How to cure Social Phobia, permanently

Quetzalcoatl · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject:

Like me? As in, you used to hate when people would go on threads and try to peddle their garbage? I don't take meds or attend therapy sessions.

_________________
Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Scrabbl · Intermediate User Joined: Mar 15, 2005 Posts: 102

Quetzalcoatl · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 4:20 am Post subject:

Alright then, fair enough!

_________________
Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

shield · Intermediate User Joined: Mar 20, 2008 Posts: 152

Hey guys bashing people who say they've recovered from SA is fair enough because it shows scepticism and that's good. But I made a similar post to the guy who posted this thread when I returned to the forum after a year or two of not using it. I really do feel like I have recovered from social anxiety. (You can never actually recover because you will always have anxiety in sum social situations like standing on a restaurant table and dancing.) and if your thinking; but u didn't have it bad, ur not the same as me, or I can't do it. U guys are really wrong I was real bad and thought I wud neva get better. I just made a decision to stop reading this forum and go out and do sumthin about my problem. Its just a choice and anyone can do it I'm not special. Its not the actual task that is hard its your mind, the doubts you have, the fact that your brain will always try to talk u out of changing you have to just find a reason and a motivation 2 fight.

JeffFL · Newbie User Joined: May 02, 2008 Posts: 2

What is the difference between this approach and CBT??? It sounds like the same thing?

I'm not downplaying the post, I find it quite inspiring. I hate s.a.d. and I would like to think there is hope in getting rid of it totally, not just learning how to manage it.

steel_sparks · Newbie User Joined: Mar 25, 2007 Posts: 36 Location: Wales

social phobia is differnt for different people, we all have differnet underlying reasons for our issues so there is no one set cure. but saying that I believe Medication is not the way to get better, It just serves as a anxiety supressor and doesn't combat the cause of the anxiety. I think my list of tips for overcoming SP would be as follow, bearing in mind that I still have it but I am overcoming it and I feel a lot better than I was a year ago.

1. as with any fear, facing it is key to overcoming it even if it's small steps at a time, and yes you are likely to be knocked back from time to time but thats an aspect of the fear so it needs to be faced also.

2. Positive mental attitude is always a good thing to have whatever the situation, social phobia or not, and it can help through the tough times just remembering the good times and visualising what you wish to achieve.

3. As i've said before I don't agree with medication and this includes things like alcohol and recreational drugs because even though they will help in the short term they will either make it worse in the long term or lead to a need for them.

4 and finaly you should learn to love who you are, wether thats how you look or how you think, accepting you for how you are is the first step for allowing/believing others accept you for who you are

I know these things are hard sometimes because I'm doing them, I've been into social situations that I was scared of and I've been knocked back lots of times but I've learned to deal with them a lot better. I've found things that I am good at and I've been working out for the last three years to get to where I am now, where I like how I look, yeah I know I will still have my moments of anxiety and depression but they are fewer and further between and we should never be completely without anxiety because it's there for a reason.

Marie_knowsbest · Intermediate User Joined: Apr 27, 2008 Posts: 139

yeh i had problems a few years back. like knuckle i looked at all the cognitive behavioural thoery lark, even had it from a psychiatrist! tried anti depressents etc.

but i think, from my expereince that social phobia is just a grouping label for people with low self esteem and self worth. honestly. going through all the theopy, the reading, the medication, none of it helped me in the slightest. it was excepting who i am as a person, knwoing that no one is better than me, nor me better than them, we are all equal with all our own insecurites, not feeling the need to act like someone im not, and not spending hours thinking about whats wrong with me! just being in the moment, if im shopping, im not thinking what the people in the shop think of me, im looking at that nice jumper over there that would loook nice with the shoes i just bought! not feeling preasured to do things i dont want to do, and speaking when i have something to say! not racking my brains and torturing myself just for a conversation starter!!!

follwing the tips that have been left for you are very good ways to build a active healthy life, dont try and overcome your problems by thinking about them, and working through them in your head, im sure you know that just spirals into thinking about negative shit. just forget it all! and move foward rather than thinking about the past. work on ya future, not figuring out ya past.

god bless to all

lonely_world · Intermediate User Joined: Jul 04, 2007 Posts: 159

Just don't care anymore, that how i'm going to handle it for now on. I'm not suggesting to be totally careless, but you will never be able to change what other people think, say and do, so why waste the energy? Rememeber that anxiety takes a toll on your health, so if you care about yourself, stop worrying so much. I know it's very hard sometimes, i've been going through it my whole life, but i'm just too tired of it anymore. Golly, i'm 31 almost 32, but I feel like i'm much older, that's what years of stress do to you. Like the saying goes, only the strong do survive, so give yourselves credit for still being in hell! Laughing

Mindfit · Newbie User Joined: May 05, 2008 Posts: 2

Hi all, it was my site and hypnosis mp3 that knuckleflash mentioned in their post, I found this site after checking out some of the referring pages in my Statistics.

So first off, I have no idea who they are and if my session helped them ... I am thankful they are sharing that success. I did read some of the post and I got to say, while the internet is a great resource, man what a load of shit can get posted here as well.

Quetzalcoatl, for someone that admits they don't use medication or therapy, and insists Social Phobia can't be cured, is as stupid as a 3 yr old telling a dentist the cookie monster causes cavities. There is nothing sadder in my opinion than a creationist without any knowledge on science telling people that evolution must be wrong because it would mean they would have to change their mind about their religion. It would seem the same thing is going on here with social phobia.

Phobias are a reaction in the brain to a learned experience either conscious known or unknown, it makes no difference. There are THOUSANDS of scientific studies that show to the point it can be said proven that the brain is constantly making new associations and changing physically. It's call neuro plasticity or more simply 'learning'. What is learned can be forgotten or changed. This is a fact and I can't imagine why anyone would want to defend there non attempt to change a phobia.

Having said that, with a load of studies showing the effectiveness of getting rid of phobias, there is no need to even consider woo woo therapies like EFT or homepathy or talking to a channeled dolphin through some aging hippy. The bottomline is what you focus on with create a stronger reaction in your brain. By constantly worrying and talking and supporting a belief (such as a forum or a church) you will entrain more easily the behaviour your focusing on. Using Hypnosis or NLP or even a much slower method like CBT when you change your focus the end result is it becomes more difficult to illicit the old phobia response. This is basic psychology... and I mean basic, so it really makes me sad to see people with no knowledge on the subject except they suffer from a condition telling others they can't change, don't want to try and change, are happy to get attention from the condition so NO ONE else should be able to do change either.

For those that do want to change again here it is plain and simple. We all share the same brain structure and ability (exceptions being some conditions ....but not phobias). The only difference in someones beliefs or attitudes or behaviours is the way the brain is wired up. The wiring can be changed, it can be different, this is obvious because some people have phobias and some do not, some people believe in an invisible creator myth to the point where they spend their life trying to convine others of it or blow themselves up... The key is to create new wiring in your brain new reactions new attitudes and the way you do that is to focus on how you want to be and not feed the wiring for how you already are. It is easy, and it's already been on TV. Tony Robbins got his start doing 5 minute phobia cures on TV live. So do other people. Don't give up, just change your focus and find something that has been shown to work. Check the psychology studies online, try products others have found helpful, but don't bitch and feel sorry for yourself your only feeding the fire.