leads to a decrease in your fear.
The belief that exposure won’t work is probably just an example of a 
negative thought that isn’t necessarily true. Examine the validity of your 
beliefs regarding exposure. For example, can you think of reasons why 
exposure may not have worked in the past? After you ﬁnish reading this 
chapter, you may have some new ideas about how to ensure that expo -
sure will be more likely to work now.
Obstacle:   My feared situations are difﬁcult to create. For example, I can’t think of 
any places to practice public speaking.
Solutions:   Chapter 8 contains a large number of possible situations in which to prac -
tice exposure. Reading chapter 8 should help you to generate ideas.
Talk to family members and friends. They may be able to help you to 
come up with some ideas for practices.