prescription/herbal treatment for social anxiety?
By adminIn the past few years anxiety has taken over my life. I’ve always had a touch of anxiety but could always overpower it before. That is not the case anymore. The anxiety makes it very hard to socialize. I really want to socialize and used to really enjoy it. I feel like I do not have any friends anymore because of my anxiety and it makes me depressed. This seems to create a snowball effect.
The depression and anxiety is up and down. I have the highs and the lows, but lately I’ve been having more lows than highs. It is becoming unbearable. I’ve tried Zoloft before but it made it worse. I’m scared to try another prescription medication.
My question is, if you have had experience (good or bad) with a certain prescription medication and/or herbal treatment, could you give me some advice? I’m open to almost anything.
I should add that I do the typical things for depression such as working out, taking vitamin D3, getting enough sleep, fish oil, etc. The only thing that seems to be lacking from this approach is the social aspect, which is something I cannot avoid at this point.
Ginny Jin, I agree. I would rather stay away from prescription meds because of the risks and side effects, but I’m desperate at this point. I’m ready to have my life back.
Effie Hogarth, your website link didn’t work
Thanks for the great answers. I wish I could choose all 3, as they were all very helpful. I am going to choose ginny jin’s answer because I think I will use her advice the most.
Update: My boyfriend did some research and bought me kava kava and rhodiola rosea. I have some black cohosh and will try that if these others don’t seem to work. If all else fails I will try another antidepressant.
I take Spirulina (google it). This is a Superfood they give people in hospices to give energy. It was recommended to me by a health professional. For mood try St John’s Wort. Black Cohosh is good too.
For me – Prescription medication = liver damage
3 Comments
July 12th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I take Spirulina (google it). This is a Superfood they give people in hospices to give energy. It was recommended to me by a health professional. For mood try St John’s Wort. Black Cohosh is good too.
For me – Prescription medication = liver damage
References :
July 12th, 2010 at 11:40 am
medication is really not the best way to treat social anxiety in my opinion. I’ve used different prescriptions that are supposed to take the edge off the anxiety but they don’t work. Social anxiety is a long time fear that has been built up inside of you, for many it’s been building since childhood and it needs to be addressed and corrected in other ways for you to truly feel comfortable in social situations. For me, I was made fun of when I was younger and it has caused me to always worry that people are laughing at me and for a long time it made me extremely scared of people. Everyone has a different reason. A lot of therapists and psychiatrists don’t seem to have many treatments for this, but I know one affective way that’s helping me is cognitive therapy. You can also work on your self esteem, what to say in a conversation, introducing yourself, what to do in high anxiety situations. This can also be paired with medication if necessary. But I truly don’t think medication is enough for social anxiety. This is just from someone who has worked very hard on it, and been very successful so far.
References :
July 12th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
I’ve had very simmilar troubles. For me, Zoloft was helpful, but can add a little "edginess" that might make some people feel worse. Or possibly you’d not been on the right dose or not on it long enough–the effect is somewhat cumulative over several weeks.
Regardless, I have to say I’ve had better results with the class that includes effexor and cymbalta. These act on both serotonin and norepinephrine systems. The norepinephrine activity seems to be particularly halpful with anxiety. Zoloft and most others only act on the serotonin system. Of the two mentioned, cymbalta seems to have far fewer side effects (especially nausea).
Another possibility (generally to try in addition, not instead of an anti-depressant) is Buspar. Some don’t feel an effect from it, but I think it’s very helpful.
You seem highly self-aware and well-informed. I’m a big believer in fish oil, too, but it can take weeks and weeks to take effect.
References :