[SAgirl]

This is completely bothersome for me. I can be walking down the street and this can be pretty intense. With school coming up this is the main symptom that I am concerned about since due to this symptom I feel the need to avoid eye contact.

 

[letitrock]

This is completely bothersome for me. I can be walking down the street and this can be pretty intense. With school coming up this is the main symptom that I am concerned about since due to this symptom I feel the need to avoid eye contact.

Sorry I don't have an answer for that, but I have the same issue as you, and I'm so glad that you made this thread cuz I didn't even think of the possibility of there being a drug I could take to take care of this ****-Like that's such a big issue for me that I feel it's a possibility that I could one day be able to manage aspects of my SA, but that staring thing, that walking down the hall thing, where I don't want to look at the person....that is one of the things that I feel will be almost im-****ing -possible to get rid of

 

[GSH]

Wear a bra

 

[Jennifer7]

Wear a bra

lol

 

[SolaceChaser]

xanax.

 

[gillettecavalcad3]

Everyone is different, ....it is finding the right cocktail that is the time consuming part. For me Clonazepam and Effexor XR has changed my life dramatically.

My social phobia practically non existent now.

Half the battle is finding the right psychiatrist. Also, .....I think if you go in with prior knowledge to meds and show that you have done your homework, ....it makes things a hell of a lot easier.

 

[arth67]

it will help to wear sunglasses and look back at everyone and you will see that actually no one is staring or even looking

its hard to know where SA stops and paranoia starts of course......

 

[pete69]

thinking people are staring at you is the main sa worry/symptom, you could spend many many months doing cbt and trying to gain confidence in yourself,where you get to the point and say f*** them. but in my experience cbt takes a hell of a lot of practice and normally people tire of repeating the same tasks daily untill they move on to the next one.

as was mentioned find yourself a good shrink who is very familiar with SA and he will try various meds on you. ive had sa since i was 14 now 38-finally ive found a combo that really does make me feel normal and im over confident sometimes-which can piss my g/f off !!
im on nardil and klonopin,together they work wonders-singly the klonopin will do a great job,
but adding the nardil has given me sooo much more confidence.

best of luck

 

[jim_morrison]

pete I'm glad you found a combo that works for you after 24 or so years, can I ask though, does all of a sudden feeling relatively normal, make you ponder; 'damn If I had been put on this succesful combo at age 18 or so, could I have done lots of things in my life differently?'

 

[pete69]

absolutely jim,
when i was at school i failed miserably in exams,did meaningless government schemes when i left,always the shy kid in the corner. at 17 i discovered the effects of alcohol on my sa and used vodka as a crutch to do stuff-not great having a hangover just to get to the shops.
saw a gp and got valium what a great experince-take a pill feel no anxiety-no more alcohol as a prop. finally got on to ssris etc and now nardil.

yes it does sound like ive had a **** life!! but it wasnt all bad i used to go out regular at weekends with a guy i worked with-few beers first i was fine-always seemed to have a g/f
all of em i met while drunk but eventually you feel ok around them in the long term.

im now with a girl i have been with for 12 years-have a nice house and im self employed landscaper-maybe life will begin at 40-there is hope guys dont give up-i was very lazy in getting therapy and practising-i could of been a lot better in my early teens if i did.

thats me story!!

 

[jim_morrison]

Thats good to hear pete, sounds like you've got a good life overall. I think it would be great to be self employed.

 

[britisharrow]

Sorry I'm afraid that there is no medication that will change that, the only way it can be changed is through changing how you think and feel about yourself.

 

[gillettecavalcad3]

Britisharrow, .......I'm going to have to severely disagree with you on this one due to the fact I personally obliterated this problem through medication.

 

[pete69]

britisharrow, .......i'm going to have to severely disagree with you on this one due to the fact i personally obliterated this problem through medication.

ahmen

 

[britisharrow]

Britisharrow, .......I'm going to have to severely disagree with you on this one due to the fact I personally obliterated this problem through medication.

Okay, I understand you've solved the problem. Can you elaborate as to what the problem was exactly? As I understood it is an extreme discomfort from people looking at you, which is the case but may also be at some times paranoia.

You solved this problem using medication alone? Which medication? I'm interested.

 

[gillettecavalcad3]

Are you interested because you don't like the idea of people using medication for mental issues, .....because if you are, then you are talking to the wrong guy.


I don't mean to sound cheeky by the way.

 

[Thomas Paine]

I hear poorly made moonshine makes you blind. That seems like it would get rid of the issue. <-- very, very bad joke. I will go offline for a while now to avoid my beating.

 

[britisharrow]

Are you interested because you don't like the idea of people using medication for mental issues, .....because if you are, then you are talking to the wrong guy.

I don't mean to sound cheeky by the way.

I have nothing against using medication for mental illnesses, in fact in some cases only medication can address chemical imbalances in the brain that give rise to mental illness. I advocate safer and more insightful use of medication, and most importantly I believe medication should be used as a supplement to a change in lifestyle and not viewed as a magic cure.

If your basing that on what I said regarding benzos, what I think about benzos is not what I think about general use of medication in psychiatry. I have used, and continue to use prescription medication and I am on my seventh anti-depressant.

I am interested in the relationship between the people staring at you and the medication, how that induced the change. Did it stop you thinking that people were looking at you? Did you still notice but just didn't care?

How did the medication help?

 

[gillettecavalcad3]

I'm sorry but it is a long long story, .....and I don't wish to discuss it with a benzophobe.

 

[colliver19]

Cipralex/Lexapro is effective for social anxiety. I am taking 10mg daily and its not brilliant but I feel better.