# exposure therapy



## seedoubleyou (Aug 6, 2011)

Just wondering how many of you have done exposure therapy and what your experiences were like.

I recently joined Toastmasters as a form of exposure therapy. It's basically a public speaking group that is focused on building confidence, as well as communication and social skills. I've only been to a few meetings and it seems to be helping. I was scared to death to even set foot in the first meeting, but did it anyway and with no medication. I was called on to speak (which I did) and was VERY nervous. I did ok though and walked out of there with the biggest dang smile on my face in the history of man kind. I spoke to a few of the seasoned members that ran the meetings and they said they used to suffer extreme anxiety when speaking to regular people, let alone in front of a group. This gave me great hope. I have to speak and present allot in my work field. SA makes this a nightmare to deal with.

BTW, I found out about Toastmasters in the book "A Life Less Anxious" which I highly recommend. I'd buy you all a copy if I had the means to do so.


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## tomcoldaba (Jul 1, 2007)

Like you, I was shy and scared of talking to people. I joined toastmasters in 2007. For one six month period, I belonged to 4 toastmaster clubs that met twice a month. Attending 8 meetings a month was very exhausting. But I noticed great improvement in the way I interacted with people. After six months, I dropped my participation in Toastmasters to 2 clubs and now I comfortable in speaking up at meetings, doing well on phone or in person interviews. Like you said, I feel high after I give a speech but not as high I felt when I first joined toastmasters. 

Many toastmasters stay here because it helps them with their careers. Hang in there and you will be better at it than you were before you joined Toastmasters.


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## robtyl (Sep 2, 2010)

Exposure works. The only problem it takes time, patience and courage.

It's about making your brain react differently to situations - with exposure, you're rewiring your brain to reset its threshold for danger or whatever.

The problem is you have to make an effort. And it can be scary and embarrassing, etc. - I've forced myself to do social things like volunteering, part-time work, clubs, etc. and it works. It's slow and hard and you suffer setbacks, but you see yourself getting better over time.

Medication is good for short-term coping, but anyone truly wanting to help themselves will realise long-term, it's about exposure.

And exercise helps _a lot_. Tough at the start if you're unfit, but persist and over time you'll come to love it! I did and I enjoyed exercise after a couple of months! And then I got lazy and stopped  But I want to start again! 

There's no simple fix, but exposure will still get you where you want to be. Just give it time, expect setbacks every now and again and be prepared to make an effort rather than washing your problems down your throat with a gulp of juice.

x


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

You need to be careful with exposure therapy since throwing yourself in at the deep end could end up making things worse.

I took a job as a barman a few years ago in an effort to combat SA. Unfortunately it was too much too quickly and did little to help. 

If you're going to use exposure I'd suggest doing so gradually, at your own pace and combine it with CBT. Also don't be afraid to look into other forms of therapy or self help.


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