Post: #1

I did a quick search and didn't really see this topic come up too much. For those of you that have been studying game and living game for a long time, would you say that it could help with something such as a fear of heights or claustrophobia or things of that nature?

Post: #2

Yes.

Taking action + analysis - hesitation = results everywhere

Post: #3

The underlying psychological principles are the same. Understanding yourself, objective analysis of that which you fear, taking action, and repeating the same for further refinement/growth.

Post: #4

Yes. Game is self improvement in disguise. It goes way beyond lines/tactics/tricks.

Post: #5

I once heard that women were a metaphor for life because of their unpredictable nature and how a man can shape them through his presence and actions. After getting in to running game on these bitches and seeing how they respond to said actions, I see that as an accurate parallel and metaphor. So yea, I think it's one of the best ways to deal with fears and phobias.

Post: #6

It will definitely not hurt.

Game is self empowerment - you can empower yourself to face your fears and overcome them.

Post: #7

One of the biggest phobias people have is approaching women. Game gives you confidence to do it, but more than that, it encourages men to approach even if they aren't feeling perfectly confident. And stay in practice - always be approaching.

It's the same behavioral psychological concept of desensitization. You never allow a fear to build back up to anything more than the thrill of the hunt.

Post: #8

In my experience its better to approach this problem the other way around.

Personal development and taming anxiety will lead to better game. Learning game first is putting the cart before the horse.

Post: #9

I don't really have any specific phobias but I will say that doing cold approaches really made me realize how a lot of the fears and anxiety that stop us from performing certain actions are mostly self-generated and aren't actually connected to dangers in the real world. For a lot of guys the fear of talking to a girl they don't know in public isn't based on any sort of actual danger since the worst you'll typically experience is the girl being rude to you and walking away; but yet the fear of approaching is overwhelming to the point that most guys won't even try. Once you get over this self-imposed fear it starts to make you think about how in other parts of your life where you are preventing yourself from taking a certain action because of personal mental obstacles rather then external ones. I can see how this can be carried over to curing phobias.

Post: #10

Game will enrich your personality, sharpen your social skills, but that's it. Let's say you've made huge progress. OK but if you're afraid of heights you will be scared shitless when you will look down from 10th floor. If you're afraid of spiders then you won't be able to outgame that fucker and feel you're superior. That kind of fears are deeply rooted in psyche. Becoming good at something irrelevant to that will not make you less afraid of certain phobias.

Game is just another challenge that forces you to face certain fears relevant to your social side. It can teach you that it's possible to overcome certain fears, anxieties, incompetence, etc. But any other challenge can teach you that as well. Like martial art course or starting your startup company, etc.

Another thing... competence results from competence. You're confident driving a car cause you've done it before a lot. But just because you're good driver doesn't mean that you will be good plane pilot. That's completely different set of skills so you won't be too confident to fly. You can be brave of course but that fear inside will be big.

What I'm getting at is that one set of specific skills applies to specific situations and doesn't have to be useful in different situations. However it can teach you that another challenge in front of you unrelated to the previous one can be handled in similar way like the previous one. So that can give you some optimism. So we can say that principles learned in the meantime of one thing can help you with another thing.

Get it?

Post: #11

I always viewed the whole idea of "inner game" as killing your irrational fears and anxieties.

And if you're a socially anxious person, approaching girls is a good way to get over it.