2 ways I’ll be training myself out of social isolation

Living with anxiety and depression is hard work. Especially if you live alone, like I do now. But, things have to be done, and things have to change.

The best long-term treatment for anxiety disorders right now isn’t drugs, it’s Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Mouthful, right? All it means is working out what thoughts produce what behaviour, and then looking at how to change some thought-patterns to get different results.

One of the exercises I like doing - its worked for me in the past - is something the shrinks call “safe exposure”. It’s a way to train the body out of the panic response by repeating a scenario that you know is safe but still worries you. So, to help conquer my fear of the outside I am going to

1. Take a bus journey once a week, just to do it (free - thank you Scottish Executive!)
2. Go to a pub once a week and have a drink (lime & soda, approx 15 pence)
3. Go outside at least 4 times a week just to stand and be

I’ll report back how I do next weekend, and I might just take my camera with me on the bus and snap some shots of the area.