Social Anxiety Support

mylifemyradio · 12-18-2008, 10:14 PM

Hi everyone, this is my experience with SA

I used to be a pretty normal kid, never experiencing SA or anything. Well, actually I had a little low self-esteem and was a little shy.

However, last year I start smoking weed. That's when it triggered my social anxiety. When I was high, my mind would start thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts. 'Oh my god, I feel like an idiot' 'These guys don't like me, they think I'm dumb bla bla bla'. Eventually I stopped talking entirely and from then, even when I was sober, I had to deal with social anxiety. Almost a year and half later, I'm still dealing with it. I can't say it's been a lot better but I can't say it hasn't gotten worse. I've made small improvements.

On some days, I would feel hyper for no reason. Like this morning, I would be energetic for no reason. This would motivate me to try and not be shy with people. However, the downside is that on other days, I would feel down and depressed for no reason.

So I'm sick of this anxiety and I've been talking to people online. Someone recommended Effexor XR to me and I have a few questions concerning it. For one, is it too dependable? I don't want to be taking Effexor and becoming better and then when I stop taking the medication, I don't want the social anxiety coming back to me. Basically, I don't want a SSRI to be in my life forever. If I use it for a period of time (maybe 6 months to a year) will it help me have a better state of mind, not be as shy, and finally overcome my SA? Or would I have to keep taking it to feel better?

And second, will my SA ever go away? On somedays, I can kinda force myself to be happy and outgoing. But it's kinda random and I hate that. I want to be spontaneous, happy, and nice all the time!

Eleison · 12-19-2008, 06:00 AM

Efexor didn't work for me, as I need a sedating medication, so was put on mirtazapine, which suits me much better.
To be honest, long term psychotherapy, support in the workplace, and complementary medicine makes more impact on my social anxiety than any conventional medication.
I was on propranolol as needed for a while, and it did help, but the side effects outweigh the benefits for me.

12-18-2008, 10:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
mylifemyradio Status: SAS Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1	Medication for Social Anxiety? Hi everyone, this is my experience with SA I used to be a pretty normal kid, never experiencing SA or anything. Well, actually I had a little low self-esteem and was a little shy. However, last year I start smoking weed. That's when it triggered my social anxiety. When I was high, my mind would start thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts. 'Oh my god, I feel like an idiot' 'These guys don't like me, they think I'm dumb bla bla bla'. Eventually I stopped talking entirely and from then, even when I was sober, I had to deal with social anxiety. Almost a year and half later, I'm still dealing with it. I can't say it's been a lot better but I can't say it hasn't gotten worse. I've made small improvements. On some days, I would feel hyper for no reason. Like this morning, I would be energetic for no reason. This would motivate me to try and not be shy with people. However, the downside is that on other days, I would feel down and depressed for no reason. So I'm sick of this anxiety and I've been talking to people online. Someone recommended Effexor XR to me and I have a few questions concerning it. For one, is it too dependable? I don't want to be taking Effexor and becoming better and then when I stop taking the medication, I don't want the social anxiety coming back to me. Basically, I don't want a SSRI to be in my life forever. If I use it for a period of time (maybe 6 months to a year) will it help me have a better state of mind, not be as shy, and finally overcome my SA? Or would I have to keep taking it to feel better? And second, will my SA ever go away? On somedays, I can kinda force myself to be happy and outgoing. But it's kinda random and I hate that. I want to be spontaneous, happy, and nice all the time!

12-19-2008, 06:00 AM	#2 (permalink)
Eleison Status: SAS Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 92	Efexor didn't work for me, as I need a sedating medication, so was put on mirtazapine, which suits me much better. To be honest, long term psychotherapy, support in the workplace, and complementary medicine makes more impact on my social anxiety than any conventional medication. I was on propranolol as needed for a while, and it did help, but the side effects outweigh the benefits for me.