Live to Learn LLC (“we”, “us”, “our” or the “Company”) is committed to protecting your privacy. We strive to develop innovative services to better serve our users. We recognize that privacy is an important issue, so we design and operate our services with the protection of your privacy in mind. This Privacy Policy outlines the types of personal information we gather when you use Company’s services, as well as some of the steps we take to safeguard it.
This Privacy Policy applies to www.learntolive.com and any other websites operated by the Company (collectively, the “Site”) and the Company’s treatment of your personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”) and other data that the Company gathers when you are accessing the Site or using the Service (as defined in the Company’s Terms of Use). By using and visiting this Site, you signify your agreement to be bound by and to abide by: (1) this Privacy Policy; and (2) the Terms of Use found at www.learntolive.com (“Terms of Use”). If you do not agree to the Terms of Use or this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Site.
By providing the information requested by the Site, or by continuing to use the Site after having an opportunity to review the Privacy Policy, you have consented to the terms of the Privacy Policy, and the Company’s use of the information it collects as described at the point of collection or in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the Privacy Policy, you may not use the Site.
We collect limited non-personally identifying information that your browser makes available whenever you visit a website. This log information includes your Internet Protocol address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your query, session navigation and activity data, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser. We use this information to operate, develop and improve our services.
Some of our services may require you to register for an account. We ask you for some personal information in order to create an account (typically your name, e-mail address and a password for your account) and we will use that information to provide the service. For certain services, such as our online tutorial program, we may request credit card or other payment information which we maintain only as long as needed in encrypted form on secure servers in accordance with applicable law.
When we require personally identifying information, we will inform you about the types of information we collect and how we use it. We hope this will help you make an informed decision about sharing your personal information with us.
Upon your first visit to our Site, a cookie is sent to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. A “cookie” is a small file containing a string of characters that is sent to your computer when you visit a website. We use cookies to improve the quality of our service and to better understand how people interact with us. The Company does this by storing user preferences in cookies and by tracking user trends and patterns of how people search. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some of our Site features or services may not function properly without cookies.
We may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click on the applicable link below:
Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site. Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet.
Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the
Google Analytics employs cookies to define user sessions, which allows for the collection of important data about how you are using the Site. Google Analytics uses only first-party cookies for data analysis. This means that the cookies are linked to our website domain(s), and Google Analytics will only use that cookie data for statistical analysis related to your browsing behavior on the Site. According to Google, the data collected cannot be altered or retrieved by services from other domains. If you choose, you can opt out by turning off cookies in the preferences settings in your browser. For more information on Google Analytics, please visit Google’s web site.
We may at any time include additional third-party advertising companies without notification.
Except as set forth below, we do not rent or sell your personally identifying information to other companies or individuals, unless we have your consent. We may share your personally identifiable information in any of the following limited circumstances:
We take appropriate security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of data.
We restrict access to your personally identifying information to employees who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve our services.
However, no website can be considered totally safe from intrusion. Therefore, any information you post to or provide via the Site is entirely at your own risk, and you agree to hold the Company harmless from and against any loss, liability, damage, or harm that may arise as a result of your posting or providing any information to or via the Site.
The sites displayed as search results or linked to by the Company’s services are developed by people over whom we exercise no control. These other sites may place their own cookies on your computer, collect data or solicit personal information.
We may present links in a format that enables us to understand whether they have been followed. We use this information to understand and improve the quality of the Company’s search technology. For instance, this data helps us determine how often users are satisfied with the first result of a query and how often they proceed to later results.
Please note this Privacy Policy will change from time to time. We expect most such changes to be minor, but there may be changes that are more significant. Regardless, we will post those changes on this page and, if the changes are significant, we will also provide a more prominent notice. Your use of the Site following any such modification constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the Privacy Policy as modified. For this reason, we encourage you to review the Privacy Policy whenever you use the Site. The last date the Privacy Policy was revised is set forth below.
Under no circumstances shall the Company be liable for any damages, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential or exemplary damages, that result from the use of the information or materials posted to or collected as a result of the user’s accessing the Site or any service available on or through the Site, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) regulates the means by which website operators collect and use personal information from children under 13, pursuant to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (the “Act”). If we learn we have collected personal information from a child under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as soon as practicable. We recommend that children ages 13 to 18 seek parental permission before disclosing any personal information via the internet. For more information about the Act and children’s on-line privacy in general, visit the FTC’s website at http://www.ftc.gov.
If for some reason you believe that the Company has not adhered to the Privacy Policy, please notify us using the contact information below. We will do our best to respond to your concerns and, when appropriate, take steps to correct a problem. In any event, if any dispute arises under this Privacy Policy or through your use of the Site, you agree to be bound by the venue and choice of law provisions of the Terms of Use.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the practices described herein, you may contact us at:
Learn to Live LLC
P.O. Box 19672
Minneapolis, MN 55419
e-mail: support@learntolive.com
DATE OF LAST MODIFICATION
December 31, 2014
Learn to Live LLC (“we”, “us”, “our” or the “Company”) operates the site located at www.learntolive.com (the “Site”) providing, among other services, self-help information and skill development based on the fundamentals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to educate people with social anxiety and related issues (the “Service”). The Site should be regarded as a general approach to self-development and not as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
By accessing and using the Site, or any portion of the Site, you agree to be bound by each of the Terms of Use and all applicable laws and regulations governing the Site. If you do not agree with any of the Terms of Use, you are not authorized to access or use the Site for any purpose. Additional terms and conditions applicable to specific areas of the Site or to particular transactions are also posted in particular areas of the Site and, together with these general terms and conditions, govern your use of those areas. If you do not agree with any of these additional terms and conditions, you are not authorized to access or use those areas of the Site.
The Company grants you permission to use the Site for your personal, non-commercial purposes. Your use of the Site is further limited as follows:
You represent and warrant that you are at least 13 years of age or older. If you are age 13 or older but under the age of 18, you should review these Terms of Use with your parent or guardian. If you are age 13 or older, your parent or guardian must understand and agree with these Terms of Use and consent to your use of this Site in accordance with these Terms of Use.
We reserve the right to modify these Terms of Use at any time. Your use of the Site following any such modification constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the Terms of Use as modified. The last date these Terms of Use were revised is noted at the end of these Terms of Use.
The contents of the Site, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the Site (“Content”) are for informational and skill development purposes only. The Content should be regarded as a general approach to self-development and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The Site is not designed to treat clinical levels of anxiety or other mental health disorders. The diagnosis and treatment of clinical anxiety requires a medical practitioner or qualified mental health practitioner. People seeking a diagnosis or treatment of anxiety or other mental health disorders should consult a medical practitioner or mental health professional. This Site and its services do not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other professional health care advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Always seek the advice of a medical practitioner or qualified mental health practitioner with any questions regarding personal health or medical conditions. Never disregard, avoid or delay in obtaining medical advice from your medical practitioner or qualified mental health practitioner because of something you have read on this Site.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. The Company does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, providers (including, but not limited to, hospitals and physicians), products, procedures, or other information that may be mentioned on the Site. Any opinions expressed on the Site are the opinions of the individual author, not of the Company. Reliance on any information provided by the Company, its employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of the Company, or other visitors to the Site is solely at your own risk.
Communications between you and the Company are protected by our Privacy Policy, but are not protected by the doctor-patient privilege. We cannot provide medical advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction.
We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use our Content for your own personal, non-commercial use. Except as otherwise provided, you acknowledge and agree that you have no right to modify, edit, copy, reproduce, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, alter, enhance or in any way exploit any of the Content in any manner, except for modifications in filling out the forms for your authorized use. You shall not remove any copyright notice from any form.
The Service, the Site, and the Content are protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark and other laws, and belong to the Company or its partners, affiliates, contributors or licensors. This protection includes the use of the trademark name “Learn to Live” and the Learn to Live logo. The use or misuse of the Content, except as provided in these Terms of Use or in any additional terms and conditions applicable to specific areas of the Site, is strictly prohibited. You may use the Site, the Service and the Content solely for your personal, non-commercial use as follows: You may print copies of the information on the Site for your personal, non-commercial use, store the files on your computer for personal, noncommercial use, or reference this server from your own documents. You may not otherwise copy, distribute or display any Content without express written consent from the Company. Subject to the limited license granted herein, we reserve all right, title and interest in all Content. If any portion of the Terms of Use is violated, the limited license for your usage of this Site is revoked, and all Content in your possession must be deleted or destroyed.
With the exception of the personal, noncommercial use described above, no Content may be reverse-engineered, decompiled, disassembled, reproduced, retransmitted in any form or by any means (electrical, mechanical, photo reproduction, recordation or otherwise), stored in a retrieval system, translated into a computer language or other language, transcribed, resold, or redistributed without prior express written consent by Company.
You agree to assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the site, the service and the content. The company makes no express or implied warranties, representations or endorsements whatsoever with respect to the site, the service or the content. The company expressly disclaims all warranties, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement with regard to the site, the service, and the content. The company does not warrant that the functions performed by the site or the service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free, free of viruses or other malicious code, or that defects in the site or the service will be corrected. The company does not warrant the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the content, or that any errors in the content will be corrected. The site, the service and the content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
The foregoing does not affect any warranties which cannot be exclueded or limited under applicable law.
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, GOVERNORS OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, THE SERVICE, OR THE CONTENT, EVEN IF THE COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE SITE, THE SERVICE, THE CONTENT, OR THE TERMS OF USE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE, BY YOUR USE OF THE SITE, THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE COMPANY IS NOT LIABLE TO ANY USER OR PERSON FOR ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN IN RELIANCE UPON INFORMATION OR CONTENT DISPLAYED OR PROVIDED IN THIS SITE.
BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH STATES, THE COMPANY’S LIABILITY IS LIMITED AND WARRANTIES ARE EXCLUDED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BUT SHALL, IN NO EVENT, EXCEED $1,000.00.
ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE, THIS SITE, THE SERVICE OR CONTENT MUST BE BROUGHT WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE EVENT FROM WHICH THE CLAIM AROSE.
You understand and agree that you are personally responsible for your behavior on the Site and for your use of the Content. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Company, its subsidiaries, affiliated companies, joint venturers, business partners, providers, licensors, employees, agents, and any third-party information providers from and against all claims, losses, expenses, damages and costs (including, but not limited to, direct, incidental, consequential, exemplary and indirect damages), and reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from or arising out of your use of or inability to use the Site, the Service, or the Content, any violation by you of these Terms of Use, or any activity related to your user account (including negligent or wrongful conduct) by you or any other person accessing the Site, Service or Content through your user account.
The information in the Site may contain typographical errors or other errors or inaccuracies and may not be complete or current. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update information at any time without prior notice. We do not, however, guarantee that any errors, inaccuracies or omissions will be corrected.
In connection with your access to or use of certain areas of this Site, purchase of products offered through this Site, or the Service, you may be responsible for providing a valid credit card number, expiration date, and card security code from the back of the card at the time you purchase a product or service. You represent and warrant that you are an authorized user of such credit card, and you agree to pay all charges resulting from your purchase of the products or services on this Site at the charges then in effect, including any unauthorized charges incurred prior to your notifying us of such charges. You agree that the Company may provide your credit card information and related personal information to its designated service provider(s) for its use in charging you for appropriate products or services. All charges include sales tax where applicable and any other applicable taxes related to the purchase of the products or services. We reserve the right to modify prices, fees, or institute new charges at any time with at least 30 days’ notice. You understand that products or Services may not be provided if the credit card information you provide is inaccurate or invalid.
These Terms of Use, together with any purchase terms we require related to a Service or product that you may purchase from us, are the entire agreement between you and us relating to the subject matter herein. If you are a purchaser of one of our Services or products, in the event of any conflict between these Terms of Use and the purchase terms for such Services or products, the terms of the applicable purchase terms will control.
As a convenience to Site users, we may provide hypertext links to third party sites. Such links do not constitute or imply an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by the Company of the third party, the third-party site, or the information contained therein. You acknowledge and agree that the Company is not responsible for the availability of any such site, and that the Company does not endorse or warrant, and is not responsible or liable for, any such site, its content, its privacy policy or practices, or the acts or omissions of its operators.
We may display ads from third parties on this Site. Such ads do not constitute or imply an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by the Company of the third party, the third-party ad, or the information contained therein. You acknowledge and agree that the Company is not responsible for the availability of any product, service, site, or anything displayed in the ad, and that the Company does not endorse or warrant, and is not responsible or liable for, any such ad, its content, or the privacy policy, practices, and acts or omissions of the third party associated with the ad.
Like most Internet sites, this Site is accessible worldwide. However, not all products or Services are available to all persons or in all geographic locations. The Company reserves the right to limit the provision of its products and Services to any person, geographic area, or jurisdiction. Any Services identified on the Site is only available where the Company, or any other entity offering the products or Services on the Site, is licensed or authorized to do business. Please consult the Company directly for information regarding the products and Services that may be available to you in your area. This Site is not intended for use outside the United States of America. You agree to comply with all applicable laws and local rules or restrictions relating to this Site.
The Company may monitor, record, collect and use for any lawful purpose information generated through your use of the Site. The Company’s collection and use of such information is described in our Privacy Policy. Your obligations under these Terms of Use are in no way conditioned on the Company’s compliance with the terms of the Privacy Policy.
If you supply any comments, information or material via the Site, you guarantee to us that you have the legal right to supply such material and that it will not violate any law or the rights of any person or entity. You further agree that all information or material you supply to us through the Site, including business information, ideas, concepts, or inventions, shall be deemed and shall remain our property, and you hereby assign to the Company all right, title, and interest in and to any such information or material, without any restriction or obligation to you.
Users of this Site may choose to set up an account to access certain functionality of the Site. Users will be asked to supply personally identifiable information when opening an account. Failure to comply with these Terms of Use could result in the termination of the user’s account.
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide the following information in writing to the Company’s Copyright Agent:
Learn to Live LLC
P.O. Box 19672
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Upon the Company’s receipt of a proper notice of claimed infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), we shall respond expeditiously to follow the procedures specified in the DMCA to resolve the claim between the notifying party and the alleged infringer who provided the content in issue, including, where applicable, removing, or disabling access to content claimed to be infringing or by removing or disabling access to links to such content.
In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) the Company does not knowingly allow access to the Site, Service or Content to persons under age 13. If you are under age 13, you are not authorized to post any personal information about yourself to the Site or provide any personal information about yourself to Company. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that the Company might have any information from a child under age 13, please contact us at the address set forth above in the “Copyright Agent” section.
We appreciate your feedback or other suggestions about the Site, the Service and the Content, but you understand that we may use your feedback or other suggestions without any obligation to compensate you for them.
The Site is controlled and operated within the United States. If you are a user of the Site outside the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. The Company makes no representation that content, materials or products available on or through the Site are appropriate or available for use outside of the United States. If you access the Site from a location outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with applicable laws, including U.S. export laws and regulations.
You shall comply with all applicable laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of the Site, the Service and the Content and your offer to purchase products and/or Services. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to the terms of these Terms of Use shall be filed only in a state or federal court located in Hennepin County, Minnesota. You hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action.
If any provision of these Terms of Use shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
These Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy, represent the entire understanding of the parties regarding the use of the Site, the Service and the Content and supersede any previous documents, correspondence, conversations, or other oral or written understanding related to these Terms of Use.
These Terms and Conditions shall not be modified except as otherwise set forth herein. You may not transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms of Use to any third party without the prior written consent of the Company.
All of our rights and obligations under these Terms of Use are freely assignable by the Company in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, or by operation of law or otherwise. These Terms of Use do not confer any third party beneficiary rights. No waiver of any term, provision or condition of these Terms of Use, whether by conduct or otherwise, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be, or shall constitute, a waiver of any other term, provision or condition hereof, whether or not similar, nor shall any waiver constitute a continuing waiver of any such term, provision or condition hereof. No waiver shall be binding unless executed in writing by the party making the waiver. You agree that you will take such further action, that may be necessary or appropriate to effectuate the purposes of these Terms of Use.
If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, the Site, the Service, or the Content, you may contact us by:
Learn to Live LLC
P.O. Box 19672
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Date of last modification
December 31, 2014
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Adobe Flash (v. 10 or later); Adobe Reader (required to view PDF files); desktop computer, laptop computer, or iPad 4 (or later)*
*The Social Anxiety Program is not currently available for mobile devices such as phones and tablets.
Turning your audio on and having occasional access to a printer are recommended to maximize your experience.
“The constant creeping of ANTs will wear away the stone.”
This old saying of unknown origin speaks to the incredible impact of even the smallest insects, over time, on the hardest surface. The constant grinding of small feet wears away even the most solid rock. Sadly, this is also true of our ANTs, those Automatic Negative Thoughts that constantly wear away at even the most confident self and contribute to challenges such as depression, social anxiety, and stress, anxiety and worry.
ANTs are not our personal automatic thoughts, but really types of thinking patterns that may be hidden in our private automatic thoughts. Over the years they’ve been called cognitive errors, thinking errors, cognitive distortions, or “stinkin’ thinkin’, though the latter term has been applied in various ways to various experiences (and why not?) Still, at the risk of confusing a few temporarily, I’m going to use the term ANTs because it sticks in our minds.
We discussed several types of ANTs last month in our blog post on mental health and the holidays. Here are more ANTs that you may recognize in your own life:
Fortune Telling – You possess a crystal ball, but unfortunately it only predicts negative things for you.
– If I go to a party, everyone will ignore me, just like what seemed to happen last time.
Labeling – Instead of calling a failure or unusual behavior a one-time incident, you generalize, and attach a sweeping, permanent label, whether this is about yourself or someone else. When you label, you don’t just observe your shortcoming, you draw general, negative conclusions from them.
– I couldn’t think of anything to say to a couple of people at the party. I’m such a social failure. I’m so awkward. (In truth, you probably do just fine in many other situations)
See also: How Heidi Overcame Her Social Anxiety with Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Focus Only On the Bad – This is exactly what it sounds like. If four out of five people compliment the cake you made, you’ll focus on the fifth, turning a non-comment into a criticism. When you anticipate others opening gifts you’ve given them, for example, you might selectively recall only the image of the one dissatisfied gift opener and predict the same negative response with each gift you give in the future.
Feelings Make Fact – Feelings are complicated. Sometimes they are related to experiences or memories that you have from the past. Feelings are not necessarily truth – they are feelings.
– I am so uncomfortable at this family gathering, and I feel unattractive in this outfit. They must all think I am fat and ugly and unlovable. (Feeling unlovable does NOT mean you are.)
Not Helpful Thoughts – These are thoughts that may or may not be true, but dwelling on them does not serve a positive purpose.
– I’m not as physically fit as I used to be. I’ve gained weight, and I’m getting wrinkles. It’s hard getting older.
These statements may be true, but choosing to dwell on them won’t help you feel good and be in a state of mind where you can easily observe the pleasant things around you.
See also: The Relationship Between Depression and Social Anxiety
I hope these examples help you to better understand the thinking patterns (cognitive distortions, stinkin thinkin, cognitive errors) we refer to as ANTs. It’s a new year – what better time to work on new thought patterns? Get ready to squash those ANTs before they wear you down! Check back soon for a lesson on Data Collection – you’ll learn how to be a super sleuth of your own social situations which may help you address mental health challenges, including social anxiety, depression, or stress, anxiety and worry.
Tags: Anxiety, anxiety treatment, automatic negative thoughts, CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, dealing with social anxiety, Depression, dr. russ morfitt, help for social anxiety, social anxiety, social anxiety disorder, stinkin thinkin, stress, worryCategorised in: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, General Anxiety, Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Social Anxiety, Social Anxiety and Depression, Social Anxiety Tips and Advice, Social Anxiety Treatment
This post was written by Dr. Russ Morfitt