As I mature it seems to become increasingly apparent that my social anxiety is almost a mild form of schizophrenia. Innumerable, ceaseless, but very subtle subconscious delusions and hallucinations manifest as anxiety when I'm around or dealing with other people. I somehow interpret every word, gesture, and facial expression, subconsciously, as some form of disapproval or insult or ridicule directed at me. It's really an awful affliction, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I hope I can escape this disease someday.
Ditto. I was reading some psych stuff a couple weeks ago and something struck me. Social rejection is often
perceived when it is not actually present. It's as if the lack of unbridled super-acceptance is perceived as rejection when it in fact is simply ambiguous; a passerby who hasn't made proper contact to make a decision, but because we're so damn sensitive we perceive it as rejection.
A lot of it is how things were in the younger years. For a lot of my early life I experienced a lot of actual rejection (rejected by the cool group, etc.). When you build defenses to prime yourself to get ready for rejection, you tend to perceive everyone as rejecting you before they've even gotten to know you. When you start perceiving that, you get all nervous, awkward or compensatingly arrogant which in turn brings rejection. It basically becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Incidentally, would any of you know of an unscheduled benzodiazepine or related drug that I could perhaps experiment with in the search to quell these ceaseless agitating delusions?
I've been on this road for a while. It doesn't really work. You can't be benzo'd all the time, even low doses cloud you up. Even when on benzos you're not really engaging; you're just removed of some tension. It doesn't really help with socializing. It can be good when you're generally nervous as shit though. I find 5-HTP/melatonin every night to be doing some good.
As for unscheduled benzos; etizolam is the only one I can think of besides phenazepam. Problem with etizolam is it really, really sucks the next day. Even with a low dose I'm in bed for 12 hours and wake up feeling like I have the flu. I happened to get some diazepam powder before a bubble burst so I got lucky in that sense. Unlucky in the sense I've sometimes come to depend on it.
Benzos can help in certain cases but it's a pandora's box; once you start taking them, it's not easy to go back to living entirely without them.
Etizolam sucks, phenazepam sucks, I'm not sure about unscheduled benzos. Out of the ones available people seem to like etizolam the best, I seem to have an uncharacteristic morning hell from it. There's lots of BL talk about it, most people like it. Other than that I'd recommend asking your doc for a small script of alprazolam; usually not hard to get. Just mention it's for situational anxiety like interviews, etc.