Should I be on anti-anxiety medication?

[LitmusDragon]

If I can't talk to women I'm attracted to, if I feel a kind of low-grade terror everywhere I go in public, if I find myself wanting to go places but deciding not to because of anxiety, should I be on a medication?

Anyone have a similar experience and did the medication help?

I've been kicking back and forth on this one for a couple of weeks. On the one hand, it's undeniable that I have a crippling social phobia and that medication might help. On the other hand, I'm afraid of starting a new chemical habit, having just given up alcohol and cigarettes in the past couple of years.

I am happy, mostly. I have interests. I have hobbies. I record music, I make satirical photoshops, I write, I play videogames. I've just written any kind of face-to-face social interaction completely out of my life.

There's also a little bit of fear that if I bring all of this to my doctor he might just say "no".

 

[galleywest]

If I can't talk to women I'm attracted to, if I feel a kind of low-grade terror everywhere I go in public, if I find myself wanting to go places but deciding not to because of anxiety, should I be on a medication?

Anyone have a similar experience and did the medication help?

I've been kicking back and forth on this one for a couple of weeks. On the one hand, it's undeniable that I have a crippling social phobia and that medication might help. On the other hand, I'm afraid of starting a new chemical habit, having just given up alcohol and cigarettes in the past couple of years.

I am happy, mostly. I have interests. I have hobbies. I record music, I make satirical photoshops, I write, I play videogames. I've just written any kind of face-to-face social interaction completely out of my life.

There's also a little bit of fear that if I bring all of this to my doctor he might just say "no".

I would say that anti-anxiety medication might help you, but definitely counseling. I am on a low dose of celexa, which helps give me a better perspective on my daily life. Rather than freak out or obsess needlessly I am able to step back, take a deep breath, and move on when I need to. I also go to therapy to talk about why I have anxiety and to develop behavioral changes to deal with it. I have social anxiety like you, so I do know what you are going through to some extent. Talking about it helps more than any drug, believe me.

Good luck!

ETA: you can also present this to your doctor as, "I would like to try anti-anxiety medication AND therapy to deal with my anxiety" so he/she knows you are approaching it from a cognitive-bahavioral standpoint. Also tell him you want to make a follow-up appointment in a couple of weeks to monitor how/if the drug is working. Your goal may be to be on medication for 1-2 years and then come off of them again, using what you've learned in counseling to deal with further anxiety issues. This shows him that you are not looking for a quick fix but a long-term solution.

 

[Geckothan]

Forget medication, find a psychologist/therapist. If you go to a doctor/psychiatrist they'll either give you an SSRI, a benzo, or possibly an MAOI (though I've never been offered anything other than SSRIs myself).

With SSRIs, wave goodbye to your sex drive and emotions, you'll either end up as a zombie or a hyperactive, manic wreck, or possibly even both, whether at the same time or alternating between them. Oh, and SSRIs are hell to quit, if you've been taking them for more than a few months and try to quit them without tapering, you'll probably end up killing yourself or at least feel like doing it. I personally quit them without tapering, and I've never felt myself since, though I hear tapering can be just as difficult. Constantly having ridiculous levels of serotonin floating around changes the sensitivity of the receptors, so when it drops back to reasonable levels, they're basically being starved of it. Think MDMA hangovers when all your serotonin has been depleted and you were too stupid to use 5-HTP.

As far as benzos go, I don't have much personal experience with them other than a handful of recreational doses, but they don't seem to be as bad with side-effects, other than a bit of drowsiness (though I hear they can cause depression with long-term use). Oh, and they're ridiculously addictive. Most people who take them end up having a hard time quitting, and even people who get them on an "as needed" basis end up taking them daily because they think they'll need them when they don't. Withdrawal symptoms are similar to those of alcohol, and include seizures, and potentially death.

MAOIs I don't know that much about at all, other than basically how they work, but I think in terms of side-effects they're supposed to be similar to SSRIs because the end result is that they give you massive, potentially dangerous levels of serotonin (as well as a bunch of other neurotransmitters). Anything that causes massive release of any of the neurotransmitters deactivated by MAO will cause a potentially fatal interaction, including some common foods.

Some people have success on all of those groups of drugs, other people have terrible experiences. In my opinion, they should all be used as last resorts and they aren't worth the risks.

 

[RandyS]

I don't know about your medical history, but since I once has a horrible experience with anti-depressants, I'd say try counseling first.

 

[Kestra]

Go see your doctor, and see what he thinks about referring you to a therapist of some sort. Medication is often more effective when used alongside some other treatment.

With SSRIs, wave goodbye to your sex drive and emotions, you'll either end up as a zombie or a hyperactive, manic wreck, or possibly even both, whether at the same time or alternating between them.

I have not had this experience with any of the numerous SSRIs I have tried.

 

[Mr. B]

...sounds like you just need to face your fears and get out more.

 

[ByrdMan]

...sounds like you just need to face your fears and get out more.

THAT's helpful.

 

[Mallory]

With SSRIs, wave goodbye to your sex drive and emotions, you'll either end up as a zombie or a hyperactive, manic wreck, or possibly even both, whether at the same time or alternating between them.

I have not had this experience with any of the numerous SSRIs I have tried.

Neither has anyone I've known who's been taking them.

 

[John Picard]

...sounds like you just need to face your fears and get out more.

That, and a few shots of Tequila.

 

[Kommander]

...sounds like you just need to face your fears and get out more.

THAT's helpful.

It's kind of funny how everyone else's problems seem so simple to solve compared to one's own.

 

[LitmusDragon]

Thanks everyone. I think counseling is kind of what I'm trying to steer myself towards but unlike on the internet I have a very hard time talking about myself in real life, it's going to take some self-goading on my part to get up the nerve to approach my physician with these things. I guess I still have plenty of time, I'm in my mid-30s, I've already cut out most of my bad habits.

I was asking about the medication because my mom thinks I should just go get a pill for it. I think she's afraid that if I were to go into therapy or whatever I'd blame her for everything. Which I totally would. No actually I wouldn't, I'm just kidding.

 

[John Picard]

Thanks everyone. I think counseling is kind of what I'm trying to steer myself towards but unlike on the internet I have a very hard time talking about myself in real life, it's going to take some self-goading on my part to get up the nerve to approach my physician with these things. I guess I still have plenty of time, I'm in my mid-30s, I've already cut out most of my bad habits.

I was asking about the medication because my mom thinks I should just go get a pill for it. I think she's afraid that if I were to go into therapy or whatever I'd blame her for everything. Which I totally would. No actually I wouldn't, I'm just kidding.

That part in bold is what's wrong with a majority of Americans. Let's gripe about big-Pharma, yet always look for a pill to fix all that ails us.

LitmusDragon, quite honestly, based on your initial post, it sounds like you're issue is behavioral. No, I'm not a doctor, but it just appears that you have some sort of built-up apprehension when facing these scenarios and lack the appropriate coping skills to endure them. I'm betting a trained counselor could help you through that.

Hell, it took me until I was 30 to get over speaking in front of a group of people or even not getting wound up when meeting someone, for the first time, for an interview.

 

[Bears Discover Fire]

With SSRIs, wave goodbye to your sex drive and emotions, you'll either end up as a zombie or a hyperactive, manic wreck, or possibly even both, whether at the same time or alternating between them.

I have not had this experience with any of the numerous SSRIs I have tried.

Neither has anyone I've known who's been taking them.

It was definitely my experience and the experience of 2 people I know who also took them. I've had nothing but horrible experiences with SSRIs that on numerous occasions rendered me nonfunctioning and suicidal, and in the worse case, the meds were prescribed by a GP with little follow-through rather than a psychiatrist who keeps tabs on his/her patients. Effexor was the worse, and so many people have had major issues with the drug that IIRC GPs are no longer permitted to dispense it. There seems to be quite a gamut of common reactions to SSRIs and MAOIs, and what has no effect on one person works wonders for another and ruins the life of yet another.

Moral of the story, based not on a professional opinion but the opinion of a patient who has been there, done that for years: talk to an ATTENTIVE psychatrist if you're considering meds, and definitely do not take the meds unless you have psychological counseling to go with them. Meds are not a cure; they instead give you some stability and opportunity where none was before, to help you pull yourself back up whatever hole you've found yourself in.

Best of luck, and please talk to knowledgeable professionals. And, If a psychiatrist makes you uncomfortable, seems to rush you in and out the door, doesn't make eye contact or gets huffy and nasty if their perscribed treatment isn't going exactly to plan, FIND ANOTHER PSYCHIATRIST.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

You might not be a good candidate for meds if your anxiety is as broad as you say. I am a social phobic and other than a low dose of Klonopin I have never had a psychiatric be willing to give me benzos. Doctors prefer to prescribe them when there are clear and specific reasons and times when they can be taken. When the phobia is generalized like mine they fear a high potential for abuse from patients taking them constantly. You might have a better chance of getting them from a GP who isn't experienced in treating social anxiety.

Your best course of action really is seeing a therapist or a group who can perform cognitive-behavioral therapy.

 

[Geckothan]

Your best course of action really is seeing a therapist or a group who can perform cognitive-behavioral therapy.

This, and what the hell is going on in your new avatar?

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Meds might help, but if I were in your position, I would start with therapy first.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Was there a point in the past when you didn't feel this way? Like even when you were a teenager?

Realizing that most of us as teens froze up around attractive girls, but at some point did you have significantly less anxiety around people, etc?

If you have pretty much always been this way, then you are looking for drugs to turn you into something you are not.

Meanwhile, if behaviour was learned, it can be unlearned. Meditation helps huge with anxiety, but you have to practice every day. You would also do well to do something like take acting classes. Put on a fake personality, nothing too extreme, but something you can hide behind. Because guess what? That's what everyone else does. Your anxiety (probably) is because you're scared to reveal your feelings, but it's not really normal to express your feelings openly in a bar or an elevator.

 

[T'Baio]

I think the best course of action would be to poll an anonymous Star Trek message board and see whether they all think you should be on meds. If the majority think you should be, then you should do another poll and see what the majority thinks what kinds of meds you should take. Then get those.

That's the best course of action, for sure.

My answers? Yes, and crystal meth.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Your best course of action really is seeing a therapist or a group who can perform cognitive-behavioral therapy.

This, and what the hell is going on in your new avatar?

Party at my house last week. Things got a little out of hand.

 

[galleywest]

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I am on Celexa and have had very good results with it. I had almost no side effects at all and going off of it was fairly easy. All people are different, however, so YMMV. Like I said, the goal should be that you aren't on the drugs forever. The big thing is recognizing what gives you anxiety and changing your behavior to lessen it and deal effectively with it.

This is definitely something to discuss with your doctor, LitmusDragon. No one here can predict how anxiety medication will work for you. As you can see, some of us have had good experiences and some of us have had bad experiences. Finding a good therapist is probably something which would benefit you, whether you choose to try medication or not. Believe me, I know it can be hard to talk about the things that give you the most anxiety with a therapist, but in the end what matters is that you are dealing with the problem. That, in an of itself, is one giant step toward overcoming it.

I wish you the very best of luck.