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Social phobia/anxiety and drugs/meds [long]

I know most of you will hate this, because most people are in denial, but your diet has a massive influence on your brain chemistry, and the modern western diet is causing alot of mental problems in western society.

If you want to get rid of your social anxiety, then eat only fruit, steamed or boiled veg, steamed meat and fish (not fried), boiled egg, and no grains except rice. (cave man diet)

absolutely eat no wheat (or gluten) as this increases anxiety by 10 times. and do not eat any fried, browned, or baked goods as this creates beta-carbolines which increase anxiety many times.

read this site to learn more:

www.13.waisays.com

good luck.
 
Dr. Beat:
I believe you on that aspect, but i am a teenager and live with my family, so i can't just say "I dont wan't any meat, wheat, gluten, fried food, etc." because they will ask why, and i fear if i say to them "i am socially anxious" they will just reply with, "no your not your just a bit shy, and these foods won't make you anxious anyway, none of us are socially anxious".

To prove this, lately i have given up all caffeine and they have been asking me questions like "what propaganda have you read to make you give up caffeine?". Its really hard for me, and also i don't have a job so i don't make money so i can't go shopping for foods that are good for my health and even if i did have money i would be too nervous to go shopping on my own.

Thanks in advanced for any reply.
 
CBT is by far the most effective treatment for social anxiety and is the only permanent solution. All these different drugs may or may not help in the short term, but they are doing nothing to solve the problem in the long run. I highly recommend anyone who suffers from social anxiety to look at CBT as the solution to this terrible disorder. Free treatment is available and it doesn't take years of therapy, it can take as little as 6-10 sessions.
 
I was thinking about CBT and how it might be more expensive with a $10 copay x4 per month, rather than $18 meds and a $10 visit every three months, but would pay off in the end/be more beneficial.

Then I remembered how shitty my insurance was, and realized that anyone who does CBT in my area (or anywhere), is most likely not covered under their plan, meaning it'd be like $100-200 per week, and even if I saw him once or twice per month, I'd still be fucked.

So insurance covers all the pill-pushers (albeit with loops to jump through and hassles and asinine policies), but actually treating the problem instead of going through life with a legal chemical dependency for your problems? FUCK NO! WHOEVER THOUGHT OF SUCH AN IDEA?!?!

I mean, I might check out that drbob site and see if anyone's near me, but even if they are, and I contact my healthcare, chances are they aren't covered.

I suppose they occasionally cover non-plan doctors, and I can try and I can bitch and argue and cross my fingers, but...

Thanks for the drbob link though.
 
Do you have access to Ketamine?

If so, try very small single sub-recreational doses of it every day for a week, and let me know how that affects your anxiety.

It has totally negated not only my anxiety, but also my depression (and I'm suicidal).
 
No offense, but I dunno if K would work for everyone, even though it worked for you.

I know K takes away my anxiety, but I feel more anxious the next 2-3 days (although I know you said less than you'd take to feel it, I'm just saying).

Of course, it'd probably be a lot cheaper than CBT because of my insurance. Heck, at sub-rec doses, it'd probably be cheaper than my SSRIs...

Do SSRIs really help that much? I know I'm not as bad, but dunno if it's me or the SSRI changing me.

I'm about to run out and can't find a doctor nearby covered by my HMO.

Well, I can find doctors, but if a regular doctor prescribes an SSRI rather than a psychiatrist, they make you pay the FULL price of the drug and visit both. Fucking assholes. 2 of the 3 people they referred me to aren't psychiatrists, and the 3rd doesn't move in until after I run out of my SSRI (she's also out of walking distance and I have no car, and taxis never show up on time).

So I'm thinking about just dropping 10mg Lexapro cold-turkey and saying fuck it.

I hate HMOs (at least mine), more than you'll ever know.
 
I actually don't know if it would work for everyone the way it worked for me, and thats why I keep encouraging people to try it just to see if it works.

After what seemed like a miracle cure for me, I started researching, and I found out that there is a lot of resarch that shows (usually accidentally) that NMDA antagonists, particularly Ketamine, have an anti-depressant "side-effect".

I usually feel great the next few days after I use Ketamine, be it recreationally or not.

My depression is of a melancholic/maladjustive nature with lots of anxiety, especially social anxiety. I might be talking garbage but this might be attributed to neuronal over-excitation which NMDA antagonists prevent.

The Ketamine did not merely make me "happy". It actually changed the way I look at things. Where I previously saw everything negatively and had no motivation, my "ULD Ketamine" (if I may call it that) allowed me to look at life from a more positive perspective. And this is not of a psychedelic nature, the effect is consistent. Not only that, but I also found that it enchances learning.

Again, this is still all conjecture, and I have decided to devote at least part of my life to this purpose.
 
Boomslang said:
CBT is by far the most effective treatment for social anxiety and is the only permanent solution. All these different drugs may or may not help in the short term, but they are doing nothing to solve the problem in the long run. I highly recommend anyone who suffers from social anxiety to look at CBT as the solution to this terrible disorder. Free treatment is available and it doesn't take years of therapy, it can take as little as 6-10 sessions.
Click to expand...

I take this with a grain of salt, because it is possible my Doc just likes meds, but he was telling me how when he attended a conference on CBT, he approached the main speaker afterwards and asked him specifically how he geared himself up to giving public lecture such as this one. The "CBT Expert"s response was "Pop a couple of Valium". Hehe...

I don't see why meds and natural routes must be seen as polar opposites. Meds can help people on their way to natural (and permanent) solutions. But some people just can't get better without them.
 
Don't know if this has been suggested before, but try seeing a psychologist, it helped me much more than the drugs ever did.
 
Do SSRIs decrease motivation to weightlift? I have trouble getting to the gym sometimes, and it's annoying. I can't really add adderall/ritalin to motivate me, since the blood psi/heart rate would not be good for lifting weights.

I'm gonna see a psych next Fri.; course, I'll probably miss the appt. due to shoddy public transportation.

I called the campus transport service, and the guy sounded fucking stoned to the point it sounded like he was nodding, and he didn't know much - unless I was asking dumb questions) So I'll probably be late (if I show up), which is no good since she has a BUSY schedule. My insurance is also a hassle, she's not on our HMO, and I have to mail the script in, but by the time it gets there, I'll be out.

So I suppose I'll have to try to get her to fax the script, and hope she has some samples laying around.

Anyway though, I was thinking about discussing with her the idea of dropping my SSRIS. I just don't know. Is it harder to quit an SSRI the longer you've been on SSRIS?
 
I wonder, does Neurontin work for anxiety like a benzo, only more long-term/with less tolerance/WD issues?
 
Neurobiology of Social Anxiety Disorder:
Dysregulation of neurotransmitter function in the brain is thought to play a key role in Social Phobia (SP). Specifically, dopamine (DA), serotonin (SE), and GABA dysfunction are hypothosized in most cases of moderate to severe SP, in varying degrees depending on the individual. My experience has been completely consistent with this hypothesis. I have responded very well to certain drugs boosting levels of these specific neurotransmitters. The MAOI antidepressant "phenelzine" (Nardil) uniquely boosts levels of all three - and is probably the single most effective (single drug) treatment for Social Phobia.

There is strong evidence for dopamine dysfunction in SP. Comorbidies with other DA hypofunction disorders such as atypical depression, dysthymia, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and alcoholism are common. It has been noted that those with generalized Social Phobia have a 5 times greater risk of developing Parkinson's Disease in later life. (Parkinson's Disease is caused by abnormally low levels of dopamine). Liebowitz observed in comparison studies between the TCA "imipramine" (Tofranil) and the MAOI "phenelzine" (Nardil) that while phenelzine was extremely effective in treating Social Anxiety, imipramine showed no efficacy - with the primary difference in the two drugs being the marked pro-DA effect of Nardil. Recent studies also show low levels of sex steroid "pregnenolone sulphate" in those with generalized Social Phobia and GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). Low PS levels are linked with abnormal dopamine function and passivity.
http://www.socialfear.com/

Pisses me off how so many people look at this condition like it is a charecter fault that can be overcome with enough self improvment.
I have been ridiculasly fit, fanatic about my diet, yet still racked by depression and anxiety.

Fukin hate it
 
streetsurfer said:
Pisses me off how so many people look at this condition like it is a charecter fault that can be overcome with enough self improvment.
I have been ridiculasly fit, fanatic about my diet, yet still racked by depression and anxiety.

Fukin hate it
Click to expand...

This world's fucked up and depressing. It's NORMAL to be depressed!

Take some LSD, smoke some reefer, drink vodka/orange juice and go to a dance club or concert. That can be depressing too. Last night was a disaster for me:

Went to hear Widespread Panic and was humiliated by a pretty girl who was extremely ugly inside then went to a gay bar, smooched with a woman who maybe thought I was a guy. She asked if my tits were real (silicone) and then felt my pussy (had on a short miniskirt and wasn't wearing underwear -- maybe she thought that was skanky) and said, "I'll be back in a minute, Raquel;" she snuck out the back door! Went home and I cried.

Now that's depressing! This kind of "life" sucks. I thought "it's time to put a gun to my head" but I think I'll live dangerously and allow someone else to do it. WTF.
 
GoddessLSD-XTC said:
This world's fucked up and depressing. It's NORMAL to be depressed!

Take some LSD, smoke some reefer, drink vodka/orange juice and go to a dance club or concert. That can be depressing too. Last night was a disaster for me:

Went to hear Widespread Panic and was humiliated by a pretty girl who was extremely ugly inside then went to a gay bar, smooched with a woman who maybe thought I was a guy. She asked if my tits were real (silicone) and then felt my pussy (had on a short miniskirt and wasn't wearing underwear -- maybe she thought that was skanky) and said, "I'll be back in a minute, Raquel;" she snuck out the back door! Went home and I cried.

Now that's depressing! This kind of "life" sucks. I thought "it's time to put a gun to my head" but I think I'll live dangerously and allow someone else to do it. WTF.
Click to expand...

LMAO!

I'm sorry, but this made my depressed day much brigher. Thank you ;).
 
I suffered from depression/social phobia/anxiety, anti-depressant helped me ine the past, benzodiazepines and anti-anxiety medications too, but they all stopped to help me at a point ( sometimes one week after the begining of the treatment, it didn't already work: that's the case of Xanax; some other meds helped me for months: I think of Remeron, but it stopped too to help me...)

But now it's been two years I've found THE medication that cured my depression/anxiety. And now, TWO years later, it still works wonder: it's Buprenorphine, IVed, 24mg/day.

I lied to the doc, told him I was a heroin addict. That's the only way I could get it prescribed. But I use Bupe, and have always used it for depression/anxiety only. (even if it got me so high in the beginning...)
 
yellodolphin said:
^^ thats quite interesting shows doctors underestimate endorphins as factor in anxiety/mood disorders.
Click to expand...

I think Opioids are the solution to anxiety/mood-disorders/depression.
But only some Opioids like Bupe (tolerance develop slowly, and kappa full antagonism is what creates the antidepressant effect I belive), Morphine in the long term made me depressed...
 
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