I think it's a wise decision to focus on controlling your thoughts once you have mastered that component I'm sure the exposure will become more manageable.
It sounds like you are on the right path. You know yourself best, so take your time, and utilize the program in whatever way works best for you. I think that it is a good idea to stop the exposure therapy, especially if you are finding that it is making matters worse instead of better. Like you said, begin by challenging your everyday negative thoughts, and once you have mastered that and feel confident, then begin exposure therapy once again.
So I stopped exactly following the program almost 2 weeks ago now. I stopped doing exposure therapy because I was re-traumatizing myself. I stopped recording how each day went. I think I need more time than most people in order to retrain my thinking patterns, because I've had the same phobia for at least 14 years. My brain is so used to panic switching on at the merest hint of my phobic object that there is as yet no time for me to insert any breathing, muscle-relaxing, or thought-challenging between the stimulus and the panic. I hope to widen that gap by first working on challenging my anxious thoughts when I'm not actually panicking - that I am better at doing, and there are plenty of them to work on too!
Has anyone faced the same "roadblock" in their journey? What do you (especially the health educators) think about totally stopping the exposure therapy until I have better control of my thoughts? This is what made sense to me, and my psychologist also said he thinks it's a good idea because my thoughts are still so hard to control at this point. But I'd love to hear your thoughts too! Thanks everyone! :)
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