# SAI: Overcoming Social Anxiety: Step By Step



## voodoochild16 (Jan 20, 2009)

Hey all, 
I went to this website: http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/audioseries.html
Purchased it. It says to use all 20 tapes by listening to 1 tape per week, and there is two sides on each tape, equaling a half hour per side. It says to listen to the tapes for a half hour per day too. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this self CBT therapy and how exactly you followed it. If one tape has two sides, then should I listen to a whole hour per day? or is that cramming, how do I follow this therapy?.


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## _AJ_ (Jan 23, 2008)

heres our group of Dr richards cd followeres http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=4&page=3


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## vasionuy (Feb 19, 2009)

voodoochild16 said:


> Hey all,
> I went to this website: http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/audioseries.html
> It says to listen to the tapes for a half hour per day too. .


It says to read out loud the handouts in slow talk a half an hour per day, and listen to the tapes once, or two times, or as you wish.


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## StPatrick317 (Dec 4, 2008)

voodoochild16 said:


> Hey all,
> I went to this website: http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/audioseries.html
> Purchased it. It says to use all 20 tapes by listening to 1 tape per week, and there is two sides on each tape, equaling a half hour per side. It says to listen to the tapes for a half hour per day too. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this self CBT therapy and how exactly you followed it. If one tape has two sides, then should I listen to a whole hour per day? or is that cramming, how do I follow this therapy?.


Yes, I'm also doing it.

You should listen until he concludes the main message and instructs you what to do for the next week(s) I think. Sometimes its 1 side, sometimes 2 sides.

One thing I do know, is that the relaxation tape works really well if you are angry, anxious, stressed. Its where he talks about progressive muscle relaxation and releasing the negative emotions etc.

*My question is*: the doctor says, not to try flooding(jumping into social situations too soon)..because it is counterproductive, and to just try small gradual things once the behavioural part starts...But I would like to start doing a few behavioural things *now*, like learning public speaking(slowly of course)...would this be "flooding" yourself???

I have been going to a Toastmasters(a large Public Speaking organization) Club, and have wanted to just give small speeches. It causes anxiety, but It seems like it would be helpful to do. Alot of books have said learning public speaking is the *quickest* way to develop self confidence.

Would this be a negative thing..aka "flooding" myself with a relatively extreme "social situation" like public presentations, before the cognitive therapy has sunk in deeply enough???


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

St Patrick,

About your worry about "flooding" yourself, it sounds like you don't have to worry about actually flooding yourself. You can already think about going up a step, and talk about it to us, and it sounds like you can imagine yourself doing it. To me those are very very good signs! 

I don't know what a toastmasters club is, but if you are craving doing a small speech, then I think you should try it! You'll know when you go to do it if it's flooding, or way too much for you to handle. And if it is, you don't have to do it. Couldn't you just say you're sick and leave? Even if that happened, the positive thing would be that you learned more about what comfort level you are at. 

I have a hard time even making a call to a doctor's office to ask for an appt, never mind making speeches! I don't even think about something that advanced. So if you're thinking about it, maybe you are close to being ready to do it!

Good luck!


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

It is talking about getting in way over your head in social situations and then trying to take on too much. It's like saying overcoming anxiety by having a nervous breakdown won't work. It won't; it'll make things worse.

In your case St. Patrick, working on one area slowly is not flooding. 

I am stuck on tape 9 right now....I only listened to the tapes since I did not have a handout until a few weeks ago. I am pretty functional (after three years of flooding  ), so I can probably proceed. I am just stuck because Dr. Richards said I should start over. :mum


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## OliverPilon (Jul 6, 2008)

the way i see it..

basically, why try "level 4" at something, when you can do level 1,2,3 before it?
If they are easy to get done for you, great. Youll just do level 1,2,3 real quickly
and will get to level 4 then.

If you have some difficulty doing level 1, why wouldnt you work on that first step,
that first level, instead of jumping to level 4 right away and get discouraged?

Of course like with anything in life, including this SA program, you can, by choice, by curiosity, or whatever, try something more advanced. You wont die if you do.
But you dont keep trying that thing thats too advanced for you and only frustrate you
and discourage you because its a bit ahead of what you can do.

Small successes in the order of things makes sense, and you know it, and you will
make those smaller successes much more quickly, and theyll build on top of each others.

A pitfall with keeping trying something thats just too much for you(as opposed to starting with step 1,2,3 etc) is that if you go to the places/situations where you experience the most extreme social anxiety every time, then you'll create an association deep in your brain between that place/situation and extreme social anxiety.

So instead of getting better in this particular situation/place, you'll actually experience the extreme social anxiety more and more automatically in this situation.
...to the point just thinking about it will almost cause extreme SA.

so start with small things and work your way up.

hope this helps
Olivier


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

Ive tried the cbt audio series by dr. richards and did only the 30 min sessions a week alomg with the handouts.


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