Had my first Social Anxiety group therapy

[Entangled]

So yes as the title says I am participating in a 6 week social anxiety group therapy session at my school. We will be meeting once and week and had our first meeting this last Wed. I was too scared to say anything though :/ I wanted to say things and contribute, but I couldn't. (Which is the main reason I joined this group was to try and fix that XD ). It's not that big of group (4 people) but it is just so scary for me to talk in front of a group of people that I don't really know. ::

Has anyone else here done group therapy? What was it like for you and what did you think of it?

 

[dancingintherain]

urrghh I had a first session of group therapy today. Although I did answer questions, I just didn't know where to look. I felt really stiff and awkward.
Afterwards I felt like a turd of jelly lol
I'm not going again...

 

[outsideroftheoutsiders]

Group therapy REALLY helped me. I think one of the big things was to see anyone can have it/i'm not alone.

 

[rosen]

You guys are lucky. Wish I could find a therapy group soon.

 

[Waybuloo]

Group therapy could propel you forward in knowing that there are fellow sufferers who provide eachother support and recognition, or it can backfire, like in my case whereby I was so anxious and even more so due to them knowing about my problems. At least I can hide it with real people. I just wasn't ready to talk about it in a rigid setting with strangers.

 

[razzle dazzle rose]

I have not tried group therapy but would like to. It would be a bit like exposure therapy too in that I'd have to talk and "participate." It does sound stressful though.

 

[WeirdyMcGee]

My therapist is trying to convince all of the agoraphobics to try group therapy together-- along with the regular stuff.
...I don't think she's convinced anyone yet.
haha

 

[EscapeArtist]

That sounds awesome! Sounds really beneficial, what a great opportunity, good for you for signing yourself up for it

 

[psych]

I found two groups in my area... What I haven't found yet, is the courage to call the numbers provided.
With my luck, there'll be this big buildup, & I'll finally call... Only to find out the groups I found listed online no longer exist.

 

[MNM322]

I should check into this in my area.

 

[OceanMist]

I did this b4 and thought it was bad for me. I just thought the whole thing was more about minor cases of anxiety.

These people seemed so normal to me and the leader of the group said that I was the "quiet one." Yes, in an SA group, I was the quiet one. Wtf?

I was like, okay, even in a group of people having anxiety, I'm the weird one? It just became depressing and I stopped. I wasn't getting anything out of it anyway. I just didn't like the way it was set up.

Maybe it helped some people but it didn't help me.

 

[kristina303]

Wow I wish they had that at my school. When I go back to the doctor next month I'm gonna ask about group therapy.

 

[HappySquidward]

I had group therapy twice. Once at a hospital and later at a metal help center. At both I was obliged to speak during group. If I didn't at the hospital I would have to stay longer. If I didn't at the menal help center I wouldn't get meds. Surprisingly the former was really helpful, but I couldn't say the same about later.

 

[hoddesdon]

urrghh I had a first session of group therapy today. Although I did answer questions, I just didn't know where to look. I felt really stiff and awkward.
Afterwards I felt like a turd of jelly lol
I'm not going again...

That is the core of the problem. As Pink Putter said on this website, what needs to be done is exactly what you do not want to do. The solution is to do it anyway.