Imzy
  • Discover communities
  • Log In
  • Sign up
  • Home
  • Discover communities
  • Log In
  • Sign up
  • About
  • Learn More
  • Contact
  • Community Policy
  • FAQ
  • Sitemap
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
Copyright © 2017 Saurus, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mental Illness

Mental Illness

Anything to do with mental illnesses/disorders

2427 members
Posted bymisbegottenin/mental_illness-Aug 31, 2016 at 5:51 PMΔ

The Strange, Surprisingly Effective Cure for Social Anxiety

  • Article

The Strange, Surprisingly Effective Cure for Social Anxiety

In the age of the digital hermit, a psychologist explains what it means to avoid other people-and what to do about it. For us to continue writing great stories, we need to display ads. Please select the extension that is blocking ads.

theatlantic.com

For some reason this article from Oct 2015 is today's most popular article on The Atlantic. Worth a read, though.

Comments3
  • pleased_to_meet_youAug 31, 2016 at 11:19 PM

    For people who don't want to read all the way through to the very end:

    Hofmann: What needs to happen is that people should face their anxiety. What we do is called cognitive behavioral therapy, a non-medication option which is more effective in the long term than medication treatment. You try to identify what kinds of thoughts people have in these situations, what sort of drives the anxiety.

    Then you gradually challenge these maladaptive thinking patterns by asking people to engage in what we would call exposure practices, where they expose themselves to these situations repeatedly and for a long period of time so that they can realize that nothing bad is happing.

    It is very effective. We have a response rate of at least 75 percent. Alternative treatments to CBT are medication—primarily with SSRIs.

    So, basically, just be social anyways. They would script specific scenarios that people have to do--talk to a girl, spill your coffee and ask for a new one at the coffee shop, ask for a book on sex at a bookstore, etc.

    • AspenLovesYouSep 01, 2016 at 10:16 AM

      I find this weird because I used to have severe social anxiety in my teens and early to mid 20's. I got it from actually BEING in those worst case scenarios again and again and again - bullied and rejected continuously in school and other areas of life.

      The way I got out of social anxiety was from people being kind to me, strangers being kind, instead of horrible. I did put myself out there, but I didn't get treated badly. If I had gotten treated badly (and I had before, trust me) it only made things intensely worse, and would bring on depression.

      • pleased_to_meet_youSep 01, 2016 at 3:55 PM

        :( Sorry that happened to you. Glad it sounds like it's gotten better though! I think with this, it was a little bit more controlled and scripted. And I think part of scripting it probably made it easier—if you are rejected, it's not as much because of you, because you were just doing what you were told to, and they also probably just set you up for as much success as possible. And most people in general are nice and polite, so they were probably also just betting on that a little bit.

Mental Illness

Mental Illness

Anything to do with mental illnesses/disorders

2427 members
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright © 2017 Saurus, Inc. All rights reserved.