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Mental Health long term benzos/barbs for social anxiety.

I always wondered about perhaps using a little bit of something like Xanax, 2 or 3 days a week, to help with social anxiety and basically use it to build a basis of a social life. Like a cycle, nothing long term, here and there, off and on, maybe, every other week or seldom throughout out the weeks for like a month or so.

I say Xanax, just cause with the short half life, the plasma levels don't build up as with something like Klonopin/clonazepam.

Really, having a network, building some relations, really helps out and I feel like if you have your foot in the door, for better or worst,you got something. Make a friend, find a girl or guy, whatever, I feel like, these basic human needs are key to our function, rather it can be up-kept without drugs, I don't know, but I really think gaining a grasp of this, can do anyone wonders.

Having to go this extent and take a drug as a last resort, I mean how bad can I say it really is, in comparison to the torment that comes with anxiety, can I really say the cons outweigh the pros?
 
Bluesbreaker said:
Sedative antidepressants do the trick, and a good tricyclic is amitriptylin or trimipramine. Forget benzos for regular/long term use, it's very addictive and you have to up the dose like every week.
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I mean, of course, benzos can have horrible side effects coexisting with addiction/physical dependence, in no way am I attempting to discount that, but antidepressants can have an array of horrible side effect as well, also with some being "addictive" and also causing physical dependence.

I always wonder why I see this, especially with some doctors, I appreciate the concern and awareness of the dangers of benzos, but to shoot that down, and bring forward the acceptance of antidepressants and antipsychotics leaves me bamboozled.

Can anyone really say one is worst then the other? I don't know about that one.
 
Take it from someone who has been there, you DO NOT want to get addicted to benzos.

They are very effective for treating anxiety but they are not something you want to take everyday. Taken occassionally (like once a week) if you notice your anxiety is particularly bad that is fine, but when taken everyday you will experience tolerance and physical dependence. Benzo withdrawal is physical and psychological torture. If you think you are anxious now, it is nothing compared to how you feel when coming off benzos (even when tapered). Shaking, intense nausea, depersonalisation, sweating, aches, panic, insomnia etc. - hell even seizures are symptoms of withdrawal.

You are far better off going to see proper psychologist/psychiatrist outside of the school. Starting doing cognitive behavioural therapy and learn about why you are anxious and how to deal with it without drugs. Taking benzos everyday at such a young age could also cause some irreversible neurological changes as your brain is still developing. At best, you will just get addicted (which is worse than being addicted to heroin).
 
Not to mention the awesome Hallucinations you get when you are forced to go Cold turkey.
They destroy you if taken daily for years.
 
Using a benzo just once a week would help me tremendously. My psychiatrist has nothing to do with my school. My psychologist works for my school and she wants me to see another one outside of school, and I will.
And I am aware that benzos have the worst WDs of all drugs. Tbh I changed my mind and don't wanna use benzos daily. I don't even need them every day.
 
flyhighk said:
Using a benzo just once a week would help me tremendously. My psychiatrist has nothing to do with my school. My psychologist works for my school and she wants me to see another one outside of school, and I will.
And I am aware that benzos have the worst WDs of all drugs. Tbh I changed my mind and don't wanna use benzos daily. I don't even need them every day.
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But, keep in mind, with anxiety, it is easy to get sucked into the trap or cycle of addiction with benzos.

Think of them like a drink, obviously this isn't meant to be recreational, but as in the same way a drink is used every now and then to unwind and socialize, a benzo can be used the same way.

You deter off into abuse on the regular, instead of being an alcoholic, you're addicted to benzos, and trust me, do not underestimate them by any means.

There are doctors that will keep you on these drugs for years, won't even mention the dependence and the negatives to it, it really is sad, happened to me as a teenager, and I wish I knew better.
 
I actually think I can control myself pretty Abused many drugs in the last months, codeine, xanax, baclofen etc. Codeine and baclofen are otc and I haven't used them in over 3 months. My last drink was 6 months ago, and I also smoked tobacco but never got addicted.
If I get a script for a benzo, I'll ask my doctor to give me a limited amount. Like 3mg/month of xanax.
I know addicts will always find a way to get their drugs, but hopefully I will control myself.
Thanks yteek
 
You might consider klonopin as opposed to xanax. Its longer half life decreases the chance of rebound effects and decreases the likelihood of needing to redose in quick succession. If you suffer from occasional anxiety and/or mild panic attacks, klonopin works great and provides relief for an extended period of time. I've successfully and sustainably used klonopin for moderate occasional anxiety for several years now without needing to increase my therapeutic dose (using it several times a month on average). This frequency and my tolerance have increased somewhat in the past couple months due to increased stressors and anxiety, so who knows my longterm outlook, but so far so good. In general, though, klonopin is regarded as a safer benzo to use for anxiety than xanax (unless you suffer from severe panic attacks, which it does not sound like). In short, for occasional use, imo klonopin is a longterm sustainable treatment option for anxiety. I do not have the experience to know about its sustainability for daily use, but I would listen to other posters and avoid this.

Also, I feel like I've read that klonopin is not particularly effective for social anxiety. Perhaps you've heard this as well? I don't find this to be the case, and it doesn't make sense to me why it would be. Klonopin chills you the fuck out like most benzos, and I find it is just as effective for exogenous anxiogenics (eg social situations) as it is for endogenous forms (negative thought loops).
 
^Doctors like to spew a lot of bullshit and would like to believe that Klonopin is really safer, but I think that is bullshit.

Sure, it doesn't have as much public popularity and negative controversy that xanax has had in the headlines, but with that aside, probably just as problematic if not even more so in many ways.
 
But doesn't tolerance build faster with longer half lives ? Anyway, my shrink may not let me choose which benzo I want.
I've never had a panic attack, but my anxiety does reach unbearable levels and causes significant social impairement.
I just took a panic disorder questionnaire just to get an idea of where I am, and I scored mildly ill.
But I agree with you MJ, a long acting benzo would work better for me.
 
Have you looked into GABA supplements? I have moderate anxiety (not severe) and mostly social anxiety and GABA certainly won't solve anything but it can help. I really feel like it has reduced my anxiety on a regular basis. It's not going to solve all your problems (I wish). But I really think it could help. Of course, I *wish* I could take benzos every day without any side effects buttttt that's not really possible aha. GABA is really great for this. Definitely look into it :)
 
Yes gaba doesn't cross the bbb, or it does but not significantly...
I used baclofen recreationally a few times, but never tried it for social situations.
I think I should try it though.
May I know what gaba doses do you have llama?
 
flyhighk said:
But doesn't tolerance build faster with longer half lives ?
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I've never heard this, and it doesn't seem intuitive that it would. Longer half life typically correlates with longer activity. Thus, if you take klonopin in the morning, you may not need to redose til evening. You'll be distancing yourself from what ever situation was causing you anxiety and/or the thought patterns causing anxiety, so you're less likely to need the anxiolytic effects by the time the drug wears off. As well, due to longer half life, there will be a slower and smoother 'comedown', and thus you are less likely to experience physiological rebound anxiety as the drug wears off.
 
Well longer half means longer activity... longer activity should lead to faster tolerance buildup.
 
llama112 said:
Have you looked into GABA supplements? I have moderate anxiety (not severe) and mostly social anxiety and GABA certainly won't solve anything but it can help. I really feel like it has reduced my anxiety on a regular basis. It's not going to solve all your problems (I wish). But I really think it could help. Of course, I *wish* I could take benzos every day without any side effects buttttt that's not really possible aha. GABA is really great for this. Definitely look into it :)
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I've been looking into this. From your experience, about how long does it take for them to start working? Are there any side effects you notice? I'm just curious for myself :D
 
ad lib said:
I've been looking into this. From your experience, about how long does it take for them to start working? Are there any side effects you notice? I'm just curious for myself :D
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I'd say... after taking them for a week, you should notice a difference. I haven't really noticed any side effects. The only thing is that, the first time I tried GABA, I was really into MDMA. There must be a cross tolerance or something between the two because the MDMA did NOT work for when I was using the GABA. Now that I don't really use MDMA, not a big deal. But that is the only thing I really noticed.

I've been using it for months now, I take it Monday - Friday in the morning (I always forget on weekends, I think that's fine). Feel free to let me know if you have other questions :) (you can PM if you want, I don't always check back here aha)
 
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