Posted by Journeyman on January 3, 2004, at 22:37:39
In reply to lexapro + social anxiety - any luck?, posted by reluctant on January 3, 2004, at 21:25:54
Reluctant:
A few thoughts in response to your posting:
You're articulate, funny, and obviously insightful;
Life is always going to be trial and error;
At the risk of not affirming your feelings...What could possibly be so bad about being seen for who you are? (See above)
Congratulations on getting some regular therapy. It will probably be a big help;
Your social anxiety probably has a lot to do with the lack of self-acceptance you imply. I struggle with that one a lot too. So with no further hesitation, there follows here, a tale of glad tidings that happened to me at my therapy session this week---
We were discussing how I felt about where I was in the process of accepting my dad's death (just over a year ago). I started off with something like, "Well, I may be deluding myself, but..." and then I went on for a sentence or two. She stopped me and said, "Okay, now try telling me again, but this time, leave off the 'I may be deluding myself' bit." I started over, and it was amazing what a difference it made in my narrative when I got rid of that simple, insidious little self-deprecating phrase. My whole energy field changed. I felt light, I felt energy, I felt like I could burn a whole in the wall with my gaze. My words, which prior to this had been coming out rather haltingly, started flowing - it just unlocked the good that is in me, but that often gets blocked by my self-doubt and/or lack of acceptance. If you've ever seen the film Cocoon, where there's a swimming pool in which these pods are being stored (if you haven't seen the film, ignore the next line or two - if you have...I felt like one of those beings...pure light) A very nice change to the 'little dark cloud in the sky today' that sometimes chases after me.
That's the abbreviated version, but if you're up for it, humor me and tell me about three things you do really well. The only catch is that you can't put in any qualifiers, caveats, conditions, etc. If it feels kind of good to write about it, I'd also like to hear about that too.
Richard
PS Good look with your journey
poster:Journeyman
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031231/msgs/296181.html