# Self-CBT vs Therapy-CBT



## Mil (Aug 22, 2011)

Has anyone overcome their social anxiety just on their own? I have mild social anxiety, I'm very aware that it really is just in the mind, I can do normal tasks, I can hold down a job, I can go outside, etc, however I frequently go into really bad moods where I feel like I'm powerless to have a social life. I also can't do social situations very well at all as I get very self conscous and I can tell when I have a negative spiral of thoughts.

I basically can't express my feelings when I want to though :/ Which is partly why I'd rather not go to a therapist, as well as the fact I can already think clearly, it's just I keep assuming I'm wrong, because I want to think like 'other people' so I can get on with them, even though they think a lot like me tbh.


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## MrWibblyWobbly (Mar 2, 2012)

Your social anxiety does sound pretty mild. I think self-help could definitely help you. The trouble with CBT is that you need to be *consistent* and do the thought-logs daily and regularly until it's second habit. This can be hard to keep up on your own, and a therapist can help keep tabs on you. But, otherwise, I think you'd definitely benefit from just doing the exercises on your own. _Feeling Good_ by David Burns is probably the best (and cheapest) way to start. It's aimed for depression, but the techniques are applicable to anyone with unhelpful thinking habits.


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## Mil (Aug 22, 2011)

Hi MrWibblyWobbly (Nice name btw )

Thank you for the reply. I have started doing CBT on my own, I've been using the book "Overcoming Social Anxiety: A Self Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy" and I'm finding it's working very well despite me putting barely any effort into it so far. I'm going to start putting in more effort as I'm feeling much better. Would it be useful to get that book as well, or should I just stick with the one I've read already?


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## MrWibblyWobbly (Mar 2, 2012)

Hey Mil. Sorry for the delay. I took a look at the _Overcoming Social Anxiety_ book, and it looks like a good one. I think you should be fine with just using that one. Most CBT books basically say similar things, so you don't really need the other book if the other one is working for you.

And thanks!  I got the name from "Are You Being Served?" lol.


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

I haven't looked at the book you are using, but I wanted to comment on the other book, Feeling Good. That one really helped me a lot. I saw it in the store and glanced at the contents. One of the chapters jumped out at me. It was on Approval Addiction. I read it and walked out of the store with a permanent adjustment in my attitude about needing approval. It just happened to be something that worked with me. I bought the book later, and read the rest of it, but that one chapter remains to be the only part that really affected me. It was worth it tho. If you have a problem with that or maybe there is something else that would grab your attention, you could look at it. 

Another good book I think is great for milder anxiety is Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman. It's old but he's the one who discovered learned helplessness in that experiment with the dogs. The book is really cool and easy to read and teaches you how to think in a whole different way. It's not just about nitpicking one incident apart, altho that's part of it. So if you could relate the optimism to your own life, it would probably help.


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