![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Addletap on March 15, 2002, at 16:53:59
I'm interested in hearing about what "successful" treatment for Social Phobia feels like. I've been pretty shy all of my life, but am growing increasingly concerned about my symptoms b/c they are impeding progress in my career. My three main problems are:
- I'm very uncomfortable one-on-one with most people, including casual acquaintances (e.g., I will often take stairs etc. if I see someone I kind of know getting on an elevator ahead of me)
- I'm terrible in large group social situations (parties, etc.), with a kind of "deer in the headlights" look about me and everyone calling me "quiet"
- I'm very stiff with authority figures esp. (like boss or father-in law)I've used cognitive behavioral techniques for getting over a lot of my problems (like calling strangers on the phone), but I haven't been able to improve in these last three areas. I have tried various drugs (including low- moderate does Nardil & Parnate, Wellbutrin, SSRIs, Remeron, & various combinations thereof) which have helped my depression but made no dent in my SP. My concern is that maybe I'm expecting too much - maybe I'm as "normal" as I'm going to get no matter what medications I take, and I will never feel fine about casual interactions & group situations.
So I'm really interested in hearing what other people mean when they say XX med "helped with my SP". How did you feel differently? What were your main problems to start? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks - AT
Posted by Janelle on March 15, 2002, at 17:02:11
In reply to Social Phobia Success Stories?, posted by Addletap on March 15, 2002, at 16:53:59
I never realized I have what I'd consider MILD social phobia or perhaps really more like a lack of assertiveness until I started taking Paxil (an SSRI A-D) years ago (I've since stopped it because it pooped out on me).
During what I now refer to as "the Paxil Years," I became more outgoing, more comfortable with people, especially meeting new people and opening up to people. I was more social in general, more self confident.
I felt so good at the time, but what made me realize that the Paxil probably helped was how much worse I feel since I've been off it and have been trying to find a combo of meds to stablize and get back into the swing of things. I've got the hindsight now to look back at the "Paxil years" and compare how I was then to how I had been before then and how I am now after that time.
I'm not advocating that you try Paxil, I'm just trying to give a *success story* so to speak.
I never would have thought a med could work on social phobia, make one more assertive and outgoing till it happened to me. Maybe it was a fluke because I still see this social phobia thing as having a behavioral component and that good pyschotherapy (talk therapy) could be more beneficial than a med.
Also, there are some things about our personalities that we just can't change, they are part of us and we have to accept who we are. The Serenity prayer and all that. Having some social shyness may be part of that.
Good luck!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.