# CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?



## Iric (Jan 26, 2007)

Has anyone gotten better with Cognitive Behavioral therapy for social phobia?anxiety? I'm thinking about seeing a therapist that specializes at this and I wanted to if anyone here benefited from this type of therapy.


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

Apparently it does. The tough part is getting it.


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## Eraserhead (Sep 23, 2006)

I started CBT recently. Group sessions specifically for SA. 

We haven't gotten very far yet, but it seems quite promising to me. It's probably the best kind of therapy for SA.


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

Nicolay said:


> I started CBT recently. Group sessions specifically for SA.


How did you get into that?


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## ColdFury (Nov 6, 2003)

Studies say its about 30% effective, though it has a very high relapse rate. I've been doing it for a few years, haven't really seen any changes.


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## ezekiel654 (Feb 2, 2006)

I've had about 5 sessions. Just recently I seem to feel improvement. Although I'm not throwing myself into numerous social situations that I ordinarily wouldn't do, I feel some growth in overall wellbeing. Perhaps just a good week, I don't know. There seems to be less of a stigma when doing ordinary tasks. To point out a few successes, I've gone to the mall for a haircut @ a rather trendy place. What previously stopped me from going there has vanished. Also I shopped @ express clothing. Those overly extroverted sales people and the sophisticated atmosphere used to freak me out, now I seemed to be pretty comfortable while shopping. Basically, I'm challenging the logic on how I perceive social situations. If you're able to reason with your self dialogue, It can make it easier to deal with the anxiety. Also, I'm working on asserting a daily program of specific anxiety producing tasks. All of this comes at the cost of 50 a session (out of pocket). However there seems to be marked improvement.


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## Softy785 (Apr 16, 2006)

It works. In fact, I believe that everyone who gets over any anxiety disorder did it by using cognitive behavioral therapy in some form. For the past 6 weeks, I've been going over cognitive therapy handouts every night and reinforcing the concepts I'm learning during the day, and I'm seeing tremendous results. The reason we have anxiety is because the wiring in our brain is screwed up, we became "brainwashed" to respond to situations with anxiety and negative thoughts. Cognitive behavioral therapy basically reprograms or reconditions our brain to respond to situations in a healthy manner. It's definitely not a quick-fix, but its worth the time and effort. Basically, with CBT, what you put into it is what you will get out of it. Good luck!


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## Becky (Nov 5, 2003)

I think it can work, depending on how bad your anxiety is and in what ways you're affected. It helped me with things like being able to go to the gas station and the store, but I was also on meds which helped too. 

It does take a lot of work. It's not at all easy. But I think it's worth a try for anyone with anxiety. Like anything else you never know what's going to help you unless you try it


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## Iric (Jan 26, 2007)

Softy785 where did you get those handouts? Are you seeing a CBT therapist or are you taking group therapy? One CBT therapist charges $100 per session. Do you guys think that is too expensive?


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## Softy785 (Apr 16, 2006)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



Iric said:


> Softy785 where did you get those handouts? Are you seeing a CBT therapist or are you taking group therapy? One CBT therapist charges $100 per session. Do you guys think that is too expensive?


I'm not seeing a therapist; I ordered dr. richard's overcoming social anxiety series. The website is http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.com. I think it costs over $300 bucks but I believe that it is worth it. You get a set of audio cds with therapy on them, plus a workbook that contains all the handouts.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

I think that anything that causes you to examine your cognitive biases and thinking errors, and involves some sort of exposure, is of at least some benefit.


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## idunnoimnotcreative (Jul 11, 2006)

Is CBT something you could do on your own? I don't know of any places that offer CBT anywhere around me, so that's my only option.


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## fictionz (Nov 18, 2006)

too bad it's hard to find CBT in my area, the doc seems to immediately prescribe me with medications to help me get through my anxiety... and I actually wanted to try this CBT. :sigh too bad


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



idunnoimnotcreative said:


> Is CBT something you could do on your own? I don't know of any places that offer CBT anywhere around me, so that's my only option.


There are certain books and programs you can do on your own. Check online or in the self Help Resources forum here.


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## FeelingAlone (Feb 1, 2005)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



odd_one_out said:


> I think that anything that causes you to examine your cognitive biases and thinking errors, and involves some sort of exposure, is of at least some benefit.


thinking errors? CBT's can tell me what i'm doing socially is right or wrong?!


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## Softy785 (Apr 16, 2006)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



FeelingAlone said:


> odd_one_out said:
> 
> 
> > I think that anything that causes you to examine your cognitive biases and thinking errors, and involves some sort of exposure, is of at least some benefit.
> ...


I think that what Odd One Out meant by "thinking errors" is that cbt helps us identify our thinking that is irrational and negative. When we realize that our thinking is wrong and is lying to us, we can stop thinking that way and start to think more positive and rational thoughts. It is a very important concept in cbt.


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## Softy785 (Apr 16, 2006)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*

:dd


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## katelyn (Jul 11, 2006)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



Softy785 said:


> Iric said:
> 
> 
> > Softy785 where did you get those handouts? Are you seeing a CBT therapist or are you taking group therapy? One CBT therapist charges $100 per session. Do you guys think that is too expensive?
> ...


I have this series too. I only started it recently, so it remains to be seen how it will go, but so far I am noticing some benefits. I am challenging my negative thoughts a lot more. It's made me realize that I am constantly having negative thoughts about myself all day.


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## travo (May 20, 2004)

I read today it has an 80% relapse rate, and coldfury posted 30% effective in the first place? You know what, it appears to be crap from those numbers, maybe some people have a lucky break with it. I don't think it would help a lot of severe SA cases.


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## carangil (Jan 24, 2007)

i've was reading about SA for a long time, and then joined a CBT group. I already knew what the group was going to do, and sort of had a little head start. I'm a little more than halfway through the group, but I'm already seeing improvements.

The key things I've noticed now (changes):

-I stop myself from prodicting the future; I don't even think about what-if scenarios.

-I'm more optimistic.

-I seem less inhibited. Before, I had a huge separation between thinking of doing something, and doing it. Now I can actually act out what I play out in my head. 

-When out, I always used to feel confined, metaphorical chains holding me back from my goals. Now I feel free to persue what I want.


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## beasty (Mar 3, 2004)

I believe CBT can soften SA, yes. But that thoughts alone are responsible for SA I doubt very much. I believe that both "negative" thinking and SA are both symptoms of something more severe, and that the 2 are only mildly connected, meaning that your thinking can make your SA worse, but that thoughts dosen't cause SA in itself.


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## Iric (Jan 26, 2007)

I think CBT can help you with changing your thinking patterns to be more positive instead of being negative all the time, but I don't think it can help people that have a fear of public speaking. I think you need to actually practice in front of a live audience who are supportive and has the same problem as you to get over this fear. I only heard of toastmasters, but I think this is for people that want to improve their public speaking not getting over their fear.


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## Grantonio (Jan 20, 2006)

I have much success with CBT, some from actual seeing a therapist, but mostly from work books (dying of embarrasment really helped). like a lot of these people say, it takes work, but it really helps once you come to some realizations about faulty SA thinking. I believe that SA revolves around us being really afraid of being disaproved of and rejected. CBT helped me realize that there will always be people won't always like what I say or do, and that is OK b/c that is the way the world works, you can't please every body  b/c if you really think about it, is there anybody in the world that is universally liked or "perfect"? There is no body, even some people don't like Ghandi or mother teresa. You just can't expect that everybody will like the thngs you say or do, it is unreasonable and unrealistic to think so. haha, wow, it helped me just writing that. 

anyways, there are some other things it helps with but mainly just helps you realize that not being perfect is OK. I hope this helps...


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## Eclectic (Jan 12, 2006)

Hey Iric,

I noticed you live in the Los Angeles area and thought you might be interested in this. http://www.socialanxiety-phobia.com/Winter01_Sat.htm It's a CBT group run by a therapist named Richard Preuit in Arcadia. He runs the group based on the Overcoming Social Anxiety Step by Step program that Softly785 mentioned.

I exchanged emails with him two years ago and really considered joining the group, but I didn't do it, although I wish I had. I even did the intake evaulation for $120 and filled out a lot of forms/questionaires and it allowed me to find out more about my conditions. I met with him 1 or 2 weeks after I mailed him the documents. It was determined that I also had severe depression, in addition to moderate generalized SAD, so he required that I first address my depression(bring it down to a more comfortable level so that I would actually be able to commit to the 16 week SAD CBT group), either through medication and/or therapy with him or another qualified therapist before I was allowed to join his SAD group.


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## Iric (Jan 26, 2007)

Thanks, I'll check it out. Why didn't you go to the group therapy? Have you seen him for individual sessions?


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## Eclectic (Jan 12, 2006)

No, I didn't see him for individual sessions. I didn't do the group therapy because of the timing of the start of the group, and I guess I gave up hope of improving. I actually did try to go on medication to help with depression, but I ended up only trying Zoloft for 3 weeks, when I should have used it for 4 to 6 weeks to be sure it had no positive effect on me. My motivation to get better just dwindled because the medication didn't improve my depression in the three weeks I used it, and the group was set to begin like in one week, and I would have to wait for another 5 months or so to join the next available group therapy.


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

I'm gonna see about doing CBT too. Should be meeting with new therapist on Saturday - if he ever gets back to me with an appointment time. No group therapy here tho, which would have been ideal .


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## LAPP (Feb 7, 2007)

I can definetly say CBT can help with issues. I would say it has cured my body image and self esteem issues. Not yet my social anxiety as the self esteem was more pressing. (The body image and self esteem did take several years to cure).

But you dont neacessarily have to be in a group, one on one will work too.

Also I tried several differnt therapists before I found the one I thought was decent, remember you have the option.

(My therapist isn't strictly CBT but that is the majority of what she does).


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## Iric (Jan 26, 2007)

If its ok to ask, what did you think was wrong with your body? How did CBT help you with that?


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## Musicologist (Jun 7, 2004)

No


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## LAPP (Feb 7, 2007)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



Iric said:


> If its ok to ask, what did you think was wrong with your body? How did CBT help you with that?


I just thought it was irreparably bad, facially and physically. Afterwards I felt it was good and was confident going to gyms and such, whereas before I couldn't really bring myself to exercise. Just talking and arguing with the therapist. Though it did take years.

I'm confident that with the help of a good therapist you can solve your problems. Aside from CBT you might want to consider EMDR or Primal (but there are lots of charlatans and fakes), but most importantly find a person you like. Before I found the therapist I was seeing, I tried and rejected several others.

Perhaps try reading some Alice Miller?


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## Steve85 (Oct 11, 2006)

CBT alone will not cure your social anxiety. However, it is the beginning basis for what is necessary to cure your SA. We MUST recondition our minds to stop thinking irrational lies. How can we even begin to succeed in social situations if our mind already tells us that we will fail beforehand? Once we recontruct our thought patterns to be more rational, then we can truly break free from SA's hold. We will be able to see social situations for what they really are, and this is where exposure therapy will really start chipping away at your SA. 

Also, I recommend Dr. Richards series as well for those interested in the CBT. It is pricey, but PM me for a little info on that if you are interested in the series...


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## Speak Easy (Jun 27, 2006)

cbt can work if YOU make it work and have a good therapist. i have a good therapist, but just don't listen to anything she says, so for me it doesn't work.


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## ColdFury (Nov 6, 2003)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



LDG 124 said:


> cbt can work if YOU make it work and have a good therapist. i have a good therapist, but just don't listen to anything she says, so for me it doesn't work.


Nothing is guaranteed. Its just not that effective with severe cases, regardless of how much you want to make it work.


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## LAPP (Feb 7, 2007)

CBT is not like surgery. You will most likely not be better in weeks or Months. 
It will likely take years. The only way to speed up the process is to spend more on sessions, but thats only if you have the cash.


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## Alex (Jan 14, 2004)

I think that CBT works well for certain isolated, particular fears or clear problems of the mind. But for many people who feel generally uncomfortable around people, and are afraid to express themselves in the first place, problems which are more deeply rooted and hard to understand, CBT, I think, does nothing or very little.
For me, I did it for 2 years, and it gave me better grounds for stopping my thoughts at, and just saying OK that's enough. But it did very little towards my mood and my anxiety/depression.
Psychoanalysis, where the patient is encouraged to talk and really finds a place to express herself/himself, is, I think, a much better course of treatment.
A good assumption to start with is that you don't know why you feel the way you do, and even _how_ you feel about certain things. CBT can take shortcuts and cut short a self-inspection that many of us feel is necessary.


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## LAPP (Feb 7, 2007)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



Alex said:


> I think that CBT works well for certain isolated, particular fears or clear problems of the mind. But for many people who feel generally uncomfortable around people, and are afraid to express themselves in the first place, problems which are more deeply rooted and hard to understand, CBT, I think, does nothing or very little.
> For me, I did it for 2 years, and it gave me better grounds for stopping my thoughts at, and just saying OK that's enough. But it did very little towards my mood and my anxiety/depression.
> Psychoanalysis, where the patient is encouraged to talk and really finds a place to express herself/himself, is, I think, a much better course of treatment.
> A good assumption to start with is that you don't know why you feel the way you do, and even _how_ you feel about certain things. CBT can take shortcuts and cut short a self-inspection that many of us feel is necessary.


The best therapist will be versed in several different schools of therapy, and the client should choose a therapist based on the school(s) they know and the personality of the therapist in question. But yeah CBT isn't for everyone, but therapy is.


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## aka dru (Oct 30, 2004)

I just finished a group an going back for a next one umm, since I learn't about cbt from a doc I was seeing before...I didn't really pay that much attention to all that stuff in group...where it helped me (I also said this in group) is well, it got me out of the house an I got used to seeing people on a weekly basis so, thats what I liked about it I was disappointed that they didn't get use to speak in front of the group an do anything that causes anxiety though...I mean thats something I would have really liked...all groups on different though...but whats good about this though is the group leader would see me before group an she would do 1 on 1 exposures with me so thats cool dang haven't done that in month an nextweek it starts all over again I'm ****tin my pants already...but at the sametime like I said in another secion of this forum SOCIAL ANXIETY FEELS SO...GOOD :boogie 

LIVE IT AN LOVE IT HEHEHE


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## Iric (Jan 26, 2007)

Who does the psycoanalyasis?


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## Alex (Jan 14, 2004)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



Iric said:


> Who does the psycoanalyasis?


A psycho-analyst. Try searching through the American Psychoanalysis Association:
http://www.apsa.org/MEMBERDIRECTORY/tab ... fault.aspx

good luck.


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## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



ColdFury said:


> Studies say its about 30% effective, though it has a very high relapse rate. I've been doing it for a few years, haven't really seen any changes.


Please list where you found these figures. All the data I have seen suggests it is well above 70% success rate - 30% is far too low. CBT has recently undergone changes to incorporate relapse prevention strategies - its evolving all the time.

Please can you also detail what you are doing in CBT - what form the sessions take and what you are asked to do inbetween sessions. CBT with a trained, qualified therapist is normally time limited, with an upper boundary of 6 months to a year.

Thanks

Ross


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## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



Steve85 said:


> CBT alone will not cure your social anxiety. However, it is the beginning basis for what is necessary to cure your SA....We will be able to see social situations for what they really are, and this is where exposure therapy will really start chipping away at your SA.


 :con

CBT IS exposure therapy - thats what the 'B' stands for - behavioural! Thats the bit where you undergo graded exposure exercises to the things that scare you. If someone told you CBT was just about working with thoughts on paper or in your head, then you are missing 50% (some would argue more as the behavioural part is considered the more powerful half) of the point of the therapy. Of course, not all therapists are as skilled as the next and may miss these parts out ... if you are doing CBT, READ UP ON IT and insist that you do it properly. Some therapists claim to be CBT when in fact they may just incorporate one or two CBT techniques into some other approach but 'package' it as CBT.

It really seems that people are confused over what CBT really is. It is:

COGNITIVE: Working on the beliefs you have and the thoughts that go through your mind (in the form of words or images) and how they affect your moods. There are over 40 cognitive sub-techniques within CBT to address these problems, the most powerful being the 5 column mood diaries which work on a case-by-case basis of events that cause you problems. The cognitive feeds into, and then comes after, the behavioural.

BEHAVIOURAL: Placing yourself into situations that produce anxiety, working from the least difficult, gradually up to the most difficult. This may begin with 'simulations' or role play with the therapist. It may also include attention bias training methods or video feedback, useful for when the person is convinced they look terrified or ridiculous. It works on the 'aha!' pricniple and is why CBT needs to be experienced to understand it - when your new belief or understanding clicks, its like someone just switched on the lights for you.

CBT aims to help the person view things more rationally. New insight through thought, and eventually belief, change, sets the groundwork for the behavioural experiments - the idea being that once you have experienced it in the real world, your belief becomes concrete and so the new, more healthy reaction becomes trained. It may also include social skills training and modelling and as an additive component, relaxation (though mainstream social anxiety therapies do not always emphasize this).


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## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

*Re: re: CBT Therapy works for Social Anxiety?*



Iric said:


> I think CBT can help you with changing your thinking patterns to be more positive instead of being negative all the time, but I don't think it can help people that have a fear of public speaking. I think you need to actually practice in front of a live audience who are supportive and has the same problem as you to get over this fear. I only heard of toastmasters, but I think this is for people that want to improve their public speaking not getting over their fear.


Thats exposure - *precisely* the thing CBT will make you do. CBT is not just about thoughts and forms - its a DOING therapy. There are forms and cognitive techniques, but if you arent getting out there and challenging yourself, you may as well just watch TV.

Ross


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## tomcoldaba (Jul 1, 2007)

yeah_yeah_yeah said:


> Iric said:
> 
> 
> > I think CBT can help you with changing your thinking patterns to be more positive instead of being negative all the time, but I don't think it can help people that have a fear of public speaking. I think you need to actually practice in front of a live audience who are supportive and has the same problem as you to get over this fear. I only heard of toastmasters, but I think this is for people that want to improve their public speaking not getting over their fear.
> ...


To improve your public speaking, you have to first get rid of your fear. I have attended 14 toastmaster meetings in 3 months. I talk on the phone, talk to strangers, call my friends, gone out to dinner all because my fear or anxiety is very low. Look for icebreaker speeches on YouTube. You will see how terrified some of the speakers are. Search for toastmasters on Youtube. So toastmasters helps get rid of the fear, then your public speaking improves fast.


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## kev (Jan 28, 2005)

It works for some people. I find CBT therapy absolutely useless for depression though. I mean, if you're so depressed you don't even have the energy to think about anything and you can barely get out of bed, CBT is just going to make you feel like a failure. Maybe for anxiety alone, never worked for me though.


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## Busker (Dec 15, 2007)

I've spent the last year seeing a CBT therapist and we've done a lot of work on my SA... Although that is only a part of what my problems are.

Yeah, I'd say it has definitely helped me.


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## Sparkee (Nov 21, 2011)

Hey, if it works or even helps, I'm willing to try it. I'm suppose to see somebody about it. But a long waiting list to get in. I'm not so sure about the group thing.....would prefer individual conselling. I have sas, then they want to throw me into the deep end, by suggesting I just show up at a group session. That makes a hell of alot of sense! *******s! I'll be lucky to be able to see somebody one on one.


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## Sparkee (Nov 21, 2011)

What works for one may not work for another. And if you have sas severe, in my opinion only meds can really help. CBT may help some, lesson the symptoms of panic attacks maybe.


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