# My self help therapy and what I achieved



## patrick70 (Jul 31, 2015)

Hi everyone,

I started another thread on this earlier, but probably should have posted it in this subforum. So this will be in part a double post, for which I apologize. 

I struggled with social anxiety for the better part of my life. With hindsight, I think it was caused mainly by the way I was raised. Though I think they meant well, I was often told that what I did/achieved was 'not good enough'.

I had a hard time especially in my teens and early twenties, much like most of you, judging from the threads on this forum. I was always a loner, the odd one out. Or at least that is how I felt. I avoided parties, and if I did attend, I would keep to myself or stay close to people I knew really well 

Never managed to get a date. Or truthfully, never had the guts to actually ask girls out on a date.... The first time I actually asked someone out was when i was 22. I was so drunk at the time, I had no control over my self. Neither did the SA, fortunately. 

In my 20's I also started reading up on cognitive behavioral therapy, (self-)hypnosis and NLP. Especially on CBT a large amount of studies have done proving it's effectiveness. I never received formal therapy, but rather applied it myself. And added (self-) hypnosis with a touch of NLP, later meditation also. 

I only later found out that there is also such a thing as CBH, which basically is cognitive behavioral therapy with hypnosis. Studies have shown that it can be even more effective than CBT indeed. Mindfulness is now also widely supported by many psychologists and it has been studied extensively. 

Fast Forward to today: I run a reasonably succesful business as an independent consultant. Though I still think I am an extrovert, I do more than OK in dealing with strangers. I married a wonderful woman, with whom I now raise three lovely children. 

So I think it is fair to say I managed to really beat the SA monster! 

How did I do it? I applied CBT, self-hypnosis, NLP and mindfulness myself. Even took hypnosis classes. 

I am currently making a writeup of everything I did in the process. What worked for me and what didn't, and why. 

If anyone is interested to read my materials, please let me know!

Although I am considering turning this into a book eventually, this is not - i repeat NOT - an attempt to pitch a commercial offering. I am purely interested to hear about the experiences others have had, and use feedback on my materials to make it better. 

DISCLAIMER: I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist or in any other way certified or capable of providing care in any shape or form. So anyone interested in reading my stuff is more than welcome to use it, but please do not consider it to be an alternative to formal therapy in any way. 

Love to hear from you.


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## bintuae (Feb 25, 2012)

I'd like to know how you did it? How were you able to combine all these types of therapies? and congratulations for beating this monster. Everyone's desperate here so please share what worked for you.


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## prohibition (Aug 20, 2015)

For the past month or so I was combining concetration practice along with some nice meditation program. I don't let the bad vibes get near me, and god damn does it work. 
But I'm not really sure whether it's the best way I can beat this **** up, so I'd love to hear how you did this, with what effort and how much time it took. Some navigation and instruction about NLP (I've come across it already, but didn't know it could be used to treat SA) and hipnosis would be just great.
Good news is, you did this, and if you did, everyone on this forum can.


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## patrick70 (Jul 31, 2015)

@prohibition,

Sure! I have been off line for a while, which is why this reply took a while.

PM me!

Best, Patrick


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## Chasingclouds (Jan 7, 2015)

Patrick thats awesome that you've had the motivation to pick up this self therapy and actually stick with it. Not a lot of people I know with SA could do that.  I would definitely like to hear back on your findings from that journal!


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## man143 (May 24, 2013)

Thats good to hear. I have 70-80 percent imprvmnt with cbt and i would like to know how you achieved 100%


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## Mr. Wavey (Jan 1, 2015)

Great stuff man. It's encouraging to see you were able to grab the bull by the horns and overcome the obstacles posed by SA. Would love to hear the steps you took to remedy the situation. I hope you will accept my PM inquiries


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