What to Expect From MAGT for Social Anxiety Disorder: Session Eight
Updated August 31, 2014.
This is session eight in a 13-week series examining mindfulness and acceptance-based group therapy (MAGT) for social anxiety disorder. If you haven't been following along, you may wish to catch up on previous weeks:
Session One
Session Two
Session Three
Session Four
Session Five
Session Six
Session Seven
Remember that these weekly sessions are not a substitute for treatment with a mental health professional, particularly if you suffer from severe social anxiety.
And if you are taking part in MAGT with a therapist, know that the following provides an example of what you're likely to cover during each session, but the structure can vary considerably depending on the specifics of your disorder and the style of your therapist.
In this week's mindfulness exercise, you will be asked to accept your social anxiety. The purpose of this exercise is to invite your anxiety into your awareness, by approaching it in an accepting way. Rather than fighting against your social anxiety, the goal is to lean into your feelings. Start off this exercise by sittin comfortably in your chair, with your eyes closed. Notice how your body makes contact with the chair. Remember, during this exercise you are not trying to fix your social anxiety, but rather accept it.
Sit with your eyes closed, and notice your fears. Perhaps you are afraid of being judged by others or making a bad impression. Think about your values and goals; why are you here? What do you want from your life?
Be aware of a difficult social situation and your feelings of discomfort. Let yourself feel okay with those feelings, instead of fighting them. When you fight feelings of fear, they become worse. Your mind dreams up distortions such as "things are getting worse" or "how I am feeling is dangerous."
Instead, thank your mind for coming up with labels for how you are feelings, and them let yourself return to the present moment. Allow all of those thoughts and feelings to float away, and focus on your breath. Start to notice the sounds and sights in your surroundings, and become accepting of yourself in the moment.
At this point, take some time to review how you did with last week's homework assignment. The following is what you were assigned last week:
During this week's willingness exercise, you will be practicing conversations. If you are participating in an MAGT group, your group leader will divide you into pairs, and have you talk to each other for about five minutes. Before starting your conversations, you will be asked to think about the types of avoidance strategies that you might normally employ in a conversational setting. For example, perhaps you fail to maintain eye contact or let the other person do all the talking.
Prior to beginning your conversations, you would also be asked to think about your values and goals related to conversations. Perhaps you have a goal of learning more about someone or being empathetic toward the other person. Whatever your values and goals are, let these guide you as you begin having a conversation.
Remember to take the "willingness stance" during your conversations as well; this means being open to the experience as described in the pervious week's session. After finishing your conversation, you will also be also be asked to discuss how things went -- and then switch to a new conversation partner.
All of this might sound a little overwhelming for those with social anxiety disorder. Remember, this group is here to help you rather than hurt you. If at any point you don't feel up to the challenge, simply acknowledge that you may need more time to become comfortable in the situation.
If you are not participating in MAGT sessions, then you will need to make do the best you can on your own. Choose a friend or acquaintance to have a conversation with, and practice taking a willing stance as you talk. Don't worry too much if it end quickly -- you will get lots of practice during your homework for the week.
Homework Assignment:
Are you interested in weekly information and tips about social anxiety disorder? You can sign up for my free SAD newsletter here.
Source:
Fleming, JE, Kocovski NL. (2009). Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Group Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Treatment Manual. Accessed online February 25, 2014.
This is session eight in a 13-week series examining mindfulness and acceptance-based group therapy (MAGT) for social anxiety disorder. If you haven't been following along, you may wish to catch up on previous weeks:
Session One
Session Two
Session Three
Session Four
Session Five
Session Six
Session Seven
Remember that these weekly sessions are not a substitute for treatment with a mental health professional, particularly if you suffer from severe social anxiety.
And if you are taking part in MAGT with a therapist, know that the following provides an example of what you're likely to cover during each session, but the structure can vary considerably depending on the specifics of your disorder and the style of your therapist.
Mindfulness Exercise
In this week's mindfulness exercise, you will be asked to accept your social anxiety. The purpose of this exercise is to invite your anxiety into your awareness, by approaching it in an accepting way. Rather than fighting against your social anxiety, the goal is to lean into your feelings. Start off this exercise by sittin comfortably in your chair, with your eyes closed. Notice how your body makes contact with the chair. Remember, during this exercise you are not trying to fix your social anxiety, but rather accept it.
Sit with your eyes closed, and notice your fears. Perhaps you are afraid of being judged by others or making a bad impression. Think about your values and goals; why are you here? What do you want from your life?
Be aware of a difficult social situation and your feelings of discomfort. Let yourself feel okay with those feelings, instead of fighting them. When you fight feelings of fear, they become worse. Your mind dreams up distortions such as "things are getting worse" or "how I am feeling is dangerous."
Instead, thank your mind for coming up with labels for how you are feelings, and them let yourself return to the present moment. Allow all of those thoughts and feelings to float away, and focus on your breath. Start to notice the sounds and sights in your surroundings, and become accepting of yourself in the moment.
Homework Review
At this point, take some time to review how you did with last week's homework assignment. The following is what you were assigned last week:
- Practice the mountain meditation daily.
- Each day, practice willingness exercises with non-conversational activities. Examples might include making eye contact or signing a cheque in front of a bank teller. Your goal was to complete the exercises and record your progress in your notebook, writing down any important observations about the outcomes of the exercises.
ACT Theme: Conversational Willingness Exercises
During this week's willingness exercise, you will be practicing conversations. If you are participating in an MAGT group, your group leader will divide you into pairs, and have you talk to each other for about five minutes. Before starting your conversations, you will be asked to think about the types of avoidance strategies that you might normally employ in a conversational setting. For example, perhaps you fail to maintain eye contact or let the other person do all the talking.
Prior to beginning your conversations, you would also be asked to think about your values and goals related to conversations. Perhaps you have a goal of learning more about someone or being empathetic toward the other person. Whatever your values and goals are, let these guide you as you begin having a conversation.
Remember to take the "willingness stance" during your conversations as well; this means being open to the experience as described in the pervious week's session. After finishing your conversation, you will also be also be asked to discuss how things went -- and then switch to a new conversation partner.
All of this might sound a little overwhelming for those with social anxiety disorder. Remember, this group is here to help you rather than hurt you. If at any point you don't feel up to the challenge, simply acknowledge that you may need more time to become comfortable in the situation.
If you are not participating in MAGT sessions, then you will need to make do the best you can on your own. Choose a friend or acquaintance to have a conversation with, and practice taking a willing stance as you talk. Don't worry too much if it end quickly -- you will get lots of practice during your homework for the week.
Homework Assignment:
- Practice the meditations from previous sessions, choosing one each day over the course of the week.
- Plan one conversational willingness exercise to do each day for the entire week. In your notebook, write down each conversation that you plan to have and how long you will try to keep talking. After you complete the conversations, be sure to record how things went in your notebook.
Are you interested in weekly information and tips about social anxiety disorder? You can sign up for my free SAD newsletter here.
Source:
Fleming, JE, Kocovski NL. (2009). Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Group Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Treatment Manual. Accessed online February 25, 2014.