Cure by reading?

Guest · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 2:17 pm Post subject: Cure by reading?

Can you cure Social Phobia by reading books, or do you deffinately need a professional psychologyst?

richkid · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 11:04 pm Post subject:

Social phobia can't be cured, as in you can't eliminate it completly. So I wouldn't start looking for a cure.
By looking for a cure you basically saying theres something wrong with who you are. A cure for me is not chaning who i am but changing the situation. I know i wont be the most confident person in the wolrd, i don't thinkanyone is. I know by reducing the thoughts and anxiety i feel that makes life difficult i can regain confidence and then take it from there.
Books are good for self help and i would recommend it.[/i]

wacomtablet · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:10 pm Post subject:

hello

reading books and being informed can be beneficial. it can also lead to over-analysis, awareness and the endless cycle of thinking. perhaps being selective about the books you read is important. i think the nature of this thing is that reading a book on self-administered cognitive-behavioural therapy for example is contradictory. a book provides another avoidance strategy in terms of social interaction. being that the socially anxious person is frequently their own worst enemy in terms of the negative thoughts they have of themselves, i'm not sure we'd provide healthy champions to our cause and fearless fighters of our negative thought patterns, as much as an outside party might.
professional help in various forms seems to have assisted some.
some people have suggested useful books - 'Diagonally Parked in a Parallel Universe' by Signe A. Dayhoff is frequently mentioned as being very helpful, the author herself being a social anxiety sufferer.

take care.

eka82 · Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:11 am Post subject:

Right now I'm thinking whether I like books for books sake or because it keeps my social interaction to the minimum.

I don't really like them as much as i claim to untill I actually sit through one, which is a real torture cause I tend to get bored very quickly.Not just reading but in everything other thing I do.

As to whether or not they help or helped me in my social phobia, the answer is NO! I tried reading some self-help books but they didn't help.

Books only served to magnify all what I percieved to be my weakness. I would read a book and be really inspired and everything fizzes out a day later. It's really frustrating!

You know what though Richkid, if someone were to hand me a magic pill that cures me of SP, I would gladly take it without going throughall the hastle. I'm sure there's a great lesson to be learn't, but I wished it came at an easier cost.

Jess333 · Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 11:22 pm Post subject:

Correction: Social Phobia is not a disease, it's a reaction and that reaction can be changed, not cured, but changed.

If you increase your self esteem and change your negative thinking to positive, you can get rid of this so-called "Social Phobia".

Don't label yourself "diseased" with SP. You can get better.

Doctors had to come up with a name for this reaction, this feeling that people get when they feel anxious around other people..

And they especially like labeling people for insurance purposes. Insurance companies will cover meds and doctor visits only if the person has certain labels, so some head docs are READY to diagnose in order to get paid. But hey..they have to get paid and they want to help, and that's how they do it.

Books are VERY good for SP recovery!!!! I am an example. I am in recovery right now.

Jess333 · Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 11:26 pm Post subject:

It fizzes out because your mind goes back onto it's negative track. What is important is realizing this. Self-help books can DEFINITELY help, but you have to find the right ones. That's been the case for me personally. But there's a lot more to recovery then just reading, putting the book down and watching your brain go right back into the same thinking patterns. You don't change...and therefore think that the books don't work.