Dr. David Burns

You have to bring those things to life for me because I'm a dummy. The first thing is when you used imaginal exposure and you said by the third one, the percentages were lower that you could bring yourself to. Was that all imaginal or you did imaginal exposure and then did the drive home?

Oh, yeah. Wow.

Oh, yeah. Wow.

How intense was the anxiety when you were driving over the overpass?

How intense was the anxiety when you were driving over the overpass?

I had a couple other questions. You said you used breathing in some way and getting into the current moment in some way. I'm not familiar with what you were referring to there. I'm sure our listeners would love to hear how you use those ideas or techniques.

I had a couple other questions. You said you used breathing in some way and getting into the current moment in some way. I'm not familiar with what you were referring to there. I'm sure our listeners would love to hear how you use those ideas or techniques.

I see. Okay, thank you. Yeah. One message, just to give a simple message to our listeners, is that there's a kind of hopelessness that's a part of depression, but there's another kind of hopelessness that's a part of anxiety. And hopelessness is the greatest trickster In the universe, really.

I see. Okay, thank you. Yeah. One message, just to give a simple message to our listeners, is that there's a kind of hopelessness that's a part of depression, but there's another kind of hopelessness that's a part of anxiety. And hopelessness is the greatest trickster In the universe, really.

And that if you have a phobia or social anxiety or, you know, some intense fear, you're probably telling yourself that it would just be impossible for me ever to overcome this. And and what you're you're saying is that if we approach the problem with a nice palette of techniques, we're not just going to try to do one thing and shoot for perfection.

And that if you have a phobia or social anxiety or, you know, some intense fear, you're probably telling yourself that it would just be impossible for me ever to overcome this. And and what you're you're saying is that if we approach the problem with a nice palette of techniques, we're not just going to try to do one thing and shoot for perfection.

But we're going to do a daily mood log and positive reframing and empathy and so on. you know, paradoxical double standard technique and, and, uh, you know, work on many different levels, identify all the distortions and these, and these thoughts, and then we're going to have to, uh, you know, flooding, uh,

But we're going to do a daily mood log and positive reframing and empathy and so on. you know, paradoxical double standard technique and, and, uh, you know, work on many different levels, identify all the distortions and these, and these thoughts, and then we're going to have to, uh, you know, flooding, uh,

and gradual exposure, that we have a lot of tools and that it is possible to change the way you feel, even if the way you feel is intense anxiety or intense anxiety in certain situations. It's the message of hope through practical practice. methods that you can learn and use and implement with the help of a therapist, a friend, or even sometimes on your own. That's all.

and gradual exposure, that we have a lot of tools and that it is possible to change the way you feel, even if the way you feel is intense anxiety or intense anxiety in certain situations. It's the message of hope through practical practice. methods that you can learn and use and implement with the help of a therapist, a friend, or even sometimes on your own. That's all.

But I just want to push that message out there because we get sometimes caught up on how effective we're being as therapists and how fun it is to see someone improve and forget about that experience. intense terror that the person who's struggling is feeling and maybe has been feeling for years and avoiding things.

But I just want to push that message out there because we get sometimes caught up on how effective we're being as therapists and how fun it is to see someone improve and forget about that experience. intense terror that the person who's struggling is feeling and maybe has been feeling for years and avoiding things.

And by safety behaviors, what you're really just referring to is different subtle forms of avoidance so we don't have to confront our fear because it's so unpleasant to do so.

And by safety behaviors, what you're really just referring to is different subtle forms of avoidance so we don't have to confront our fear because it's so unpleasant to do so.

Mm-hmm.