that make you anxious and grade them from 1 to 3. You start exposing yourself to the 1s and work your way up to the 2s and then the 3s over a period of months and years.

coriander1992 · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:25 pm Post subject:

You may not be feeling ready to take the next step because you are pushing yourself too much.

The steps need to be really similiar too each other, to start off with, so that you build up really gradually...for example:

1. Walk upto local corner shop and back.
2. Walk upto local corner shop, go in and buy something.
3. Go to shop and buy something, smile and say hi to cashier.
4. Go to shop and ask employee where something is in shop.

Get the idea? You could probably do most of those straigh away if you wanted to, but if you do it all slowly you're likely to be much more successful.

Good luck.

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