Benzos Looking to treat my social anxiety, any success stories?

[placid space]

Just wanna add, Ive also had that problem, especially in college when I had to give lots of presentations and such. IMO its important to distinguish between hmm how to put it, are you uncomfortable giving speeches for example or presentations or speaking in board meetings and such or are you uncomfortable in a social setting, when youre in a crowded place with friends or maybe both.
The former regarding presentations and business is (IMO) quite easily resolved simply by realizing that you care far too much about other peoples opinions and undervalue your own and yourself (at least it worked for me).
And the latter, being in for example a bar, is IMO not necessarily even a problem. People project this idea how youre supposed to behave in a social setting.
But in reality,a hell of a lot of people dont feel comfortable in situations where there loads of people and lots of shallow stupid banter going on. Its fun perhaps when youre young and drunk but later it becomes a nussiance and unnecessary. So perhaps in these situations you go into "panic" mode because youre forcing yourself to be a chatty sociable person when youre not that, youre introvered and prefer a calmer,less chaotic environment. Introvert used to be a synonym for socially awkward but today its been shown that introverts are more or less just people who prefer a more meaningful interactions and are usually more intelligent than extroverted people.
So if youre feeling uncomfortable in noisy crowded situations just act it out,put the "mask" on, but stop treating yourself as if theres something wrong with you, its the opposite. Dont go to such places, dont force yourself. Now if that situation is a business type scenario or you need to give a presentation, for me the panic usually set in cause I gave too much credit to what others think and/or thought too little of myself. I personally solved that quite easily, somewhat through meditation but mostly its just a matter of not caring anymore whether you do sth silly or make a fool of yourself, distancing myself. Looking at the bigger picture, at your whole life, at other people, giving a speech is so so irrelevant and small, no matter how big it seems at that moment, its just a moment in time.

What also helped me in such situations was for example if I was giving a presentation and was very nervous and anxious, I started extremely exaggerating, "If I dont do this just right, im gonna die and the world will explode" "If I dont say just the right thing to this girl right now Im going to be alone for the rest of my life and all my friends will hate me" "if I make a mistake in this exam the world will fall into chaos and there is going to be a nuclear winter". I just tried to portray to myself how silly it all is, life is too precious and being anxious about such things is beyond stupid, every person is like me ,nobody is perfect, even if I make a complete fool of myself, so what? and If someone likes me any less because of that I dont give a cr+p, such a person is a moron anyway locked in his little narrowminded world. We're all simply passing through this life and should never take things like that so seriously.

and btw, benzos, like its been mentioned, make you a zombie. They dont fix anything, not really. They just put a pause on your emotions, stunt your emotional growth/responses. When you stop taking them, youll find yourself exactly at the moment when you started taking them. Plus theyre way too easy to get addicted to.

 

[Mycophile]

Just wanna add, Ive also had that problem, especially in college when I had to give lots of presentations and such. IMO its important to distinguish between hmm how to put it, are you uncomfortable giving speeches for example or presentations or speaking in board meetings and such or are you uncomfortable in a social setting, when youre in a crowded place with friends or maybe both.
The former regarding presentations and business is (IMO) quite easily resolved simply by realizing that you care far too much about other peoples opinions and undervalue your own and yourself (at least it worked for me).
And the latter, being in for example a bar, is IMO not necessarily even a problem. People project this idea how youre supposed to behave in a social setting.
But in reality,a hell of a lot of people dont feel comfortable in situations where there loads of people and lots of shallow stupid banter going on. Its fun perhaps when youre young and drunk but later it becomes a nussiance and unnecessary. So perhaps in these situations you go into "panic" mode because youre forcing yourself to be a chatty sociable person when youre not that, youre introvered and prefer a calmer,less chaotic environment. Introvert used to be a synonym for socially awkward but today its been shown that introverts are more or less just people who prefer a more meaningful interactions and are usually more intelligent than extroverted people.
So if youre feeling uncomfortable in noisy crowded situations just act it out,put the "mask" on, but stop treating yourself as if theres something wrong with you, its the opposite. Dont go to such places, dont force yourself. Now if that situation is a business type scenario or you need to give a presentation, for me the panic usually set in cause I gave too much credit to what others think and/or thought too little of myself. I personally solved that quite easily, somewhat through meditation but mostly its just a matter of not caring anymore whether you do sth silly or make a fool of yourself, distancing myself. Looking at the bigger picture, at your whole life, at other people, giving a speech is so so irrelevant and small, no matter how big it seems at that moment, its just a moment in time.

What also helped me in such situations was for example if I was giving a presentation and was very nervous and anxious, I started extremely exaggerating, "If I dont do this just right, im gonna die and the world will explode" "If I dont say just the right thing to this girl right now Im going to be alone for the rest of my life and all my friends will hate me" "if I make a mistake in this exam the world will fall into chaos and there is going to be a nuclear winter". I just tried to portray to myself how silly it all is, life is too precious and being anxious about such things is beyond stupid, every person is like me ,nobody is perfect, even if I make a complete fool of myself, so what? and If someone likes me any less because of that I dont give a cr+p, such a person is a moron anyway locked in his little narrowminded world. We're all simply passing through this life and should never take things like that so seriously.

and btw, benzos, like its been mentioned, make you a zombie. They dont fix anything, not really. They just put a pause on your emotions, stunt your emotional growth/responses. When you stop taking them, youll find yourself exactly at the moment when you started taking them. Plus theyre way too easy to get addicted to.

I have to make at least ONE comment on the bolded part.

As someone who takes benzos I wouldn't refer to myself as a "zombie".

Do they make me tired on a regular basis?

Yes.

But overall, do I feel MUCH better on them than off them??

ABSOLUTELY because I will EASILY choose SOME extra tiredness over extreme daily social anxiety.

There are many definitions of a "benzo zombie".

My personal definition would be someone who walks around with significantly decreased reaction time, poor memory, poor concentration and EXCESSIVE lethargy.

I wouldn't refer to myself as having any of the first 3 and on the WORST days I do have significant lethargy but on the best I don't feel at all lethargic and I can range anywhere in between the two.

You are correct IMO that they don't "fix the problem" but you know what?

As much as I HATE to admit it for SOME people "the problem" CANNOT truly be fixed.

I don't know whether or not I am one of those people but attempts to fully conquer my anxiety ON A REGULAR basis off of my Klonopin have failed even when I was extremely successful at tapering off the drug itself.

I AM able to skip or reduce my medication on certain days and get by, but not EVERY day, and as such having access is better than not having access for me.

The risks one wants to take with one's body should be their own choice and for many people the benefits of using benzos far outweigh the negatives and there ARE people who NEVER develop serious cognitive decline or Alzheimers disease from their usage.

As such, I don't think we should pass judgement on those who choose to take them and only point out both the negatives and positives and let them decide.

WAAY too many people on this forum mistake "Harm Reduction" for having ONLY to do with helping one not die, or cause themselves long term physical damage, be it brain, liver, heart, etc from drug use and forget that PSYCHOLOGICAL and EMOTIONAL distress and learning how to best deal with them is ALSO "harm reduction".

However, I can see why someone would say not taking benzos is also better emotionally or psychologically in SOME cases because they don't "cure" the problem...BUT...for someone who is NOT able to overcome their anxiety and who finds they DON'T get bad side effects from benzos, then in truth...benzos really ARE as good as a true "cure" for as long as one can take them and avoid serious issues.

In my case, they've "cured" me from having panic attacks in social situations for the past 12 years which has allowed me to hold good jobs and pursue my passions.

Without them, I was unable to do so.

I am all around better with them.

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

Just wanna add, Ive also had that problem, especially in college when I had to give lots of presentations and such. IMO its important to distinguish between hmm how to put it, are you uncomfortable giving speeches for example or presentations or speaking in board meetings and such or are you uncomfortable in a social setting, when youre in a crowded place with friends or maybe both.
The former regarding presentations and business is (IMO) quite easily resolved simply by realizing that you care far too much about other peoples opinions and undervalue your own and yourself (at least it worked for me).
And the latter, being in for example a bar, is IMO not necessarily even a problem. People project this idea how youre supposed to behave in a social setting.
But in reality,a hell of a lot of people dont feel comfortable in situations where there loads of people and lots of shallow stupid banter going on. Its fun perhaps when youre young and drunk but later it becomes a nussiance and unnecessary. So perhaps in these situations you go into "panic" mode because youre forcing yourself to be a chatty sociable person when youre not that, youre introvered and prefer a calmer,less chaotic environment. Introvert used to be a synonym for socially awkward but today its been shown that introverts are more or less just people who prefer a more meaningful interactions and are usually more intelligent than extroverted people.
So if youre feeling uncomfortable in noisy crowded situations just act it out,put the "mask" on, but stop treating yourself as if theres something wrong with you, its the opposite. Dont go to such places, dont force yourself. Now if that situation is a business type scenario or you need to give a presentation, for me the panic usually set in cause I gave too much credit to what others think and/or thought too little of myself. I personally solved that quite easily, somewhat through meditation but mostly its just a matter of not caring anymore whether you do sth silly or make a fool of yourself, distancing myself. Looking at the bigger picture, at your whole life, at other people, giving a speech is so so irrelevant and small, no matter how big it seems at that moment, its just a moment in time.

What also helped me in such situations was for example if I was giving a presentation and was very nervous and anxious, I started extremely exaggerating, "If I dont do this just right, im gonna die and the world will explode" "If I dont say just the right thing to this girl right now Im going to be alone for the rest of my life and all my friends will hate me" "if I make a mistake in this exam the world will fall into chaos and there is going to be a nuclear winter". I just tried to portray to myself how silly it all is, life is too precious and being anxious about such things is beyond stupid, every person is like me ,nobody is perfect, even if I make a complete fool of myself, so what? and If someone likes me any less because of that I dont give a cr+p, such a person is a moron anyway locked in his little narrowminded world. We're all simply passing through this life and should never take things like that so seriously.

and btw, benzos, like its been mentioned, make you a zombie. They dont fix anything, not really. They just put a pause on your emotions, stunt your emotional growth/responses. When you stop taking them, youll find yourself exactly at the moment when you started taking them. Plus theyre way too easy to get addicted to.

I honestly wish my social anxiety was as the case you described, because then I know I would only need a new pattern of thinking and practise. For me this has been a battle ever since I was younger but I have been able to avoid those situations because I was a teenager with no responsibilities. Now I can't shy away from a job that pays my bills. For me sometimes I can't even look people in the eye, and it can be people I'm really comfortable with. I just recently got a boyfriend and I really struggle around him sometimes. Even though we've known each other for a long time, I know he does not judge me, and he really loves me - But I just can't get over my social anxiety. It gets better after some time but I can never fully be myself.

 

[gmlifer]

I've never heard of it, but I will definitely give it a thought. Is this something your doctor can prescribe to you or how do you get ahold of it?

You can go to your local head shop and get some just to try if you want. I order mine by the kilo online. Online is waaaayyy cheaper and better quality.

 

[placid space]

I have to make at least ONE comment on the bolded part.

As someone who takes benzos I wouldn't refer to myself as a "zombie".

Do they make me tired on a regular basis?

Yes.

But overall, do I feel MUCH better on them than off them??

ABSOLUTELY because I will EASILY choose SOME extra tiredness over extreme daily social anxiety.

There are many definitions of a "benzo zombie".

My personal definition would be someone who walks around with significantly decreased reaction time, poor memory, poor concentration and EXCESSIVE lethargy.

I wouldn't refer to myself as having any of the first 3 and on the WORST days I do have significant lethargy but on the best I don't feel at all lethargic and I can range anywhere in between the two.

You are correct IMO that they don't "fix the problem" but you know what?

As much as I HATE to admit it for SOME people "the problem" CANNOT truly be fixed.

I don't know whether or not I am one of those people but attempts to fully conquer my anxiety ON A REGULAR basis off of my Klonopin have failed even when I was extremely successful at tapering off the drug itself.

I AM able to skip or reduce my medication on certain days and get by, but not EVERY day, and as such having access is better than not having access for me.

The risks one wants to take with one's body should be their own choice and for many people the benefits of using benzos far outweigh the negatives and there ARE people who NEVER develop serious cognitive decline or Alzheimers disease from their usage.

As such, I don't think we should pass judgement on those who choose to take them and only point out both the negatives and positives and let them decide.

WAAY too many people on this forum mistake "Harm Reduction" for having ONLY to do with helping one not die, or cause themselves long term physical damage, be it brain, liver, heart, etc from drug use and forget that PSYCHOLOGICAL and EMOTIONAL distress and learning how to best deal with them is ALSO "harm reduction".

However, I can see why someone would say not taking benzos is also better emotionally or psychologically in SOME cases because they don't "cure" the problem...BUT...for someone who is NOT able to overcome their anxiety and who finds they DON'T get bad side effects from benzos, then in truth...benzos really ARE as good as a true "cure" for as long as one can take them and avoid serious issues.

In my case, they've "cured" me from having panic attacks in social situations for the past 12 years which has allowed me to hold good jobs and pursue my passions.

Without them, I was unable to do so.

I am all around better with them.

Look I agree with lots of it, Ive exp. with benzos and theyve helped me get through certain times when I would probabily otherwise be home hiding in a corner. If this was an ideal world I would of course say scr+w benzos, one needs to face his problems and forget drugs. But its not and I know how meds can help one cope. But I definitely dont agree with the statement of not being able to resolve the issues without drugs and becoming complacent medicating oneself and giving up.
While its not a perfect world, one should at least strive for being drug free. Your definition of a zombie might be drastically more brutal than mine but whatever the case (and putting health hazards aside) benzos dull your mind and emotions and you quickly hit an emotional and spiritual plateau. They just hold you back, Ive always felt like im in a shell. Comparing how I felt on benzos or opiates and sober, its too much of a price to pay. One cannot compare the sober mind and the mind under drugs.
Im sorry but there is no way I would ever believe anxiety and panic attacks are not things that can be fixed by someone who knows what theyre doing or even by oneself, with delving into literature and working on oneself.

 

[Mycophile]

Look I agree with lots of it, Ive exp. with benzos and theyve helped me get through certain times when I would probabily otherwise be home hiding in a corner. If this was an ideal world I would of course say scr+w benzos, one needs to face his problems and forget drugs. But its not and I know how meds can help one cope. But I definitely dont agree with the statement of not being able to resolve the issues without drugs and becoming complacent medicating oneself and giving up.
While its not a perfect world, one should at least strive for being drug free. Your definition of a zombie might be drastically more brutal than mine but whatever the case (and putting health hazards aside) benzos dull your mind and emotions and you quickly hit an emotional and spiritual plateau. They just hold you back, Ive always felt like im in a shell. Comparing how I felt on benzos or opiates and sober, its too much of a price to pay. One cannot compare the sober mind and the mind under drugs.
Im sorry but there is no way I would ever believe anxiety and panic attacks are not things that can be fixed by someone who knows what theyre doing or even by oneself, with delving into literature and working on oneself.

I'm NOT saying they can't possibly be fixed, but for SOME people they may not ever truly find a cure.

I myself may not be one of them, but at least for now I feel better with benzos and have for the past decade and haven't really seen a whole lot of bad side effects.

It may be "too much of a price to pay" FOR YOU, but it isn't for everyone and I don't feel it is for me.

When you say "one cannot compare the sober mind and the mind under drugs" I REALLY disagree because to tell you the truth I feel 100% sober on Klonopin and don't feel the least bit altered or high, I just feel less anxious.

Maybe you felt fucked up or high on your meds but they don't have that effect on me.

I also don't like how you say "they hold YOU back" as if you are speaking for everyone.

They may hold YOU back but they don't hold me back.

I also don't feel I've "given up" at all.

I've NEVER had that feeling regarding my choice to use Klonopin for anxiety.

The way I feel, is that I had a problem and I found a solution that works which has had very few side effects for me and that going without the medication had many more negative effects on my life.

I can't be 100% POSITIVE I'll NEVER have any, and I know that benzos CAN lead to bad cognitive effects so IDEALLY I'd like to EVENTUALLY get off them, but other than SOME usually managble fatigue I haven't seen many.

In a perfect world I and others with anxiety wouldn't take these drugs, but it's not a perfect world.

 

[belfort]

Are there any side effects of kratom? Any withdrawals?

yes, it is addictive and can actually cause anxiety in some users..i wouldt recommend it to trat social anxiety but it would be useful taking it before you go out to a bar or concert..

i work out just as hard as anyone but my social anxiety is still a bitch to deal with..now im realizing the soul crushing effects of benzos so need to find something else, something i can use every day..boosting ones self confidence through exercise or whatever else really hasnt done much to help my social anxiety..i wish it had but nope..

 

[SixBuckets]

Whereas for mental health issues such as anxiety, therapies such as CBT are ecidence-based.

I think you've misunderstood the meaning of "evidence based". It doesn't mean "always works for everyone", it just means "made a clinically significant difference for more people than the control group". Sometimes it doesn't even mean that, because the psychological field is renowned for the dearth of randomised control trials in its supporting literature.

Some people have mental illnesses so severe that talk therapy will be useless to them without medication. This is a perfectly normal and acceptable health need and they should not be shamed for not being able to "talk themselves out of" their chronic disabling illness.

Obviously CBT is not as simple as that but it's an example medication such as SSRIs may help as a short term method but you really need to address the root cause of your anxiety in order to conquer it. Meds merely paper over the cracks.

Rubbish. Medication is a legitimate and effective option to treat severe mental illness, including anxiety. Talk therapy can be very useful to some people, but telling people to just think their way out of panic attacks, phobias, delusions and compulsions is cruel and unhelpful.

Can I ask have you spoke to your doctor about this n asked them what s/he can do to help you?

Me? Or the OP?

I'm under the care of a very good psychiatrist and completely happy with my treatment. I'm very stable and high functioning - when appropriately medicated, there's nothing wrong with my thought patterns or behaviours, and I don't need to talk about them to a stranger.

Good luck

Cheers

 

[belfort]

Read up on EMSAM. Ask your doc about it. It's a transdermal patch that contains 6 mg of selegiline, an MAO inhibitor, and relases the drug slowly and steadily directly into your bloodstream over a 24 hour period. In my experience, it is THE OVERALL BEST antidepressant I've ever taken hands down. Having said that, just like with everything else... YMMV. Nonetheless, it's the perfect drug for someone like myself or ESPECIALLY anyone with atypical depression COMORBID with anxiety, and vice versa, and it's particularly effective for unremitting cases of anxiety/neurotic depression unresponsive to nearly EVERY other commonly used antidepressant and anxiolytic indicated for this type of psychosomatic symptoms. Hence it is almost always used typically as a "last resort", if you will.

i was just about to pick up some Selegline as ive heard its great for anxiety and mood and actually boosts sex drive instead of decreasing it..i wonder why its not prescribed more often?

 

[DETROIT*edm*JUNKIE]

wtf can somebody respond to my post..........
http://bluelight.org/vb/threads/790560-Nobody-is-helping-me-lifelong-extreme-pain-please-help

 

[LearnShareDare]

I have social anxiety too and GAD, im using lorazepam the last 9 months two days a week maybe three. It helped a lot i passed all my classes and did thinks i couldnt imagine. in the retrospective the days im off i feel dizzy and not motivated to do anything(maybe this is some kind of withdraw/hangover) but those days are the free days of my week so no problem at all. MY opinion is that you can give benzodiazepines a try(something like ativan or xanax with small half-life), but never take them every day.