should i take medication

eran · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 8:36 am Post subject: should i take medication

im eran from birmingham england.i dont take any medication for sa but im struggling through life.would anybody advise me to take seroxat or ciprimal as im worried by the side effects,but then again it cant be worse than living with sa.eran1511@hotmail.com

wacomtablet · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2003 10:22 pm Post subject:

hello eran,

many socially anxious people report 'success' via a variety of different paths. medication is one path which appears to offer some 'relief' to some. science has not pinpointed the cause of social anxiety, although there are commonly held theories. with no absolute cause, the treatment can be a case of trial-and-error. one opinion that is widely-held is that leaving it untreated leads to a worsening of the situation. it doesn't support the old adage that we'll 'grow out of it' or get less anxious with age. i wonder if treatment at an earlier age might have eliminated my hopelessness about life now.
if you feel that medication may be the right path for you to take and might offer you some respite from this struggle, you should research the medications commonly prescribed for social anxiety sufferers, so you're armed with some knowledge first.
in my own case, my social anxiety has been severely debilitating, and with it as a constant companion is depression. i saw a psychologist and a psychiatrist and was prescribed a series of medications. in retrospect i know the specialists were really ill-equipped to provide much hope - the psychologist suggested my treatment path was difficult to determine due to the severe nature of both the social anxiety and depression. she said it was unusual. having read everything i've read since that time, it is natural and common for mental illnesses to co-exist. i suffered severe physical side-effects with several of the drugs, and no positive changes in my anxiety, ability to function or depression. it was quite a traumatic 9 months and eventually i simply abandoned it all, the therapy and the endless stream of medication trials. it was terrifying and anxiety-inducing. every single session with the therapists was fraught with anxiety and i was frequently physically ill beforehand.
since, i have read a lot about the medications available and the effects achieved in certain sufferers. combinations of medications appear to reduce the struggle for some people. i've also read people who have phenomenal success using medications, only to inexplicably crash again after several months of euphoric release. from what i can gather, the medications sometimes offer a dulling of the anxiety providing the opportunity to get through some of the struggles for some of the people.
if you haven't been to a gp yet about your social anxiety, you should in order to have it diagnosed. scary as going to a gp might be, the end result for you could be a good one and you could reduce the grip that social anxiety has on your life and your future. it might help to take along a written list of the problems you have in your daily struggles, if that would reduce the anxiety and embarrassment of discussing them with the doctor. the gp would be able to refer you to a psychiatrist who would be able to offer you medication if that's the path which you want to try. if you would rather try counselling by such methods as cognitive-behavioural therapy, a psychologist can offer that. you don't need a doctor's referral for a psychologist, but a psychologist is unable to prescribe medication. psychiatrists sometimes also provide the counselling, and are able to prescribe medication for you. the doctor can also, but they are generally really clueless about mental illness, and putting your life in the hands of someone without specialised knowledge in anxiety illnesses would not be beneficial to you. ask the gp if they can refer you to a therapist with expertise in the treatment of social anxiety and anxiety disorders. from what i've read in other forums, the effectiveness of the therapist is often the catalyst to success.
i'm sorry for the length of this post, and i apologise if it didn't answer your question, missed the point or made assumptions which were incorrect.
it's scary to even post, and no doubt i'll feel stupid afterwards, but i've felt sad for the fact your post has gone unanswered for so long. it really hurts to feel like you're ignored, when you've taken the courageous step to type something and display it publicly like this.

take care.

Guest · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2003 8:24 pm Post subject:

your best bet Eran is to see your GP and raise these concerns you have. there are many other medications for treating anxiety / depression, many of which have less side effects than seroxat et al. I'm on Lofepramine, and the worst i get is a dry mouth (which is annoying, but i can live with it)

hoaxer · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2003 11:07 pm Post subject:

i have the theory that whatever helps u through life is ok with me.
im on seroxat-been on it 4 years and while it was a godsend back then i dont think it has been having much effect on me now-so i just have some valium as and when i need it -maybe 2wice a week at most-so if it helps u get out there and bring some "normality"back to your life i would go for it--people who r dead against meds of any form r usually the ones who can cope with life without em--ignore these people its your life in the long run

hoax