# CBT definitely works



## man143 (May 24, 2013)

I am a person who has been suffering from social anxiety for well over 20 years. But I can tell you CBT is a life changer. I have been doing it for quite sometime now and its of immense help. Although social anxiety isnt gone yet but its 70-80% in control and I believe you can gain this much control with 2-3 months of CBT easily, provided that you have proper guidance. So plz give it a try. Its worth it.


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## MylesB93 (Feb 25, 2014)

I haven't had much luck with it yet but I do see how it can work so I'm trying to stick at it. Glad to see that someone else is having success with it :grin2:


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## man143 (May 24, 2013)

I have a lot of success. I have been doing many of the things that I even found difficult to imagine. I hope u can continue working on it. You know well consistency and persistence is the key. U do that, there is no way u r gonna fail


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## Dan1987 (May 26, 2015)

I start mine a week tomorrow, hoping its a start to a new chapter.


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## bintuae (Feb 25, 2012)

man143 said:


> I have a lot of success. I have been doing many of the things that I even found difficult to imagine. I hope u can continue working on it. You know well consistency and persistence is the key. U do that, there is no way u r gonna fail


so do you do it alone or with a therapist? Have you finished yet? Ive heard that once you finish the therapy you'll revert back to your old anxious self.


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## Perfectionist1 (Mar 12, 2015)

Hi man143, So glad to hear that someone is having success with CBT. No one deserves to have a life controlled by SA. 
I am also just starting CBT and I am already learning sooooo much. But I have not yet reached the exercises. Do you have any suggestions or tips for all of us who are trying to reach where you are? 70-80% control would be a miracle to me...I couldn't even imagine.


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## man143 (May 24, 2013)

Dan1987 said:


> I start mine a week tomorrow, hoping its a start to a new chapter.


Best of luck man. It definitely will, provided you dont give up. remember, CBT techniques do not work immediately. They take time, practice and patience.


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## man143 (May 24, 2013)

bintuae said:


> so do you do it alone or with a therapist? Have you finished yet? Ive heard that once you finish the therapy you'll revert back to your old anxious self.


Well I do CBT alone. It is difficult, it wasnot easy. i started therapy, then dropped it, then again started it. I was never able to be as consistent as i would have liked but the good thing is that i never gave up. and finally I started noticing significant changes in my thinking, i remain more peaceful and have started to perform better in social situations. n do revert back to your old anxious self only if you dont do CBT properly. remember, you need guidance to do CBT. without guidance, you are gonna waste a lot of time and may not found it effective even


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## man143 (May 24, 2013)

Perfectionist1 said:


> Hi man143, So glad to hear that someone is having success with CBT. No one deserves to have a life controlled by SA.
> I am also just starting CBT and I am already learning sooooo much. But I have not yet reached the exercises. Do you have any suggestions or tips for all of us who are trying to reach where you are? 70-80% control would be a miracle to me...I couldn't even imagine.


Thanks dude. It is glad indeed. Living your life in a better way. well you can share any issue with me if you are not having any guidance because i have wasted a lot of time learning how to do therapy. I have been doing therapy for about 4 years and started to notice real benefits now. i had no idea whats going on. how therapy works and how sometimes i feel better and sometimes not. but not everyone needs to waste this much time if he has proper guidance.


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

been browsing Kindle books about CBT and related stuff.

I need to choose the right book. Too much trauma gambling at random if a title seems a bit nice.

Overall I'm very sure my life's answers are all right in my core. I'm adaptable & have pleased a lot of people. Just fighting my personal war of groundless rejection. 

Reading some advice book might get me further into a spiral of main motto of "I don't need any help. I deserve respect". Every day.. this weekend of mountain bike in wilderness to meet in a city & back - 50 miles. extension of motto would be "this world's too slow & boring for me"

Suddenly listening to the theme from Gattaca. Anyone like that story?


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## man143 (May 24, 2013)

twitchy666 said:


> been browsing Kindle books about CBT and related stuff.
> 
> I need to choose the right book. Too much trauma gambling at random if a title seems a bit nice.
> 
> ...


Well you are right. The answers to all our problems are within us. I didnt consult a book. I listened audio lectures of dr thomas of social anxiety institute. They answered almost every question in my mind and helped me immensely.


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## VanDamme (Jun 8, 2004)

man143 said:


> I am a person who has been suffering from social anxiety for well over 20 years. But I can tell you CBT is a life changer. I have been doing it for quite sometime now and its of immense help. Although social anxiety isnt gone yet but its 70-80% in control and I believe you can gain this much control with 2-3 months of CBT easily, provided that you have proper guidance. So plz give it a try. Its worth it.





MylesB93 said:


> I haven't had much luck with it yet but I do see how it can work so I'm trying to stick at it. Glad to see that someone else is having success with it


Initially, to overcome SA, I've tried a lot of things: relaxation, meditation, CBT and many ideas that I others found working.

I can sum up my experience with CBT as:
1. Worked well for changing/interrupting/breaking thinking habits. Of course, as with any skill, you have to practice and become good at it. Similar to touch typing at 50-60 words per minute.
2. Didn't work too well for issues with significant emotion (physical symptoms of fear) e.g. I've attended Toastmasters (public speaking group) for 9 months almost every week as well as many social activities yet the high intensity fear did not decrease. But, I've found other techniques that work much better (and faster) and sometimes those techniques are the only ones that work where the ones mentioned at the beginning of my post won't.

If you're interested in exploring those that may allow you to speed things up and "take the elevator" or "remove the nail from your foot", let me know.



bintuae said:


> so do you do it alone or with a therapist? Have you finished yet? Ive heard that once you finish the therapy you'll revert back to your old anxious self.


It can be done by yourself but for some one of the main benefits of doing it with a therapist is motivation. If you know what somebody is expecting you to do the work (your part) then you're more likely to do it - especially the more challenging ones. If you do it yourself and aren't able to find the motivation, then you may not do the work needed and 
Another reason may be that the emotional part (fear, shame, embarrassment) of the issue wasn't resolved completely. See my reply above.


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