Not getting better after exposure

[WhatsThePurpose]

I was selected as a IT HelpDesk Operator (answering queries on phone). I was happy, I thought that maybe I am good otherwise why would they consider me appropriate for the job. I thought it would be a good start to face fear, since this job does not have much face-to-face interaction.

A few weeks later, after the training session, we had started taking calls. During that time I feel very nervous. It has happen so many times that I am not able to think properly because of the nervousness, even though I know the answer. If the supervisor corrects me, or if I am not able to solve a query, etc. I start feeling sick. I just feel like quitting the job.

Do you feel you are getting better after consistently exposing yourself to social situations?

[ColdFury]

I certainly haven't. There's things I've been doing for years that still consistently give me a lot of anxiety.

[odd_one_out]

I didn't feel exposure alone made me any better. My anxiety remained very high until I combined with with CBT. Exposure alone does have some benefits... you can lose momentum if you start to avoid situations, making it extremely difficult and painful to get back into anything again. Sometimes you might get lucky in the right circumstances or job (and anything you do adds to your experience), but simply exposing yourself to a situation without application of any cognitive techniques or something else effective tends not to help much with anxiety disorders.

[nesteroff]

Exposure only helps me when I do it on a daily basis. I have to maintain any desensitization I've achieved, otherwise I'm back to square one and have to completely start over. If I don't put myself out there for even a week, little things like going to the mail box start to become difficult again.