Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- Exposure therapy is a very powerful way to overcome social anxiety, if you do it right. You can't really treat your social anxiety without it.
Watch this video to see what exposure therapy is, why it works, and how you can start using it immediately.
If you are interested, you can get a lot more in-depth information on social anxiety treatment techniques in my new social anxiety book here: geni.us/DatingWithoutFear
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ONLINE GROUP THERAPY
I’m co-leading an online self-compassion group with Marianne Stout, PhD. Open to TX residents.
www.anxietyaustin.com/groups/...
I'm Thomas Smithyman. I'm a clinical psychologist and I specialize in treating social anxiety. I reference the core treatment ideas that will help reduce social anxiety over time. You can find me at www.thomassmithyman.com and the Anxious in Austin Podcast.
I hope this helps it. Let me know if there are any other social anxiety topics you'd like to hear about.
"Bear the discomfort and comfort will come". "Resisting discomfort brings more discomfort. Comfort is a want, not a need." "It's not how we feel, but how we function." Dr. Abraham A. Low
I applied for a job middle of the city mall with alot of people. Now I’m working there and my social anxiety is getting by the day better, talking to people is still a little hard but I try to just imagine that they’re my friends instead of looking at strangers as strangers.
That’s great to hear, and I hope to hear more about whether talking gets easier over time too
You like many others that cover this topic are slowly but surely changing and improving my life. Helping me realize my potential and break FREE from this crippling condition. If not treated I personally believe it can be any mans biggest demise. You can have all the talent in the world and all the physical gifts possible some of which I think I have but if you cant communicate and express yourself freely you will never be the best YOU possible. For the information and advice you put out, I truly want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I agree ☝🏾
Any updates 4 years later haha ?
U good now bro?
"Do what you fear to do and brave the sensations. " Dr. Abraham A. Low
I catastrophize A LOT.
For those of us with extreme anxiety of being out in public on our own, would you recommend getting a service dog to help with panic attacks? I find my stress levels get so high for long periods of time that my IBS flares up despite being on medication for my anxiety and depression.
thank you very much sir this is very helpful i will try it in these days, i wasted enough of my youth hiding behind fears. its time to change!
Thanks, this is so helpful! :)
good content dr thomas.
How about the anxiety sensations (physical symptoms) when doing the exposures. I find the anticipation of an event makes me experience many physical systems that becomes debilitating.
this. i guess not everyone experiences severe physical symptoms , and for those who dont experience them, this is method would be perfect
Like the physiological symptoms, right? Heart racing, especially. To me that’s the main culprit of all other symptoms.
A couple months ago I went out with a friend to a bar. He said for me to approach a girl. He went to the bathroom and I nearly passed out of the thought of approaching.
Then I remembered a breathing technique. Boxed breathing. Or inhale deep, then inhale a second shorter time, then exhale. Did this for almost 5 minutes. Calmed me down by a lot.
We found a couple of girls who didn’t look intimidating. I didn’t know what to say and asked my friend, he said “just ask them how their night is going”. So I went started walking, I somehow managed to empty my mind and suppress my emotions. At least in the beginning. Then they were fortunately receptive and we talked for a bit and went to go buy them a drink. That alone was a big step for me.
As for how I was able to empty my mind and suppress my emotions, I contribute that to daily meditation :)
I need to do a video about this, thanks for bringing it up
@@DrThomasSmithymanpls make a video about it soon, it would be very helpful bcs I do experiencing it too. thank you!
I’ve started doing this despite my anxiety being bad around people. I always over think after an interaction and feel terrible because I can’t hold a conversation
Try looking up videos on social communication skills. it would probably be most effective to go about this with both exposure and becoming knowledgeable on basic social communication.
Thanks :)
Hi Thomas,
I recently discovered your channel and your book. They have helped me starting with exposure therapy for Social anxiety and also made me read about Metacognitive therapy. Recently I always warm up my exposure session with smiling and saying hi and asking for directions to a few people. This help me make the world feel more warm and social. If I go on to a a more new and challenging exposure like pretending to know a random stranger I feel more anxiety. Then I often delay and say "i'll not do that person because of excuse x, but do the next person". Then 15-20 minutes go past and the procrastinating (self-protecting behaviour?) make me feel more anxiety than prior and the exposure feels much more difficult than before. Resultingly I will sometimes not complete that exposure and just go home. The techniques I have tried prior to the exposure session is to use ATT. Do you have any tips or techniques I can use in the middle of a session to help me complete my exposures?
Best regards
Updates ?
I can't think up any middle steps. My social anxiety is triggered when I have to initiate a personal relationship, so a situation is either completely safe (no threat of getting close to someone) or it's debilitating anxiety that will knock me out for days.
You could just approach someone in a store and ask where something is, for example
@@DarthChals That would be a completely safe interaction.
@@WhiteScorpio2 and if you ask them more questions? "how long have you worked here?" etc
@@DarthChals Do you want me to prevent people from doing their jobs? Or do you want me to follow them around the store and ask them pointless questions? They don't stick around just to chat with the shoppers.
@@WhiteScorpio2 good luck, idiot
Can you recommend any specific texts/papers/books on exposure therapy for SA?
Hi sir, which vitamin end social anxiety pls?
I have written a list thins that I am doing in order to exposure my self in a gradually way:
1. Look random people in the street in the eye.
2. Give a complete stranger a compliment.
3. Call an old friend and chat with him.
4. Ask a beautiful woman her phone number (this one is not easy at all).
Do you guys have any more suggestions?
thank you doctor that was helpful. 👍
Thank you for this. Because my insurance doesn't cover therapy, I've been my own "therapist" for several years. I recently started a job and I've been successfully dealing with my SAD for 5 months.. By that, I mean I haven't had a panic attack, though I still occasionally thrown up in the morning (IBS brought on by fear). I think my problem is that I see neutral facial expressions/comments as negative, so I'm never convinced people accept me. I'm trying to reframe those thoughts, but with little success. How long should it take before the "discomfort" feels acceptable, or is this as good as it gets? Am I doing the right thing?
Reps is how we overcome??
I experienced anxiety in night shift while i was going through anxiety does that mean do i need to go to night shift to expose myself to the night shift environment. Please help..i am recovering from anxiety and i have lots of thoughts about night shift environment..
I have looked at this topic for a while but i have found that even after doing exposure therapy for a while if i stop it comes back with a vengeance is that normal and does it mean you constantly have to challenge it for the rest of your life?
Yes it's a lot like building muscle at the gym
I appreciate you being supportive with your perspective here
Hi doctor, i really need your advice on a very serious symptoms of social anxiety i am getting. I start feeling anxious even when people come near me.. so should my exposure therapy ll be just going near the people or it ll be initiating conversations. Pls pls pls reply. I am at really bad place right now😢
Thanks for the question. I can’t comment on specific situations, but in general it’s good to start with easier tasks and then slowly increase the difficulty
Is it possible to overcome your anxiety by doing exposure therapy yourself or do you need an expert
@yaakoub hey man is there anyway I can get in contact with you for some advice with social anxiety
expert would be safer
The problem is, I don’t know how to get the more automatic parts of my mind to stop retreating.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1077722912000752. I agree. It is impossible almost to control them. I think that is why this technique is crucial. You do a behaviour wherein no automatic behaviour can realistically mitigate the anxiety.
czcams.com/channels/csDDZBE2wdQJ489MCqbJJw.html
Yo I’ve been dealing with dis shi for like 3 yrs now I’m in 9th grade dis shi ruining everything and I needa get rid of dis so imma do dis and lyk wha happens
Hi Thomas,
How to contact you via e-mail ?
Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks
Please clean your messy room sir!
His messy books reflects his social anxiety mind
It's not messy, it's booky.
@@iamsofia3782 he's trying to help people! And some people don't appreciate it😴
Haha I love this one! And I agree with all the comments. A massive pile of too many books is definitely an accurate metaphor for my mind, and I love the idea of the room being “booky” rather than “messy”-I will be using that term from now on haha. Agreed, the background is relatively unimportant (though certainly potentially distracting). In conclusion, I’m someone with a booky mind trying to help people (sometimes from a messy room).
Guidance And Encouragement To Beat Agoraphobia : agoraphobiaexposure.com/