# Social Anxiety Institute's CBT Series log



## mjhea0

So, about a month ago I started working on the Social Anxiety Institute's CBT Audio Series (http://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/audioseries.html). I got through the first few weeks, and then hit a wall of depression. I'm feeling a lot better now, and have really been feeling great this past week or so. So I've decided to pick right back up where I left off, and I'm going to document my progress on here.

I'm in the middle of week 3. I'll post the first 2 weeks later today.

I hope I can go a little longer with it this time.


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## mjhea0

*Week 1*

The first week basically gave background information on the Social Anxiety Institute and its founder. He suffered with social anxiety for nearly twenty years, before it was even recognized in the psychiatric community. He spent a great deal of time -- in talk therapy or analysis -- trying to find the root causes of his social anxiety. He found the causes, but this didn't bring him any relief from his anxiety. Eventually, he found ways of coping (cognitive behavioral) went back to school, became a psychiatrist, and founded the Social Anxiety Institute. His story is powerful, and not unlike my own (except for the getting better part).

Now, it must be said that he believes thoroughly in the CBT process, and he goes as far as discrediting talk therapy and psychoanalysis as forms of treat: "By dwelling on our problems and analyzing them to death, we will be making the problems worse. So, instead of trying to figure out every little last detail, we deliberately focus [through CBT] on how to get out of this anxiety trap we're in. We want a solution, not an explanation of the past. ... If we focus on how and why we develop social anxiety and analyze our problems to death, we'll be stuck at this point forever."

I disagree with him. I think that CBT is just one of many a tools. However, he's lived with social anxiety and gotten through it, so I need to at least listen to his opinion. I do, however, agree with this: "The focus in comprehensive CBT is on the present, finding solutions to our social anxiety."

This is interesting as well: "You are retraining or reconditioning your brain through comprehensive CBT, so you can become your own therapist."

Keys to success: Repetition (patience and consistency), Reinforcement, Reprogramming

The rest of week one describes social anxiety, giving background information and detailing why it's often misunderstood. I'm already pretty familiar with all that, so it was all a little redundant. Nevertheless, I still got something out of it.


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## Honeybee1980

same thing happened to me after the first few weeks, i am restarting the series tomorrow. I appreciate the fact that you are summarizing each session here in this log, i think it will be very helpful for others who have been curious about the program, thanks!


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## MrShyAndTimid

I know a lot of people who've recently restarted this program. I'm one of them. I'm giving it a jumpstart again. After getting to Session #10 last year, then restarting it earlier this year... I got to Session #11 and parts of Session #12, but I neglected the lessons and stopped making time for it 

Glad to see you posting summaries on here.


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## mjhea0

Honeybee1980 said:


> same thing happened to me after the first few weeks, i am restarting the series tomorrow. I appreciate the fact that you are summarizing each session here in this log, i think it will be very helpful for others who have been curious about the program, thanks!


Good luck! It's just sooooo daunting. Maybe this log will keep me accountable.


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## mjhea0

*Week 2

*I started week 2 on Monday. The first part of the CD was pretty much a continuation of the introduction. I pulled a few quotes I liked --

Limitations social anxiety put on the author's life: "I exaggerated, catastrophized, and took everything too personally. Thus seeing the world as a very negative place, and seeing other people as dangers I needed to avoid, because somehow they were going to hurt me, embarrass me, or humiliate me. I had a very low opinion of myself, and all of my catastrophizing and personalizing just made everything worse. I was in a vicious cycle and didn't know how to get out."

"When we think about these real-life situations logically, we know our feelings about them can be irrational. The purpose of cognitive therapy is to catch this negative, irrational thinking and gradually turn it around into healthy, rational thoughts."

This next quote is interesting. I didn't think that CBT could be used as a tool for going deeper into the emotions. I thought it was just superficial. "Because anxiety is an emotion, we have to reach the emotional brain with comprehensive cognitive behavioral therapy. Because if we can't reach the emotional brain and change our emotions, we will not have a chance at overcoming the emotion of anxiety." In other words, by changing thoughts, I can change the way I feel.

"It takes 45 to 55 days of repetition before your brain automatically starts to use these [anti-anxiety] strategies." Persistence and patience!

At this point, the theory behind CBT is over and the real practice begins. I must say that when I've tried CBT in the past, I've been excited up until this point. I'm much more comfortable with theory than actually putting such theory into practice. I'm still excited but a little nervous as well. I don't want to go down the same path that I went down last time. I want CBT to be different this time. At the very least, I want to finish it. Okay, deep breath. Let's begin.

*SLOW TALK*

The first strategy, called Slow Talk, is "nothing more than slowing your speech down very slightly." I can practice with this by reading the handouts, which accompany the audio series, to myself (out loud) each day. The theory is that once slow talk is mastered, anxiety will decrease because I'll be able to stay calm and focused. I think that when the attention is on me in social situations -- regardless of the situation, big or small -- I generally rush through whatever I have to say in order to get the spotlight off me. Slow talk will help slow everything down so that I'll feel less anxious and be able to get my idea across easier.

As the author indicates, I'm going to work on this daily -- by reading the handouts to myself for ten or fifteen minutes -- before gradually moving this process out into the world.

***​
So, I must say that even before I got to practice this technique by myself, I tried to use it in the real world. Immediately after I learned the technique, one of my girlfriend's friends came by and I got in a discussion with him. At first, I felt very anxious and I was talking really fast. Fortunately, since the Slow Talk technique was fresh in my mind, I was able to become aware of how fast I was talking. Once aware, I slowed down and was able to calm down a bit. I even laughed to myself. That said, I really need to practice it by myself before trying it again.

***​
On Tuesday I started practicing the Slow Talk technique. I spent fifteen minutes reading over the handouts. It wasn't easy. My mind would race at times, and at other times, I would unconsciously speed up. I'm used to working at such a high speed; it was very difficult for my mind to slow down.

***​
After my bout with depression on Wednesday and Thursday this week, I practiced with the Slow Talk technique again on Friday for ten minutes. It felt easier and more natural than on Tuesday. I practiced again on Saturday and Sunday for ten minutes each day.

*STOPPING AUTOMATIC NEGATIVE THOUGHTS (ANTs)*

This sounds familiar: "Because I expected things to be negative, they were negative for me. I brought on my own worst fears because I expected them to happen." (self-fulfilling prophesy)

By the time I went over the handout (on this technique) on the audio lecture, I had already read the handout out-loud twice while practicing the Slow Talk technique. It's good to go over this material over and over again in order for my mind to become accustomed to my new way of thinking: "The more you go over the therapy everyday, the faster and more permanent your new thinking will become."

This process involves recognizing my negative thoughts, telling my mind to "STOP!", and then distracting myself to keep my mind off the negative thoughts, and finally replacing those negative thoughts with positive, rational thoughts. Sounds easy, but it's not.

I tried catching my negative thought patterns on Tuesday before falling into my depression. The depression itself didn't manifest from thoughts, but my thoughts certainly didn't help. When I recognized the feelings that I new would bring me to a depressive state, my mind reinforced them: _The depression is coming. Brace yourself. There's nothing you can do._ I understood I was having negative thoughts, and I was trying to stop them. Yet, everything just seemed to happen under the radar. The negative feelings came, and my body just felt tense. I tried distracting myself with activities that I enjoy, but, at the time, I just didn't enjoy them. I wasn't content with anything I was doing. Finally, when I couldn't distract myself anymore, I just tried to accept what was going to happen through thoughts. Sure enough, the depression came. I felt powerless.

I need to practice more. I've already spent over a week on this second CD and I'm still not done with it. I'm going to work on it one more day tomorrow and try to remain mindful of my negative thoughts until then.

***​
Last night -- Friday night -- I dreamed that I was teaching The Stopping the ANTs technique to someone. I remember repeating the process over and over again to this person. This must mean the material is moving past my logical parts of my brain and entering the emotional / intuitive portions. Or maybe I'm ahead of myself; I mean, I haven't really practiced the material much this week. Whatever. It was a nice dream.

I finished the week 2 audio today (Saturday). I'm already putting myself down because I have spent over a week on it and haven't practiced nearly enough. The author implied at the end of the session that I should be listening to the lecture all at once and then spending the rest of the week practicing the techniques. I don't like that method because I find it easier to break the lectures up, listening to them piece by piece, along with practicing. That said, I'm going to practice the two techniques again tonight and tomorrow as well. I'll start week 3 on Monday.

***​
For the last step of The Stopping the ANTs technique, I have to replace my negative thoughts with positive one's. A list of positive self-statements are provided to help with this process. Some examples:

"I'm going to be all right. My feelings are not always rational. I'm just going to relax, calm down, and everything will be OK."

"I think I have more control over these thoughts and feelings than I once imagined. I am very gently going to turn away from my old feelings and move in a new, more rational direction."

"I can be anxious and still focus on the task at hand. As I focus on the task, my anxiety will go down."

It's important to get these ingrained, allowing them to seep in my mind. I repeated them to myself using the Slow Talk technique on Saturday and Sunday. Repeating them is good, but I want to practice them. It's hard practicing, though, if I'm not having any negative thoughts. Actually, on Saturday I was feeling down. But I didn't know why. There weren't any negative thoughts; there were just feelings. Are there always thoughts attached to feelings, and vice-versa? How can CBT work if it's my feelings that make me anxious and depressed, not my thoughts?


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## mjhea0

*week 3*

I started week 3 on Monday, beginning with ten minutes of Slow Talk. I feel pretty comfortable with this technique and am ready to start using it in the real world. Maybe I did practice enough? Regardless, I feel good about what I've accomplished so far: "Every time you practice, even if it's just for a few minutes, you are sinking these new strategies into your brain further and further, which always moves you one step closer to overcoming social anxiety."

Anyway, I'm going to start using Slow Talk with my girlfriend, therapist, and hypnotherapist, and in other situations that generally don't provoke much anxiety.

Also, last night, while taking a bath, I thought I had some negative thoughts. I say "thought" because they weren't tangible; it was more like an abstract awareness. I definitely had negative feelings coming up from my body, and I think my thoughts were trying to talk me into feeling depressed. Once aware, I told myself to "STOP!" The thoughts and feelings went away almost immediately, and then I told myself that those thoughts were irrational and don't serve me. After my bath, I distracted myself with Star Trek and a good book. Success!!

"The more you realize you're having automatic negative thinking, the more you can change things and do something about it."

Interesting: "You are not the one who filled your mind with negative thoughts, criticisms, blame, and guilt. These thoughts were planted by someone else, by other people, and to make it worse, even though other people caused you to develop social anxiety, it is you who has to deal with it now."

*THE ANTs HANDOUT*

This technique will help reinforce and strengthen the Stopping The ANTs technique. "By continuing to read [the ANTs narrative] over and over, your automatic negative thinking will become clearer and clearer to you -- and then you can do something about it." I need to read it in Slow Talk at least once everyday.

The author gives some examples of ANTs (all are fears based on anxiety):

·"I make a fool of myself if I talk in front of a group of people."
·"I don't know what to say when I'm introduced to a stranger."
·"I get anxious just thinking about going to the company picnic. What will I say to people? What will I do? I'll get so nervous they'll think I'm strange and weird."
·"Being social is so easy for everyone else. Why is it impossible for me?"

I think it's important to note that recognizing those irrational thoughts are very hard to do. I can tell when I'm having negative feelings, and I know when my thoughts are negative, as well. It's just very difficult to recognize what those thoughts are saying exactly. Talk therapy has helped make it easier to recognize those thoughts and understand what they are saying. In this sense, talk therapy is a wonderful complement to CBT.

Well said: "Many of our beliefs and thoughts are irrational, unrealistic, and damaging to our progress. They are also simply lies. You can already do almost everything you think you can't. It's the social anxiety that makes it hard for you to believe this. But, please notice these negative beliefs and expectations about yourself are liars. They are not telling the truth. They are trying to scare you, trap you, and keep you down in the gutter so that you can't live a happy life. But, nevertheless, they are lies."

Self-fulfilling: "If someone said something to me that could be misinterpreted, I usually blew it out of proportion and turned it into something negative to be used against me. And then I would beat myself up about it more and more. Of course the more negatively I thought, the more socially anxious I became."

"The more you catch your old, automatic negative thoughts, deliberately reject them, and refuse to dwell on them by making a rational statement and using distractions, the more you are moving away from social anxiety and toward a healthier future. Always keep this in mind when you read the ANTs handout"

I spent ten minutes reading over the ANTs Handout on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I started feeling a little depressed about an hour before I read over the handout. I think it's emotional fatigue. Anyway, while reading, I just couldn't concentrate. I had to force my way through it. My head hurt, and I felt tired. I need to give myself a break.

*This is where I had to quit because of depression. I started where I left off on 10/11.*

*THE ANNUAL ANTs CONVENTION*

This is the next handout. It's an allegory, showing how the ANTs build up morale and strengthen themselves. It's not meant to be re-reading over and over again. It just needs to be read a few times.

Monday (10/11): I started by reading over the THE ANTs HANDOUT in slow talk. It felt strange, yet familiar. I also read aloud THE ANNUAL ANTs CONVENTION handout; it was silly yet I understood the point.

I spent the rest of the week reading over the ANTs HANDOUT and THE ANNUAL ANTs CONVENTION handout each day in slow talk. It's easy to read but it's hard to listen-I mean really listen to what I'm saying. I hope I'm retaining some of it.

These positive thoughts, used to replace negative one's, are posted on the door of my apartment, so I see them every time I leave. I don't always read them, but they are just a subtle reminder to stay away from the negative thoughts--


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## VC132

really nice log, mate. cheers!


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## Lachlan

this is something I imagine takes some sticking too, keep up the good work


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## mjhea0

*Week 4*

Sunday

The fourth CD has two meditations on it. I believe they're supposed to be used in conjunction with cognitive techniques-i.e., I should be starting Week 5 at the same time-but I want to take a little break and spend the week focusing on the meditations. I must say that the first meditation is nearly twenty minutes long, which is probably much too long for someone just starting with meditation. I would recommend starting with something around the five- or ten-minute mark.

I enjoyed the first meditation. It went by really quick. I was also really tired at the time, and I kept nodding out a bit. But then I remembered the words of a yoga teacher: "You don't fall asleep-you fall awake." When you're completely present, you're completely aware of what's going on-hence, completely awake.

Around this time last year, I was meditating a lot-probably at least five days a week. I got frustrated because change didn't happen immediately, and so I quickly gave it up. (Actually, I continued meditating at yoga and at hypnotherapy, just not at home.) I'd like to be able to stay with meditating this time around. I'll try taking it a bit slower, rather than diving into it.

*Monday*

I listened to the other meditation. It's intended to be listened to after you have mastered some of the techniques from the previous meditation. But I have experience with meditation, so I thought it was appropriate to move on. In this meditation, you're supposed to pick a word-a calming word, like "peace"-to use in your everyday life, when you're feeling stressed. You just say the word and it will evoke feelings of calmness and peace. I picked the mantra _peace, peace, peace. _I enjoyed the meditation.

I like this: "Remember: the idea behind the [meditation] is just to let the feelings of peace and comfort and relaxation come naturally, come from your emotional brain. That you don't need to try, you don't need to attempt, you don't need to concentrate. Those things will just make it worse. All we want to do is accept this peace. We want to accept this relaxation."

I did one meditation per day the rest of the week. I hope to continue meditating a few days each week from now on.


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## candrnow

Keep at it bro, update more frequently!


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## mjhea0

candrnow said:


> Keep at it bro, update more frequently!


Thanks! I should update more, but I think I'm going to stick with once a week. A tape a week. I've been meaning to check out your log. I should have some time this week. I hope it's going well.


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## LALoner

> *He suffered with social anxiety for nearly twenty years,* before it was even recognized in the psychiatric community. *He spent a great deal of time -- in talk therapy or analysis -- trying to find the root causes of his social anxi*ety. He found the causes, but this didn't bring him any relief from his anxiety. Eventually, he found ways of coping (cognitive behavioral) went back to school, became a psychiatrist, and founded the Social Anxiety Institute. His story is powerful, and not unlike my own (except for the getting better part).
> 
> Now, it must be said that he believes thoroughly in the CBT process, *and he goes as far as discrediting talk therapy and psychoanalysis as forms of treat: *"By dwelling on our problems and analyzing them to death, we will be making the problems worse. So, instead of trying to figure out every little last detail, we deliberately focus [through CBT] on how to get out of this anxiety trap we're in. We want a solution, not an explanation of the past. ... If we focus on how and why we develop social anxiety and analyze our problems to death, we'll be stuck at this point forever."


So the guy spent 20 years analyzing his problems and now he says analyzing doesn't help. Maybe analyzing is a step you have to go through before you can reach the other steps which take you all the way to where you want to be.


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## mjhea0

LALoner said:


> So the guy spent 20 years analyzing his problems and now he says analyzing doesn't help. Maybe analyzing is a step you have to go through before you can reach the other steps which take you all the way to where you want to be.


Yeah, maybe, I don't know. I guess his point is that analyzing does not directly help with anxiety. I agree and disagree with that. I agree that just finding the root causes doesn't directly help, but finding them can allow you to heal and find acceptance. I do think analyzing is a part of the journey.


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## mjhea0

*Week 5*

*Sunday and Monday*

Week 5 begins with a review of Week 3. I've been feeling fairly anxious and really depressed these past few days, and so I'm not really in the mood for CBT. I'm going to try to push through though. I feel bad because I haven't been doing as much of the homework as I should be doing, and I'm still letting my anxious thoughts control me.

"My beliefs and expectations were built on a false foundation. They were built on lies." I really want to believe this, I really do. But I just can't. Not right now, at least. I understand the cycle-one negative event goes bad .. and then another .. eventually I begin to expect all social events to go bad. I am socially inept because of this. That's no lie. I'm 27 but, socially, I'm still 12. I won't wake up one day having those 15 years of social experience back. I don't know how to engage with people. I don't know how to connect. And I don't think I'll ever be able to do that because I've lost 15 years of social experience.

I really shouldn't be doing CBT when I'm depressed.

I also should be practicing Slow Talk more. It's so hard to be mindful of this when I'm in a social situation. MUST REMEMBER!

I hate when I get into this thinking: _I should do this_, _I must do that_ ... it just fuels my perfectionism.

"When we use aggression, which is a negative emotion, and try to fight against social anxiety, we only make our social anxiety worse." You can't fight fire against fire. So by telling myself to just get over it, or I shouldn't feel this way, or I should just will my way out of it .. this actually fuels my anxiety.

*THE FIGHTING PARADOX HANDOUT*

"Resisting the anxiety, fighting the anxiety, battling the anxiety, attacking the anxiety, and getting aggressive with the anxiety-just bring the social anxiety on stronger. &#8230; The things you normally expect to do to get over social anxiety only end up making the problem worse."

"Remember: We are accepting ourselves as we are now. We are learning not to fight and battle our anxiety. And we are learning to stop all pressuring and beating up of ourselves. Why? Because anxiety feeds and fuels itself on these forms of negative thinking. The more we accept ourselves, then the quicker and more neatly we are going to overcome social anxiety."

"Anxiety is like a drowning child. The lifeguard dives into the water to save the child, but the child is scared, panicking, and sure she is about to die. So she strikes out aggressively with her hands and feet in all directions. She thinks she is fighting to save her life. She kicks. She bites. She battles. And hurts the very person who has come to rescue her, because she is so fearful of drowning and her fear has entirely overtaken her. She cannot think clearly. What is the solution for the drowning child? How can she be saved? Instead of fighting, she needs to calm down, slow down, relax, allow her mind to clear, and simply accept the lifeguard's help. Fighting and battling the anxiety never works; it only makes you more agitated, anxious, angry, frustrated, and fearful."

Social anxiety uses the power I give it from my negative thoughts to persist. I must use positive emotions to bring it under control-and accept that I have Social Anxiety Disorder.

*"That which you resist &#8230; persists."*

*Tuesday*


I read over the ANTS handout. I could hear myself saying the words over but my mind didn't believe them; there's suspicion in the repetition.

I also finished listening to the audio. He stressed doing exercise to help curb anxiety (to burn up the adrenaline and cortisol). I'm already running three days a week, I bike almost everywhere, and I do quite a bit of walking. I think I'm doing enough, maybe too much.

This week I need to ..


Keep using Slow Talk in real-life situations with someone I feel comfortable with
Keep reading the ANTs handout everyday in Slow Talk
Read over rational coping statements everyday
Read over the fighting paradox handout carefully this week
Try exercising when I'm bothered by anticipatory anxiety

*Wednesday *

Too depressed to work on CBT, but I did go for a run, which made me feel a lot better.

*Thursday*

Ran again, and I read the ANTS handout and the fighting paradox handout-both in slow talk.

*Friday*

Meditated and read the ANTS handout.

*Saturday*

Read over the ANTS and the rational coping statements

***

Overall, it was a good week, despite the mid-week depression.


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## Becomingfree

This is really great Mike. It is giving us hope. The CDs sound good. You are doing great. I can't wait to hear more. It really sounds interesting and useful.


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## mjhea0

Becomingfree said:


> This is really great Mike. It is giving us hope. The CDs sound good. You are doing great. I can't wait to hear more. It really sounds interesting and useful.


Thanks!  I just hope I can stick with it.


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## mjhea0

*Week 6*

*Sunday*

*Week 5 Review: *

"I refuse to meet anxiety with any negative emotion. I won't fuel it by getting frustrated, angry, or irritated."

"Remember: If we stay calm, call anxiety's bluff, and tell it that we are no longer going to fuel its raging fires, then we are on the right track. On the other hand, if we let the social anxiety and fear, scare us, frustrate us, depress us, or irritate us, we are playing around with our own negative emotions, and then it's like fanning a raging fire."

Accept anxiety as a temporary condition

"There is nothing wrong with you. It is true that you have social anxiety, but you weren't born with it-it had to come from environmental circumstances and then have been conditioned repeatedly into your brain. There is nothing wrong with you or your personality. What's wrong at the present time is that the social anxiety gets in your way; nevertheless, you as an individual are fine, you are okay. There's nothing permanently wrong with you. What is inaccurate is the way you see or perceive yourself."

*This week:*

Interesting: "Your brain will always accept information provided that it is rational." As long as I keep practicing, I'll begin to believe what I'm saying.

*ATTITUDES HANDOUT*

"Our lives are defined by our fears." I need to bring my fears down to size in order to get over them.

"My belief system is just screwed up. I started believing too many fearful things and these fearful things grew and grew. My perspective on the world is off base right now. I see everything through anxiety-colored glasses. But now I understand and know better. I deliberately refuse to continually give in to my fear."

"Your beliefs must move in the direction of becoming more truthful and rational. Many times we can challenge our negative beliefs through short statements that are attitudinal in nature.

For example: "WHO CARES?" "SO WHAT?" "WHY AM I DWELLING ON THIS"

*HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF & THE WORLD HANDOUT*

"Through your perspective on life (that is, how you view things), you literally _create_ the world around you. For example, if you expect others to reject you, they will. If you expect others to like you, they will. You set up these expectations in your mind because of your beliefs, and then you automatically act on them and make what you expect to happen &#8230; _happen_."

"What we give out-comes back."

"The way you see yourself s the way you will be. In terms of how you see yourself, whatever you choose to believe about yourself, using common sense, will happen."

"Whatever you 'set yourself up' for-happens."

I understand this, but what I don't understand is how I can begin to change my expectations. I expect to fail because I've failed in the past. Do I need to take a leap of faith and tell myself I won't fail, even though I think I will?

*TWO COMPETING NEURAL PATHWAYS IN YOUR BRAIN HANDOUT*

"You OLD neural pathways (the millions of nerve cells in the brain that transmit messages, thoughts, and emotions) automatically lead you towards your old responses: anxiety, fear, and the related depression. &#8230; However, when you began therapy, you also began to develop a NEW neural pathway. &#8230; The more you continue to use these NEW methods you are learning, the stronger your NEW neural pathway will become."

The less you use the OLD, the more you will use the NEW-and the stronger it grows. But setbacks do occur. They are hard, but "you can't have a setback unless you've already made some progress."

I think over time, as I change, my old ways of dealing with things-my old coping mechanisms-will actually begin to fight for their lives to maintain control. This is not bad-it's good, because it shows that I am changing and healing.

"When we see ourselves in a negative light, it is our own beliefs that tie us down to our perceptions."

*What I need to work on this week:*

·Read ATTITUDES HANDOUT everyday
·Use SLOW TALK more!!!!
·Be easy on myself, take it easy
·Continue reading the ANTS HANDOUT everyday
·Don't forget the FIGHTING PARADOX HANDOUT (stop beating myself up, negative emotions)

*Monday to Wednesday*


I took a break from CBT on Monday and I was too depressed on Tuesday and Wednesday to work on it.

*Thursday to Saturday*

Read the ATTITUDES HANDOUT and ANTS HANDOUT in SLOW TALK all three days. I had a cold on Friday and was feeling really emotional &#8230; anyway, when I was reading over the ANTS HANDOUT, I just couldn't stay focused. I could hear myself saying in the back of my mind, _This isn't helping. You shouldn't waste your time. _I tried to push the negative thoughts away but they stayed. I got very emotional and started crying a bit. The thoughts eventually went away though, but I couldn't really focus again.


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## Becomingfree

I like all of them but the *ATTITUDES HANDOUT* is something i need to adjust. Thanks Mike for posting all of this, it really is helping us too.


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## mjhea0

Becomingfree said:


> I like all of them but the *ATTITUDES HANDOUT* is something i need to adjust. Thanks Mike for posting all of this, it really is helping us too.


I'm glad. I've been struggling as of late, but I'm still pushing through, somehow.


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## rambo

Keep it up. Im happy to see there's somebody who puttin up a log on it. Also, im using this tape too, im on my 13th week. I hope you keep it up. Imma keep my eye on this thread.


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## mjhea0

rombow said:


> Keep it up. Im happy to see there's somebody who puttin up a log on it. Also, im using this tape too, im on my 13th week. I hope you keep it up. Imma keep my eye on this thread.


Congrats on making it to week 13! Keep it up! How's it going? Are you finding it helpful?


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## rambo

mjhea0 said:


> Congrats on making it to week 13! Keep it up! How's it going? Are you finding it helpful?


Thanks. Yea, it's definitely working. I think more positive and I am WAYYY more confidence. You can hear it in my voice and I act more like myself. I used to shutter sometimes. Now, very very rarely. Iknow I still got a long way to go since I had this since I was like 9 year old. So, yea I see improvement. There's times when I do not feel like doing it; however, I fight thru it. I try to keep this quote in my mind: "successful people have developed the habit of doing what unsuccessful people dont FEEL like doing." Just keep that in mind. Free feel to msg me if you got any question about the program.

Btw, how long do you read? I read for about 30 mins everyday with a timer.


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## mjhea0

rombow said:


> Thanks. Yea, it's definitely working. I think more positive and I am WAYYY more confidence. You can hear it in my voice and I act more like myself. I used to shutter sometimes. Now, very very rarely. Iknow I still got a long way to go since I had this since I was like 9 year old. So, yea I see improvement. There's times when I do not feel like doing it; however, I fight thru it. I try to keep this quote in my mind: "successful people have developed the habit of doing what unsuccessful people dont FEEL like doing." Just keep that in mind. Free feel to msg me if you got any question about the program.
> 
> Btw, how long do you read? I read for about 30 mins everyday with a timer.


I try for 30 minutes a day too, but it usually ends up being like 20.


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## mjhea0

*Week 7*

Sunday and Monday

*Week 6 Review:*

"Last week we started with the handout Attitudes. We wanted to practice saying and feeling these attitudes so that when we find ourselves in an anxiety situation, these short attitudes statements will pop up automatically into our minds. Here are some of the attitudes statements: _SO WHAT?, WHO CARES?, WHY AM I DWELLING ON THIS? &#8230; _When we dwell on our old, automatic negative thoughts we want the _WHY AM I DWELLING ON THIS STATEMENT? _to pop into our minds."

"Part of our problem with social anxiety is that we have not seen ourselves realistically in the past. We have had a lifelong tendency to put ourselves down, beat ourselves up, feel guilty about things we don't have any control over, take things too personally, over exaggerate situations, and to see ourselves as being less important than other people. As a result of all this irrational thinking, we naturally expect our future to be as bad as our present." SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY

*New Strategies:*

*DE-STRESSING STRATEGIES HANDOUT*

"These are factual statements we want to get into our minds to cut down on our old habits of over exaggeration, blowing things out of proportion, and escalating our cycle of anxiety. Through this handout we want to slow down, move in a more peaceful frame of mind, take a few steps back, and reassess what is going on around us."

*THE SOCIAL ANXIETY "AUTOMATIC" CYCLE HANDOUT*

"If I think others see me as being nervous, then I TRY not to be nervous. That's more pressure I'm putting on myself. The more we TRY not to be nervous, the more nervous we get."

"SO WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY DOING TO OURSELVES? We are beating ourselves up over our own internal anxiety-many times that no one else notices anyway. This may, in part, explain why it is so difficult for us to explain our problem to other people-and why other people, including therapists, have such a difficult time understanding social anxiety. We look normally, we talk normally, and no one usually notices our fear and anxiety."

*TURNING THE TABLES ON ANTS, PART ONE HANDOUT*

"You are not responsible for having social anxiety. But, _you are the only one who can be responsible for your healing_."

"If you're worries about a situation, _TURN THE THOUGHT AROUND_: "This is not as horrible an event as I once feared. This is an event I've had difficulty with it the past. But I'm a different person now. This event may still cause some anxiety, but it will be a little better than it was before." But I must take it slow; I can't go from having anxiety to not having anxiety. It's a step-by-step process that gets a little easier after each situation. Sometimes it's good to start with neutral statements. For example, this weekend I'm going to a wedding-_This may not be a fun event, but I am doing better at it than I used to think._

*ACCEPTING MYSELF AS I AM RIGHT NOW HANDOUT*

"We are not accepting our social anxiety, but it is important that we accept ourselves as people-human beings who make mistakes and know and feel there is nothing wrong with us. We are accepting ourselves so that the social anxiety will have no negative energy to keep it going. The more we can accept ourselves and stop beating ourselves up, the more we move away from social anxiety."

"Acceptance is a powerful process. When I accept myself, I have opened the door for change."

*Goals this week:*

Slow Talk
ANTS HANDOUT read everyday
ACCEPTING MYSELF AS I AM RIGHT NOW HANDOUT read everyday
FIGHTING PARADOX HANDOUT glance at everyday, constantly remind
TURNING THE TABLES ON ANTS, PART ONE HANDOUT read, remind
Review DESTRESSING STRATEGIES and ATTITIDES

*Tuesday *

Very depressed; didn't work on CBT, in other words.

*Wednesday to Saturday*

I read the ANTS HANDOUT and the ACCEPTING MYSELF AS I AM RIGHT NOW HANDOUT in slow talk and glanced at the other handouts each day.


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## mjhea0

Hey- I just wanted to say that I'm struggling a bit right now with depression due to a wedding I went to over the weekend, so I haven't started on week 8 yet. I hope to start tomorrow, as long as I feel better. Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up to those following this log.


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## Becomingfree

mjhea0 said:


> Hey- I just wanted to say that I'm struggling a bit right now with depression due to a wedding I went to over the weekend, so I haven't started on week 8 yet. I hope to start tomorrow, as long as I feel better. Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up to those following this log.


Hope everything is ok. I know you were doing so good. I know we can get off track and need help to get back on. You are doing so great! Keep going. I know some down time might be good now too. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.


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## Becomingfree

mjhea0 said:


> *Week 7*
> 
> Sunday and Monday
> 
> *Week 6 Review:*
> 
> "Last week we started with the handout Attitudes. We wanted to practice saying and feeling these attitudes so that when we find ourselves in an anxiety situation, these short attitudes statements will pop up automatically into our minds. Here are some of the attitudes statements: _SO WHAT?, WHO CARES?, WHY AM I DWELLING ON THIS? &#8230; _When we dwell on our old, automatic negative thoughts we want the _WHY AM I DWELLING ON THIS STATEMENT? _to pop into our minds."
> 
> "Part of our problem with social anxiety is that we have not seen ourselves realistically in the past. We have had a lifelong tendency to put ourselves down, beat ourselves up, feel guilty about things we don't have any control over, take things too personally, over exaggerate situations, and to see ourselves as being less important than other people. As a result of all this irrational thinking, we naturally expect our future to be as bad as our present." SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
> 
> *New Strategies:*
> 
> *DE-STRESSING STRATEGIES HANDOUT*
> 
> "These are factual statements we want to get into our minds to cut down on our old habits of over exaggeration, blowing things out of proportion, and escalating our cycle of anxiety. Through this handout we want to slow down, move in a more peaceful frame of mind, take a few steps back, and reassess what is going on around us."
> 
> *THE SOCIAL ANXIETY "AUTOMATIC" CYCLE HANDOUT*
> 
> "If I think others see me as being nervous, then I TRY not to be nervous. That's more pressure I'm putting on myself. The more we TRY not to be nervous, the more nervous we get."
> 
> "SO WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY DOING TO OURSELVES? We are beating ourselves up over our own internal anxiety-many times that no one else notices anyway. This may, in part, explain why it is so difficult for us to explain our problem to other people-and why other people, including therapists, have such a difficult time understanding social anxiety. We look normally, we talk normally, and no one usually notices our fear and anxiety."
> 
> *TURNING THE TABLES ON ANTS, PART ONE HANDOUT*
> 
> "You are not responsible for having social anxiety. But, _you are the only one who can be responsible for your healing_."
> 
> "If you're worries about a situation, _TURN THE THOUGHT AROUND_: "This is not as horrible an event as I once feared. This is an event I've had difficulty with it the past. But I'm a different person now. This event may still cause some anxiety, but it will be a little better than it was before." But I must take it slow; I can't go from having anxiety to not having anxiety. It's a step-by-step process that gets a little easier after each situation. Sometimes it's good to start with neutral statements. For example, this weekend I'm going to a wedding-_This may not be a fun event, but I am doing better at it than I used to think._
> 
> *ACCEPTING MYSELF AS I AM RIGHT NOW HANDOUT*
> 
> "We are not accepting our social anxiety, but it is important that we accept ourselves as people-human beings who make mistakes and know and feel there is nothing wrong with us. We are accepting ourselves so that the social anxiety will have no negative energy to keep it going. The more we can accept ourselves and stop beating ourselves up, the more we move away from social anxiety."
> 
> "Acceptance is a powerful process. When I accept myself, I have opened the door for change."
> 
> *Goals this week:*
> 
> Slow Talk
> ANTS HANDOUT read everyday
> ACCEPTING MYSELF AS I AM RIGHT NOW HANDOUT read everyday
> FIGHTING PARADOX HANDOUT glance at everyday, constantly remind
> TURNING THE TABLES ON ANTS, PART ONE HANDOUT read, remind
> Review DESTRESSING STRATEGIES and ATTITIDES
> 
> *Tuesday *
> 
> Very depressed; didn't work on CBT, in other words.
> 
> *Wednesday to Saturday*
> 
> I read the ANTS HANDOUT and the ACCEPTING MYSELF AS I AM RIGHT NOW HANDOUT in slow talk and glanced at the other handouts each day.


I love the quote: "You are not responsible for having social anxiety. But, _you are the only one who can be responsible for your healing_."

I know i have been trying this week.


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## mjhea0

Becomingfree said:


> Hope everything is ok. I know you were doing so good. I know we can get off track and need help to get back on. You are doing so great! Keep going. I know some down time might be good now too. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.


I'm doing better and am back on track. I started week 8 yesterday!


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## Atticus

mjhea0 said:


> I'm doing better and am back on track. I started week 8 yesterday!


That's good to hear.


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## jinxu

mjhea0 said:


> I'm doing better and am back on track. I started week 8 yesterday!


Good job. Dr. Richards knows what he's talking about. I went through the program a few years back and it does work if you are dedicated and persistence. Change is a slow process. You have to give yourself time for progess. Keep up the good work and don't give up.


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## mjhea0

jinxu said:


> Good job. Dr. Richards knows what he's talking about. I went through the program a few years back and it does work if you are dedicated and persistence. Change is a slow process. You have to give yourself time for progess. Keep up the good work and don't give up.


Thanks! So, did you find it a constant struggle, too. When did change come for you? During, after?


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## jinxu

mjhea0 said:


> Thanks! So, did you find it a constant struggle, too. When did change come for you? During, after?


I don't remember everything since it's been awhile; like 2 yrs I think. I just listened to the tapes for the first few months then got serious after and went through the program. What's strange was I progressed really quick like doing two of the lessons in one week. But I was very determined to improve.

The key thing about the program is that it's basically brainwashing you in a positive way. The lessons are designed to change the way your emotional brain react to social situations. It does this by helping your mind to believe. Like how your anxiety reinforces your SA, by thinking positive thoughts and believing it causes a small positive change in your brain chemistry. I think the key ideas to help you are to take the program seriously and follow the steps. Gradual exposure therapy is also very important; I forgot which lesson that was in. Keep thinking positive thoughts and believe. And keep practicing and do the slow talk it helps. Having at least one friend or family for emotional support also helps. And your improvement is a long journey. You have to keep being determined to improve.

At the worst of my SA, I couldn't walk into a Wal-Mart by myself. After I finish the course, I continue using the lessons I learned to help improve my social skills. Now, I have no problem telling someone to f*** off. If I did it, you can too. Good luck buddy; I'm rooting for you.


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## jinxu

Hi mjhea0, I'm just stopping by to tell you that you're welcome to ask me for any help or advice. I don't hang out in this forum, but may stop by occasionally.


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## mjhea0

jinxu said:


> I don't remember everything since it's been awhile; like 2 yrs I think. I just listened to the tapes for the first few months then got serious after and went through the program. What's strange was I progressed really quick like doing two of the lessons in one week. But I was very determined to improve.
> 
> The key thing about the program is that it's basically brainwashing you in a positive way. The lessons are designed to change the way your emotional brain react to social situations. It does this by helping your mind to believe. Like how your anxiety reinforces your SA, by thinking positive thoughts and believing it causes a small positive change in your brain chemistry. I think the key ideas to help you are to take the program seriously and follow the steps. Gradual exposure therapy is also very important; I forgot which lesson that was in. Keep thinking positive thoughts and believe. And keep practicing and do the slow talk it helps. Having at least one friend or family for emotional support also helps. And your improvement is a long journey. You have to keep being determined to improve.
> 
> At the worst of my SA, I couldn't walk into a Wal-Mart by myself. After I finish the course, I continue using the lessons I learned to help improve my social skills. Now, I have no problem telling someone to f*** off. If I did it, you can too. Good luck buddy; I'm rooting for you.


Thanks! Yeah, I'm just taking it one day at a time. I can feel it working a bit, but it's very subtle.

When you said you did the program, do you mean you worked through the series on your own, or did you actual go to the institute and do it there? Because I know they run a formal program there. It's something I've been thinking more about. But it is expensive. I guess I'll see where I'm at after i finish the series on my own.

Thanks again!


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## mjhea0

So, before I start week 8, I just want to mention that I've taken 3 days off. I had a horrible social experience over the week, a wedding, and I felt really depressed for the next few days after. I'm really having trouble breaking the negative thought patterns in my head. Further, I'm concerned about how change can even happen when my deep-seeded beliefs are constantly being reinforced by my actions. My mind says one thing, but my body is saying something entirely different. I'm pretty frustrated at this point.

*Week 8*

I need to first be in control of myself before I can be in control of a situation. How? " By calming down, using slow talk, taking our time, and being more deliberate." 

*Week 7 Review:*

*De-stressing Strategies: *"The next time you find your thoughts drifting out into anxiety and worry, reel them back in and call their bluff. Why should I worry about something like this? I'm tired of making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm human, and we all make mistakes. I can only do my best." Great advice, but so hard to do once I let my thoughts take control of me. After that, nothing seems to work. I would like to be able to say this before the thoughts take control. It will take some time and practice, but I'll get there.

*The Social Anxiety Automatic Cycle: *"If someone doesn't like us because they can sense our anxiety, too bad for them. We don't want to know them anyway. It's their tough luck. The moral of the social anxiety automatic cycle is that we never appear as anxious to other people as we think we do. And who cares anyway? The less we care, the less anxious we become."

*Turning the Tables on ANTs, Part One: *"We have over-exaggerated our worries." Process: Say to yourself, _This is not going to be the most fun thing for me, but I will get through it. _As my thoughts change, so do my feelings. 

*This Week:*

*TURNING THE TABLES ON ANTS, PART TWO (Or: keep turning those irrational thoughts around)*

"The secret to this 'face your fears' analogy is that you can only face one fear at a time, and it needs to be a small fear to start with. We must always move up the pyramid or hierarchy slowly and in a deliberate, well-planned-out manner. &#8230; By taking each new step slowly as it comes along, and repeating it, I am working against my anxiety in a positive, permanent way." It's frustrating because I am so isolated, I don't have small social situations. I pretty much bounce from one large group social situation to the next. 

"Facing your fears does not work for social anxiety, unless it is handled in the right way. That is, we take one small step at a time and gradually move up our anxiety hierarchy. It is important we feel more comfortable and more confident at each step before we move up."

"When we actually do something that was difficult for us to do in the past, it is very important that we notice it, give ourselves credit for doing it, and then turn the tables on the ANTs. For example: You can say, 'Yes that was difficult for me. But I did it, and I am happy I did it. It wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it may get better each and every time I do it.'" 

"By beginning to view the situation in a more realistic light, as more of a challenge rather than a fear, it speeds along the healing process."

*TURNING THE TABLES ON ANTS, PART THREE (Or: your brain hears and believes everything you [repeatedly] say)*

"Speaking in public is something most people with social anxiety find very difficult to do. But, if we constantly remind ourselves (and our brain) that we think it is horrible, scary, and anxiety-producing, then it will ALWAYS be horrible, scary, and anxiety-producing." Say this instead: "Speaking to a group isn't my favorite activity, and I may be a little nervous, but so is everybody else who makes a public presentation. It's not that big of a deal. I will take a deep breath, slow my talking down, focus on something specific, and remind myself that I will probably do a better job than many other people."

"If you stop saying something is scary, and replace the statement by saying the situation is challenging, _eventually your brain and your behavior will come together and agree_."

"Tell your brain the truth. Turn the tables on those ANTS. Whatever you say, your brain will hear. Whatever your brain hears, it will believe."

*CHANGING BRAIN CHEMISTRY PERMANENTLY*

When ANTs thoughts and feelings come:

1."_Be honest_. Call the intrusive, unwanted, negative thoughts and feelings what they really are: Pathological liars and bullies.
2."When you are honest with yourself, it won't make your unwanted negative thinking and behavior go away immediately, _but it will prepare you to change your responses_."
3."When you change your _behavior_, you are literally _changing your brain_."
4."_Do something else_. When you change your behavioral responses (or the way you act) by focusing your attention on something useful and constructive, you are breaking up the vicious anxiety cycle."
5."_See reality for what it is_. When you see reality more clearly, and can devalue the lying unwanted thoughts and feelings, you are _strengthening your new brain pathways_, and putting another nail in the anxiety coffin."

*MINGLING*

This handout gives basic advice on how to handle mingling. It's important for me to remember this-"it takes at least two people to talk. You are not responsible for 'silences' and there is nothing wrong with having 'silences'. IT'S NO BIG DEAL!" And this-"No one is watching and judging your performance. They have better things to do than focus on you."

*CONVERSATIONS*

Like the Mingling handout, this handout gives practical advice on handle making small talk. 
 
Most important: "Pay attention to the other person and what they are saying. (Focus your attention _externally _and ignore the internal ANTs thinking". Why can't it be that easy?

*What to do this week:*

·*Read* *Turning the Tables on ANTs, Part One, Two, and Three *(think neutrally; I don't need to be positive yet, I just have to stop being so negative)
oExamples of being neutral: 

"I may not be perfect, but I am getting better."
"This is not such a big deal. I can do this better than I once thought."
"This may be a little hard for me but I'll get through it, I always do."
·*Continue practicing Slow Talk and the ANTS Handout and any other handouts I find necessary*
·*Practice attitudes and de-stressing strategies*

*Thursday through Tuesday*

I practiced each day for thirty minutes-yay! One interesting thing I came across: "MOST situations in life are not really scary: we just interpreted them that way for a _long period of time and they are settled deeply in our brain._"


----------



## YRong

Hi Mike

Thanks for your great post.

I accidentially chanced upon a webby at another forum to *cure anxiety naturrally* and am also doing something similar as you and it is great. Prior to this, I have been taking lotsa medication and after 1 year, I noticed my memory is getting short and have terrible mood swing. Should have started doing something about my condition long ago but am glad to have found help now. Hope all of you are feeling better now that we have so many valuable tips and help here.


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## roverred

Nice job man, keep it up.

Curious, do you regularly speak fast, or just during social anxiety? 

I've been constantly telling myself to start doing CBT sessions, or at least what I think a session would be like, but I don't do it for a long enough period of time. Did you just buckle down and it became a habit? And what has been the most helpful thing you learned so far?


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## VanDamMan

Good stuff. I might have to get it for myself.


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## mjhea0

YRong said:


> Hi Mike
> 
> Thanks for your great post.
> 
> I accidentially chanced upon a webby at another forum to *cure anxiety naturrally* and am also doing something similar as you and it is great. Prior to this, I have been taking lotsa medication and after 1 year, I noticed my memory is getting short and have terrible mood swing. Should have started doing something about my condition long ago but am glad to have found help now. Hope all of you are feeling better now that we have so many valuable tips and help here.


Hey, I'm glad you found something that worked for you!  Thanks for reading, by the way.


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## mjhea0

roverred said:


> Nice job man, keep it up.
> 
> Curious, do you regularly speak fast, or just during social anxiety?
> 
> I've been constantly telling myself to start doing CBT sessions, or at least what I think a session would be like, but I don't do it for a long enough period of time. Did you just buckle down and it became a habit? And what has been the most helpful thing you learned so far?


Just when I'm anxious. Yes, I've practiced so much that it's just become a habit. I feel incomplete when I don't work on my CBT. The most helpful thing I've learned ... hmmm ... that anxiety is not who I am. There is nothing wrong with me--there's only something wrong with how I view and interpret the world.


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## mjhea0

VanDamMan said:


> Good stuff. I might have to get it for myself.


Thanks, buddy!  It's been good.


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## jinxu

mjhea0 said:


> Thanks! Yeah, I'm just taking it one day at a time. I can feel it working a bit, but it's very subtle.
> 
> When you said you did the program, do you mean you worked through the series on your own, or did you actual go to the institute and do it there? Because I know they run a formal program there. It's something I've been thinking more about. But it is expensive. I guess I'll see where I'm at after i finish the series on my own.
> 
> Thanks again!


I worked on it all by myself. I didn't have many or any people who I could do it with, so I had no choice but to do it alone. It can actually be advantage if you can isolate yourself from negativity. When I was doing it, I was living by myself in an apartment. No social life either except a job. That allowed me to keep focused on my self-improvement without distractions. I surrounded myself with positive things like motivational music, movies, and other things. So you can see it was a lot like brainwashing.

I don't think you need the program. The only benefit I can see you could get out of it is to have other people to do things like role-playing with. But imo I don't think that is worth it if you have some friends to do it with you.


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## mjhea0

jinxu said:


> I worked on it all by myself. I didn't have many or any people who I could do it with, so I had no choice but to do it alone. It can actually be advantage if you can isolate yourself from negativity. When I was doing it, I was living by myself in an apartment. No social life either except a job. That allowed me to keep focused on my self-improvement without distractions. I surrounded myself with positive things like motivational music, movies, and other things. So you can see it was a lot like brainwashing.
> 
> I don't think you need the program. The only benefit I can see you could get out of it is to have other people to do things like role-playing with. But imo I don't think that is worth it if you have some friends to do it with you.


Interesting. I find it fairly easy to keep out the negatives, externally. But, internally is a different beast altogether. I guess that's why I'm doing CBT, though. I'm glad you found the isolation helpful. I'm just worried about the behavioral aspect of the therapy. I'd like to find some sort of group that's doing the same things as me, at the exact same stage. But I know that's impossible to find. I'll just have to see where I'm at when I get there.


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## mjhea0

*Week 9*

"All the behavioral therapy you're doing, will not be effective unless you start telling yourself the truth [via cognitive techniques}. &#8230; "When the cognitive and the behavioral mesh together &#8230; everything works better and works faster."

"Your brain hears everything you say and tries to take it literally. So be careful. Don't say you hate something. Don't say can't do something. Don't say something is too scary for you to try. Every time you make a negative statement like that, you are only reinforcing your anxiety and helplessness to your brain. Instead, replace those ANTs lies."

*This Week*

*THE DESERVING STATEMENTS*

"Before you can comfortably express your needs, _you must *believe*__you have a legitimate right to have those needs._"

Examples:
·"I have the right to decide how to lead my life. This includes pursuing my own goals and dreams and establishing my own priorities."
·"I have the right not to have to _justify or explain _my actions or feelings to others."
·"I have the right to tell others how I wish to be treated."
·"I have the right to take the time I need to formulate my ideas before expressing them."
·"I have the right to _like myself _even though I'm not perfect."
·"I have the right to change, enhance, or develop my life in any way I determine."

"When you allow the needs, opinions, and judgments of _others_ to become more important than your _own_, you are likely to feel hurt, anxious, and even angry."

"You do not need anyone else's approval concerning your decisions and your life. You are fine just the way you are right now. If someone doesn't approve of you or doesn't like you-tough luck. That is their loss and is their problem. You have decided to live a positive, happy life, and if other people can't approve of you for that, too bad, tough luck, who cares!"

BEARS ATTACK & MAUL, BEES SWARM & STING (a follow-up to "the fighting paradox")

"What do you do when anxiety tries to attack and hurt you? PLAY DEAD. Do note respond. Do not panic. SLOW DOWN. Take your time. Use your rational statements: _Say to yourself: "If I stay calm, then anxiety will not be able to sting me &#8230;" _&#8230; DO NOT RESPIND TO NEGATIVITY BY REACTING NEGATIVELY. &#8230; Take it easy, slow talk, stay calm &#8230; then [anxiety] will continue to have less and less power over you &#8230; and you will realize that YOU are the one who is in charge."

*FEELINGS, FEELINGS, AND MORE FEELINGS*

"Calm, peaceful, acceptance has great power. The more you can accept and move on with your life, the more this anxiety feeling is no big deal. If you don't pay attention to it, it doesn't have any power over you.

"So, you see, we are being reminded here of that paradox again-the more we can accept, move on, act, find distractions, and turn the tables on the ANTs, the less anxiety will be able to bother us.

"In fact, the more your strategies and statements become _automatic _thinking and behavior, the less and less anxiety can rear its ugly head. You are in the process of calmly and surely defeating anxiety for good."

*WORRY &#8230; (leads to more worry and more worry and more worry and &#8230*

"Many times we worry about upcoming events that we think will cause us anxiety. This of course is anticipatory anxiety. At other times, we worry about what we said, or what we didn't say, or how we acted, and we convince ourselves that we were foolish, or dumb, or wish we could have remembered to say something different."

"Notice that worry is always a big ANT. There is never any solution in worrying. It always leads our thoughts and emotions in the wrong direction. So at this time, we want to reinforce the fact that worry is always wrong. Worry is always a liar. Worry can never provide us a solution or help us overcome social anxiety. In fact, it does just the opposite-it reinforces the negative thoughts and the anxious feelings. So we want to catch worry and stop it before it becomes a raging fire."

"Worry keeps me living in the troubling past or the fearful future."

"Worry never does me any good. It is only there to hurt me and rob me of my peace. Therefore, I deliberately choose to go and do something else &#8230;"

*What to do this week:*

·*Read all the handouts (especially THE DESERVING STATEMENTS) this week in Slow Talk, plus the ANTS HANDOUT and THE FIGHTING PARADOX and THE TURNING THE TABLES ON THE ANTS handouts*

*SATURDAY through TUESDAY*

After taking time off for Thanksgiving, I practiced thirty minutes each day.


----------



## ginamo

*regarding slow talk*

Hi Mike, thanks for replying and introducing yourself on my first post as a newcomer. I was just scanning what you wrote about the slow talking technique. Your description of talking fast in social situations so you can be done with being focused on describes me exactly! I NEVER heard anybody mention that problem before and it's only something I've recently become aware of doing, but have done forever. And I usually end up feeling like I really didn't get across what I wanted to say, the way I would have liked, and feel misunderstood. Frustrated. But another reason I find I will talk fast is because I anticipate being interrupted if I try to take my time, because that is what so often happens, (esp. among my in-laws) ... it seems like people are often really only waiting for their chance to jump in and thinking about what they want to say next anyway and I feel pressure/anxiety as a result of that too.

Do you find yourself being interrupted more if you practice slowing down your talking?

I see I'm going to be busy doing a lot of reading on the forums, and I appreciate your writings too. I'm really excited to have discovered all this support online. Thanks,
Gina


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## mjhea0

ginamo said:


> Hi Mike, thanks for replying and introducing yourself on my first post as a newcomer. I was just scanning what you wrote about the slow talking technique. Your description of talking fast in social situations so you can be done with being focused on describes me exactly! I NEVER heard anybody mention that problem before and it's only something I've recently become aware of doing, but have done forever. And I usually end up feeling like I really didn't get across what I wanted to say, the way I would have liked, and feel misunderstood. Frustrated. But another reason I find I will talk fast is because I anticipate being interrupted if I try to take my time, because that is what so often happens, (esp. among my in-laws) ... it seems like people are often really only waiting for their chance to jump in and thinking about what they want to say next anyway and I feel pressure/anxiety as a result of that too.
> 
> Do you find yourself being interrupted more if you practice slowing down your talking?
> 
> I see I'm going to be busy doing a lot of reading on the forums, and I appreciate your writings too. I'm really excited to have discovered all this support online. Thanks,
> Gina


Honestly, I haven't practiced Slow Talk enough with people I know who usually don't listen and interrupt. I think with those kinds of people, they'll interrupt no matter how fast you talk. I'd rather not talk to people like that anyway .. my dad is like that--he never listens. He either changes the subject to something else or responds inappropriately. It's frustrating.

Overall, I'm finding the technique very helpful with managing my anxiety.


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## Becomingfree

Hi Mike how are things going?


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## mjhea0

Becomingfree said:


> Hi Mike how are things going?


I'm okay. I've been a bit depressed the past few days, and I haven't been working on CBT. I'm going to try to get back on track today. I'm also very busy with the end-of-the-semester madness. That will be over on Thursday, so I'll have plenty of time to work on CBT after that.

How are things with you?


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## mjhea0

*Week 10*

*Week 9 Review*

"I do deserve to be happy, living in the present moment, and not concerned with others' ideas and opinions about me. Why? Because I am fine just the way I am. If other people don't like you for a justifiable reason, there must be something wrong with them."

"Last week we spent a little time discussing our feelings and why thinking about them continues to trap us and keep us stuck in the viscous cycle of social anxiety. Feelings are liars many times two, and trying to figure out every last little detail about these feelings is an exercise in futility-it only makes things worse."

"We need to stop the thinking and start the doing."

*Week 10*

*HERES HOW WE HANDLE THOSE BULLYING LIARS*

"The more I can replace the bullying thought with the truth, the healthier and less anxious I become."

"When I think about [making introductions] and remember to use my slow talk, they are not as bad now as I made them out to be in the past."

I need to try to think about my ANTs thoughts, and find rational and realistic alternatives. 

*LOOSEN UP AND LET STRESS GO*

Relaxation technique used in social situations (but I need to start at home, not when I'm flooded with anxiety in social situations) &#8230;

"When you are feeling anxious because of anticipatory anxiety, worry, or ANTs feelings and thoughts of any kind, just remember these two words-loosen up. If you're in public or in a social situation and you're feeling anxious just remember these two words-loosen up. What happens when we're anxious is that our body and muscles tighten up automatically, many times without us even realizing it. Technically, our physical body is preparing to meet a threatening challenge that really isn't there. But since we think it is, our muscles become tight and rigid."

"By &#8230; letting go the tension in your muscles, by loosening up, you are calming yourself down and making the situation a little easier for yourself."

"The truth is that there is nothing to fear. We can handle situations well. And we do a much better job at coping than we ever once imagined."

*SELF-STATEMENTS: MOVING IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION*

"I am learning to accept all the different parts of my personality. I don't have to prove myself to anyone. I don't have to prove myself to myself."

"When people really get to know me, most of them will like me. There are people who enjoy being around me. They like to hear what I have to say and know what I think. Even if this hasn't happened yet, I am moving in this direction. Others may recognize that I have a lot to offer, even when I don't recognize this myself. I am probably making more progress than I think. Even though making positive steps can seem slow at the present time, something is going on all the time that's helping me to make progress."

*BRAINWASHING*

"One of the reasons we have social anxiety is that other people, and then our own thought patterns, have literally brainwashed us into believing irrational or untrue things about ourselves. But since we can be brainwashed into having ANTs thoughts and feelings about ourselves, we can also wash our brain and become who we really are-free of anxiety, fear, doubt, and worry."

"So when the old brainwashing thoughts come, challenge them."

*POISONOUS THOUGHTS*

"Thoughts have no power in and of themselves; you imbue them with your own power and your own feelings. Thoughts always require an action on your part. &#8230; These original, harmless, powerless thoughts &#8230; can cause great havoc in your life if you start rehearsing them and believing them, because then you start to act on them. If you believe in and act on a lie, the lie will become the truth. You have created it with your thoughts and chosen to believe it with your actions."

"Thoughts are very powerful because they lead to beliefs, and beliefs lead to actions. Which thoughts will you choose to believe?"

*Things to do this week*

·*Continue reading ANTs handout, and all of the Turning the Tables of the ANTs Handouts, and the Deserving Statements handout everyday in slow talk*
·*Read over each handout from this week too*
·*Try to loosen up and relax when facing anxiety*

*Thursday to Sunday*

Worked on CBT for 30 minutes each day


*Monday to Thursday*

Very depressed. Couldn't work on it. I felt hopeless. I've been doing better lately, though. Thanksgiving went well, and I gave two presentations for my classes last week-and they went well, too. It's the anticipatory anxiety that's really hurting me-it's all in my head.


HALFWAY DONE!! :boogie


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## GatorNic

Hi Mike! Amazing job getting halfway through the CD's!! Reading this is definitely reminding me of my journey so far with CBT. Glad to read about someone else's experience in detail  

- Nicole


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## Lumiere

I just wanted to say thank you for doing this log, Mike.
I've just restarted this series myself and am on week 2, so I'll be checking through this thread as I progress through the weeks, which will be a great help to me.


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## mjhea0

Lumiere said:


> I just wanted to say thank you for doing this log, Mike.
> I've just restarted this series myself and am on week 2, so I'll be checking through this thread as I progress through the weeks, which will be a great help to me.


Thanks! I'm glad I'm inspiring people! You should keep your own log--it helps to keep you accountable. Keep me posted, at the very least.


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## mjhea0

GatorNic said:


> Hi Mike! Amazing job getting halfway through the CD's!! Reading this is definitely reminding me of my journey so far with CBT. Glad to read about someone else's experience in detail
> 
> - Nicole


Thanks! Any suggestions for the behavioral aspects? I'm going to school online. I have few friends. I don't have a job (but I am actively looking). So, I don't get much social contact. I do feel a lot more confident at stores and just walking around. I can give people eye contact, and say hello and stuff--but those have never really been a problem.


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## mjhea0

*Week 11*

"It is vitally important &#8230; that Slow Talk has become something you can use whenever you need to use it." I can somewhat use it. I'm not perfect at it, but when I do remember to use it, it works well-there's a noticeable decrease in my anxiety. 

"There is no shortcut to overcoming social anxiety, or a reader's digest approach to getting better. We need to cover everything in this series, allow some time for it to sink down deeply into our minds, and be patient and persistent about reaching our goal."

*FOCUSING (And how it keeps us away from anxiety)*

"When anxiety comes around in any form-and this includes anticipatory anxiety-we want our attention and our FOCUS, to be on external things, not on out internal feelings. Our internal feelings are liars when they involve anxiety."

"Your feelings will lie to you because they are accustomed to years and years of negative conditioning and expectations. But gradually, as you focus away from them and don't give them any of your power, they will have no choice but to change."

"We must learn not to live by our feelings right now. Our feelings can be big ANTs traps."

I am very introspective and in tune with my feelings and emotions and tend to dwell on them too much. A lot of this has to do with the specific type of talk therapy I'm engaged in. I've been questioning lately whether it is serving me-i.e., helping me with my social anxiety. I mean, I am learning a lot about myself, which is good, but I want to focus specifically on the anxiety at this point. I may talk to my therapist about this.

"Feelings change as we stop focusing on them."

Also, I've always thought I need to not ignore my negative feelings. I need to give them attention, but not let them drown me. This approach sounds like just avoiding my feelings, instead of acknowledging them.

*"I CAN'T DO IT" THINKING (or another attack on healing by the lying ANTs)*

"Regardless of how you feel, you don't ever want to use the _'I can't do this' _explanation. Remember that your brain _hears _and _responds _to every word that you feed it. Therefore, if you say-

'I can't make phone calls, I get too flustered.'
'I can't go to the party. There are too many people. I won't know what to say.'

-Your brain picks these statements up, and sure enough, you CAN'T do these things because you've programmed it into your mind over and over again."

"If your anxiety is on the rise, it's because you're thinking about it, you're ruminating on it, you are expecting something bad to happen, you're thinking it's bound to happen, and you begin to focus on it. By focusing internally on your doubts and fears, you've opened the door, and anxiety can squeeze in and create its horrible feelings."

*POWER STATEMENTS (Rational Questions to Ask Yourself Each Day)*

"Series of statements presented in the form of questions so that your mind will start to question why it is responding in the manner it currently responds. In other words, these &#8230; statements are designed to allow your mind to see things rationally."

Example: "Why SHOULD other peoples' approval be so important to us? Why should I stew, sweat, and drive myself crazy over what other people think and say? Why should I beat up on myself and dwell in my own old ANTs quicksand for hours?"

*THE PROFOUND CONCEPT*

"When you act, or do something, your feelings and emotions will follow along behind. If you wait around to feel good or to feel un-anxious, you will be waiting around forever. Feelings never come before actions. Taking action always begins to create feelings and emotions. &#8230; Small steps have to be made-that is, acted upon-before your feelings will change."

I won't feel better until I act first! But I need to start small by doing something small each day.

"Anxiety is reduced only _AFTER _you act."

*EXPECTATIONS ARE KILLERS: STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS (Note: The Topic here is negative, irrational expectations)*

"We do not want to 'set ourselves up' ahead of time for feelings of failure and defeat. We do not want to try to 'force' or 'pressure' anything into happening on a particular rigid time schedule."

"The more and more (and desperately and desperately) you seek something and 'expect' something, the more and more elusive it becomes."

"DON'T LET YOUR (IRRATIONAL) EXPECTATIONS GET THE BETTER OF YOU."

*VICIOUS CIRCLES AND HOW TO SHRINK THEM*

"Anticipatory anxiety CAUSES the worst to happen. Fear and anxiety push us in, hold us back, and inhibit is. The vicious circle grows as we pay attention to it, focus on it, and dwell on its parts. When we pay attention to it, when we dwell on it, when we focus on it, the vicious circle only becomes stronger, more powerful, and dominate in our lives."

"Negative emotions fuel the vicious circle. Anger, frustration, irritation, beating yourself up, and being critical of yourself and others, all strengthen this vicious circle. We must move away from [it]. The vicious circle can only be diminished by your calm side, your peaceful side, your 'positive emotions' side. We can and will grow this side."

*Saturday to Thursday*

I read over the handouts thirty minutes each day. I'm feeling good about myself and the therapy in general.

*Finally, I reminded myself all week that I am making more progress than I think. I am getting better. *


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## Annoyed

Hi Mike, very interesting, I also have the same program and I do think it helps to be more aware of yourself but (in my case) it doesn't do much for the emotional response. Also, it seems that we always have to do extra work to "fit in" which at least in my case it causes depression, because I can play the part just fine (acting) but I just don't feel right, like I'm not myself. We have to be aware and put a lot of energy in observing our behavior, while the rest don't even think about it. I just feel that other people have very simple minds and they care of more futile things than existence/philosophy...and that's the luck of the oblivious person.


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## mjhea0

Annoyed said:


> Hi Mike, very interesting, I also have the same program and I do think it helps to be more aware of yourself but (in my case) it doesn't do much for the emotional response. Also, it seems that we always have to do extra work to "fit in" which at least in my case it causes depression, because I can play the part just fine (acting) but I just don't feel right, like I'm not myself. We have to be aware and put a lot of energy in observing our behavior, while the rest don't even think about it. I just feel that other people have very simple minds and they care of more futile things than existence/philosophy...and that's the luck of the oblivious person.


I think there is a lot of truth to what you're saying. We--people with social anxiety--are different than most people. We think differently, we view the world differently. We are much more aware of things. That said, I don't think the point of CBT is to change our total outlook--we do need to change a few things. As we change those thoughts, we will begin to view things differently, and this should trickle down into deeper parts of our brain, which should alter our deep-seeded beliefs. Eventually, we will have a different emotional response. I don't think the point of CBT is to change us into different people, with "simple minds." We can still be who we are--but we will see reality a little more clear.


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## Becomingfree

I was thinking that this weekend when I was listening to a CD. I do look at things differently then most people with out social anxiety but with just a few things to change how I look at things has helped. I am starting to see a difference.


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## mjhea0

Becomingfree said:


> I was thinking that this weekend when I was listening to a CD. I do look at things differently then most people with out social anxiety but with just a few things to change how I look at things has helped. I am starting to see a difference.


That's great! It's amazing how a little mindfulness and understanding can change how you feel. Once you realize how powerful your thoughts are, and how easy they can lead you astray, it opens the door for change. I'm glad you're noticing a difference--I am as well!


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## mjhea0

FYI: I took about two weeks off while I was home with my family in Kansas City for the holidays ..


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## mjhea0

*Week 12*

Let me start by saying that I am feeling great. I had a wonderful weekend hanging out with my girlfriend's family. I used to feel extremely anxious around them, but I felt almost no anxiety over the weekend. My thoughts are changing. I'm taking things slower. I know that if I think certain thoughts, I will be led nowhere-into anxiety and depression. My feelings, too, are starting to change. I am amazed not only that I've stuck with this program, but that I am noticing tangible differences, as well.

*ACT AGAINST YOUR NEGATIVE FEELINGS*

"Anyone who is depressed does not _feel _like getting up and becoming more active. But it _IS _the solution. It works. Your feelings and your thoughts improve with activity. It works because overcoming anxiety and depression are both paradoxes. If you are nervous and scared, the _hardest thing _to do is to get out there, go to work, be active, and keep up with your responsibilities. But even though this is hard, what is the _solution _to anxiety? &#8230; getting out there, doing what we have to do, and facing our responsibilities."

"If you _continue _to act against your negative emotions you will continue to eat away at your social anxiety-and the more dents you can kick in the vicious cycle-the quicker your progress will occur."

"If you're tired or worn out-most of us say fatigued-much of the reason is social anxiety. The fatigue we feel is a fake fatigue. It is very stressful to go through life with social anxiety. Therefore, is it natural to feel fatigued even when we haven't exerted ourselves physically in any way. But if we learn to act reasonably against the fatigue, you will start to feel better and get your second wind. If you're feeling down and depressed, deliberately act against it by getting up, getting active, going out, contacting others, and/or being around other positive people."

"If you act against your negative feelings, you will win-and your negative feelings will be forced to fade and disappear. They have no choice. You always hold the key to what happens in your life."

*SHOULD WE BE LIVING IN A HOSTILE WORLD?*

"If we are afraid of looking foolish, 'fitting in', being judged and evaluated &#8230; If we are afraid of having a high amount of anxiety &#8230; If we don't think we can hide our anxious feelings and this makes us more anxious &#8230; If we are so self-conscious we wear ourselves out with worry &#8230; If out anticipatory anxiety is so strong that we dread future situations ... It's likely that we feel we're living in a 'hostile world' where we just don't fit in."

"One way to move away from the 'hostile world' view is to start paying attention to our positive emotions through our own thinking mind. One of the best ways to do this is through any kind of relaxation or imaging technique."

"Cognitively, we need to reinterpret the world as being a good, caring, positive place for us. If we always feel 'separate from' other people and the world around is, we will never get over out anxiety."

*THE GOOD, THE BETTER, AND THE BEAUTIFUL*

"Because many of us have been through such a painful and traumatic past, it is very healthy for us to dent the vicious cycle of social anxiety by learning to see the world in a better, more healthy and rational light&#8230; Any slowing down activity &#8230; is helpful for us to do everyday. We need to stay still and quiet and dwell on the good, the better, and the beautiful. We need to fill our mind with healthy thoughts, with positive thoughts."

"We have spent much of our live over on the dark, depressing side, even though we never chose to do so. We don't want to spend the rest of our lives in this social anxiety trap. So, I choose to see things differently. I consciously choose to focus on the nice things, the beautiful things, and the good things."

*TWO COMPETING NEURAL PATHWAYS IN YOUR BRAIN*

I'm not sure why this was covered, as it was already covered in Week 6-so I just skipped it. I will read over it a few times during the week, though.

*THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK*

· Continue reading the Handouts that aren't automatic in my head and the one's I find particularly difficult
· Read over the Handouts from this week, etc.


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## mjhea0

I'm glad you're finding the series helpful! Keep at it!


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## mjhea0

*Week 13*

"[Today's handouts] are different in nature than the cognitive handouts, in that the main purpose of today's handouts are to allow you to feel calm and peaceful." *All handouts are based on the "Peace Zone" &#8230;*

*STAY OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE: MOVE INTO THE "PEACE ZONE"*


"When you are not feeling anxious, practice going into the "peace zone" &#8230; let out a long, deep breath, and focus on this place for a moment or two. If you can visualize, visualize a peaceful place or places. Loosen up your muscles and relax."
"When you ARE feeling anxious, tell yourself _you have decided to go into your peace zone. _Use the same steps as above and visualize if you can. As you already know, if the anxiety is already there, moving into your peace zone will be more difficult and take a longer period of time than if it wasn't there. But _you can do it _and FEEL it if you keep practicing at it and don't give up."

*ACCEPTANCE IS AN ACTIVE EXPERIENCE (This is an emotional brain, "peace zone" handout)*

"With this new handout more of the emphasis is on the feeling you get when you read it over in Slow Talk."

"It is in acceptance that we make and continue to make progress&#8230; Acceptance brings you peace and power, while battling, struggling, and fighting only bring you anxiety, fear, and doubt."

*SEEING THE PRESENT (This is an emotional brain, "peace zone" handout)*

"The message of this handout is that we need to focus on our present activities and learn to be happy and content in the moment. We do not want ANTs thoughts from the past nor do we want to worry about the future. We want to feel happy, satisfied, and content now, in the present moment. Thus, we can choose to stay in the present moment and enjoy it, or we can choose to go back into the past and rehash old ANT-like thinking."

I especially like this: "I can CHOOSE to be myself, a new self, a better self, a self not tied down to any feeling or emotion from my past." I think it's okay to look at my past, as it's how I create meaning in the present. But it's not okay to get bogged down in past events and let my emotions from the past limit me in the present moment.
 

*DETERMINED SLOW TALK*

"We really, really, really slow down. We would never want to talk to another person in Determined Slow Talk."

Read one handout a week in Determined Slow Talk

Steps:


"First, we take slow talk and move it down even slower so that we can literally FEEL the determination, the strength, and the seriousness."
"Then we use the DETERMINATION FACTOR to synergize these positive, quiet, peaceful, confident feelings of strength and power."
"Third, we use the handout and/or statements you are working on and use "Determined Slow Talk" to sink them down to that emotional area of your brain where things become foundational, set in stone, automatic, and natural."

"It is important that the statements, strategies, and beliefs become FEELINGS and these FEELINGS are rooted in your determination, your peace, your inner resources."

"Anything I choose to read in Determined Slow Talk is going to be easily processed by my brain."

Final two peace zone handouts:

*AT THE CROSSROADS (This is an emotional brain, "peace zone" handout) 
*

*THE PARADOX OF THE RAIN*

*THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK*

· Find one "Peace Zone" handout, which appeals to you, and read it everyday in Determined Slow Talk
· Keep reading over cognitive handouts that need to be reinforced (repetition!!)

*FRIDAY TO WEDNESDAY
*

[FONT=&quot]I practiced thirty minutes each day.[/FONT]


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## jinxu

I'm glad to see you're making progress, mike. Keep up the good work.


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## mjhea0

jinxu said:


> I'm glad to see you're making progress, mike. Keep up the good work.


Thanks!


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## jinxu

mjhea0 said:


> Thanks!


Mike,

When you're done with the tapes, here's two good sites you should take a look at to continue your self-improvement program:

http://www.guide-to-self-help-techniques.com/index.html 
http://www.personal-development-coach.net/


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## mjhea0

Hey. I just wanted those who are following this to know that I have started a full time job, and I'm doing and internship and still going to school--so I'm really busy. I've decided to take a break from CBT for a while. I'll probably start back up again in a few months.


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## MMalloo

Thanks for your posts - I just started the series (on tape 3) and it's really helpful to read about your experience. It makes me feel a little bit like someone is going through this with me. I identify with your experiences so far 

Sounds like you're busy, but don't forget about the CBT completely ... you worked so hard to get to this point! GREAT JOB!!!


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## AlekParker

Hey Mike are you on the behavioral stuff yet? I was trying to put together a Skype or video chat group together where we could go over these videos maybe once a week or so.

It would also be great for support, exposure, and practice.

I'm on week 11

if anyone's interested in CBT GROUP THERAPY Online on skype or video chat then PM me


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## soulfree11

*Thanks so much!*

Thanks for posting out your progress. I did it 2 years ago and it has helped me a lot. But I would like to remind you all who is doing it at present is not to give up when tough gets going, its the persistence and practice needed the most even after you have completed the audio series. From my own experience, I can tell you that. I did upto 12 sessions and as I got better I did not practice on the handouts. So I lost track of it and felt anxious again. Now I am adamant to continue practising it no matter what may come and would encourage all friends out there the same. Good day !


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## spades07

Hello- don't know if OP around but this has been good reading, thanks


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## SparklingWater

Yes this program is my main source of CBT and it's amazing. A few others on the board are doing it as well. Love Dr. Richards


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