# Question about cognitive distortions..



## sprinter (Nov 22, 2003)

So in cognitive therapy we learn about all these cognitive distortions, irrational thinking etc. It seems to really help to address these I'm not arguing that but there's something I'm curious about that I haven't run across the answer to yet or if I did I've forgotten the answer, sorry. Here goes...

Don't people without SAD or any other phobia engage in this kind of thinking as well? I mean look at the current society... It seems like people without SA are always comparing themselves to others to make sure they wear the right clothes, have sex with the right number of people by the right age, have the right amount of friends, celebrate the holidays the right way, listen to the right music, spend their weekends the right way etc. etc. seems they are constantly comparing themselves to others. "sheeple" seems to really fit. We with SAD are told we should not compare ourselves to others for one thing yet people without SAD do this all the time and yet they don't end up with SAD. :stu


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## OKdOut (Feb 22, 2008)

I think there is a difference between the two. 
Most people compare themselves to others with the goal of trying to be better than another person. In fact, for most normal people, it is a selective comparison. They usually compare their best features against other people's worst features (easy self esteem boost). I think people with SAD, depression, etc do the reverse. They ignore their good traits and compare their worse features against the best features of someone else (automatic lost, and bad for self esteem).

Most people dress to impress, people with SAD dress to not be ridiculed.


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## Captain Woodchuck (Sep 24, 2005)

My thoughts:

Irrational thinking -in and of itself- doesn't cause social anxiety.

It's when irrational thinking leads to perceiving situations threatening (causing one to experience anxiety) that correcting one's thinking is indicated. 

I'm for whatever works to eliminate the perception of threat that causes one to experience anxiety in social situations. However, I personally didn't find cognitive therapy particularly helpful. It just seemed to get in the way of feelings I wanted to have -bogging me down.

Perhaps I was a hard case. I could usually find a way around a therapist's best attempts to change my thinking. And even when I couldn't -even when I was forced to acknowledge errors in my thinking- it didn't seem to make a dent in my social anxiety. 

I found directly contacting the feeling-states I wanted (inner power, calmness, and self-confidence in social situations) and engaging in activities and learning skills that built them worked better for me. 

Again, I'm not putting down CBT. My philosophy is "What ever works, (for you) that's what works" (for you). And, "Whatever it takes, that's what it takes".


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