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Benzos Taking xanax to be more social?

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hazmatz

hazmatz

Bluelighter
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May 26, 2013
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Hey all,

I know xanax (Alprazolam) is typically used in the treatment of people with anxiety disorders...does this apply to social anxiety disorders as well? Would taking some xanax help someone who gets nervous easily in social situations? Does anyone have any experience with this or other benzos that help social anxiety?

Thanks in advance.
 
Xanax (Alprazolam), is really indicated mostly for people who suffer from panic attacks. However, I know many people (as well as myself) who are prescribed it for social anxiety, or General Anxiety. For me Benzo's have always been a double edged sword. They have helped me with my social and general anxiety (which I do have, along with the occaisional panic attack), and have in many ways improved my quality of life. Unfortunately, I am also an addict, and while I primarily take Benzodiazepines for my anxiety, I often tend to up my dose (without consulting my doctor), once the prescribed dosage begins to lose effect. Of course the problem is, that your body continues to develop a tolerance to benzodiazepines, and time and time again I have found myself taking such high dosages of Alprazolam or Clonazepam, that I would finish my prescription within two or three days, and then have to suffer through some terrible withdrawals or obtain the drugs through other means.

So. If you have an addictive personality, think twice before you go out and get yourself a script for one of the strongest and most psychologically addictive Benzodiazepines out there. Having a physical dependency to Benzo's is horrible. Absolutely, fucking, awful. However, so is Social Anxiety. If you're the type of person that is so neurotic that you have few or no friends and cannot bear to be with other people, than I would say it may be worth the risk.
 
Yes. Any kind of anxiety will be relieved. I have social anxiety as well, and I took illegally obtained xanax, and didn't get much relief that I could tell. But thats just me. Different drugs affect different people in different ways, so go ahead and give it a try. Just don't take too much or get addicted to it. The withdrawal can be fatal in rare cases. If this is xanax you are prescribed, follow the doctors instructions and don't abuse it's not a great buzz anyway. Only take more if you're having a panic attack.
 
BigDiggerNick said:
Yes. Any kind of anxiety will be relieved. I have social anxiety as well, and I took illegally obtained xanax, and didn't get much relief that I could tell. But thats just me. Different drugs affect different people in different ways, so go ahead and give it a try. Just don't take too much or get addicted to it. The withdrawal can be fatal in rare cases. If this is xanax you are prescribed, follow the doctors instructions and don't abuse it's not a great buzz anyway. Only take more if you're having a panic attack.
Click to expand...

So would it be a waste for me to try to get xanax to relieve social anxiety then? I plan on only using it for one (upcoming) specific occasion where i KNOW I'm going to be too anxious to socialize normally...i'm typically not an awkward person but i'm already very anxious in anticipation...
 
i mean, it would be very effective for that indication but most doctors are just gonna try and write you a script for citalopram or something.
 
The "crutch" aspect of it far outweigh the positive - a panic attack, or crippling anxiety are one thing. Nervousness is another.
Give Buspirone a shot, if you are going to just use it once or twice.
 
In that case, although im not sure if its against the rules to ask, what could I take to lessen my nervousness?
 
I'm prescribed Diazepam for GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) It tends to work better than Xanax because it has such a long half-life which means my anxiety is more stable throughout the day without as many peaks and troughs as opposed to Xanax which has a much shorter half life. It's taken me dozens of psychologists, a lot of doctors and a few psychiatrists over 3 years to have a repeat prescription for long term use of Diazepam.

It's not the kind of thing that a GP will prescribe for social anxiety because it's such a short term solution. As Znegative said, this contrasts to pro re nata use (as and when) for people who get panic attacks and need to take it. It's not really a long term solution, and again, as alovesupreme said, you're more likely to be prescribed an SSRI such as Citalopram.

A GP may be more convinced if you can cite a specific event that you may need to use it for, i.e. you have a fear of flying or dental surgery. You do say that you're planning to use it for a specific event in which you anticipate anxiety so I think it's quite reasonable to talk to your GP at least. I don't think many GP's would refuse to prescribe it to you if it is for a specific event. At the end of the day, that's what Benzodiazepines are used for, that's their therapeutic purpose.

May I ask what kind of event it is if that's okay?
 
Rybee said:
May I ask what kind of event it is if that's okay?
Click to expand...

I know a doctor would prescribe it to me if I had real anxiety issues, but thats the thing, I don't. I'm not usually anxious is any situation, I think its because I have a healthy diet and stay far away from caffeine (my ex had terrible anxiety issues because of a caffeine addiction) but for some reason I am feeling very anxious about this. I know it sounds really stupid but I'm going to be spending time with a girl I really like soon...I'm going to stay the night at her house, we're basically a couple kinda, I just haven't asked officially yet but I don't see her very often (its long distance) and when I do, I get extremely nervous for some reason, almost to the point where I feel sick and I can't let that happen anymore. I've never had this problem with other girls or anything in general, its just this specific girl. I don't know what to do so I need to resort to a benzo to subdue my anxiety.
 
Social anxiety is a fucking bitch I know.
It could help but really if you have to take it daily as you cannot bear to be in social situations even on your best days, then I wouldn't say benzos are your answer.
The addiction potential is too great and the WD's for benzos are fucking painful
 
@Holy

I don't even know if I really have Social Anxiety to an extreme extent...I usually do fine socially, I'm a pretty attractive guy, very charismatic but this girl just ruins everything about me, its weird.
I'm looking into Buspirone though and it looks promising w/o the comedown of a benzo

EDIT: I meant WD of a benzo :P
EDIT2: It looks like buspirone is something I'd need to take for several weeks to notice any effect on the anxiety...unfortunately I can't wait that long, so I think I'm looking at benzos again :/
 
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i think xanax can help with being more social, but if your new to xanax, people may pick up on you being less caring, or just "blah" while u may be feeling like ur being a social butterfly..xanax is a drug where u got to learn how to help it help you in social situations, at first when i was on xanax, i would be way too calm on social gatherings and people caught on something just wasnt right with me, as i been on it for years now, i learned how to help my social anxiety with the xanax and be able to act in a proper way..sorry if i dont make sense...xanax is more for panic attacks (or losing a loved one) or say going on an airplane, etc...short term anxiety...klonopin is ideal to use for social anxiety if anything
 
it can help in social situations and can b prescribed 4 social anxiety.kava will help with it also and that sumthing u can get easily otc.
 
Znegative said it all. Xanax works almost too good. That's why I stopped taking benzos, I'm still an awkward kind of person socially and am uncomfortable in most social situations but I think this is quite normal among people even if we don' want to accept it. We tend to want an easy fix for any discomfort and think it is "not normal" to be unsocial.

Now I know some people have a very high level of anxiety that induces some serious panic attacks so I understand the need for benzos. But that is a very small percentage of people who actually claim they have anxiety problems.

And with benzos, once you start developing a habit and stop taking them...bam panic attacks hit because all your natural anxiety fighters in your brain are not producing, leading one to believe they have a permanent problem which is only cured with more benzos and the cycle continues.
 
First hand knowledge with this deleima. You almost want to do anything to stop the horrors of social anxiety. I used to regularly lock myself in the house for days And only come out at night-time to buy food or whatever supplies needed while others where asleep. I don't really want to repeat what the above posters have mentioned because I think along the same lines Klonopin is definitely more approaite for (chronic) social anxiety, Xanax basically knocks you out/releaves major panic. Its effects can be overwhelming even to the most experienced user. And since you can only take it maybe 2 to 4 times per day you can have a rebound effect Because of it's insanely short half-life.
 
So is the consensus that Xanax will not help with social anxiety at all? I mean if we were to assume that I don't have the money to constantly get xanax (because i dont) and the risk of addiction isn't a factor, would xanax be a waste?
 
hazmatz said:
So is the consensus that Xanax will not help with social anxiety at all? I mean if we were to assume that I don't have the money to constantly get xanax (because i dont) and the risk of addiction isn't a factor, would xanax be a waste?
Click to expand...

I think most people agree that xanax(with the right dosage) will work, for me it worked very very well. But there are better benzos out there for the intended purpose if you want to go that route in the first place.
 
Today I started the day off sick, defeated, obliterated by poly-drug withdrawal of various classes. The thing which made me feel a lot better wasn't amp, weed, or coffee, but a benzo.

I've tried 234mg intramuscular palpiperidone, risperidone, paroxetine, depakote, lithium, citalopram, weed, various scientifically valid herbs and supplements, exercise, and prolonged meditation for my illness, and nothing works so well as benzos for getting the monster out of my mind.

You're telling me that you want to use this drug class, one which produces a withdrawal comparable to or more severe than heroin, one which is a last-resort for schizo/anxiogenic/bipolar illness and is used to control life-threatening seizures that make people choke on the blood coming out of the place where they bit off their tongue and can do the same if you become dependent on it and lose your source, that you want to willingly want to take this drug to get pussy?

This thread hasn't harm reduction value. Don't even consider it. Especially in regards to alprazolam.
 
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