Help with social anxiety / phobia

Hey guys / girls,

Since before I was diagnosed with SZ I had some social anxiety. This started roughly 11-12 years ago.

As of lately it’s gotten worse. Don’t know why ,but if for example I see someone across the street I know I immediately act like I did not see them and walk away. I try avoiding any socializing … including with my own family at times. At times I feel like I’m under pressure when they try talking to me and I need to reply etc

What do you guys suggest? Meds or therapy?
Thanks in advance!

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Might be worth it to start with therapy. See if that helps and ask your therapist and process if further treatment with meds is needed.

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If its really social anxiety meds can help, therapy too. I had a friend who was diagnosed with social anxiety, he takes Citalopram and sees a psychologist.

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Idk if it’s the same for you but my social anxiety came from me pretending to be someone I wasn’t and trying to force myself to be more likeable. Therapy helps with that.

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Practicing small talk in the mirror helps.

It increases confidence and you’ll have automatic, practiced things to say.

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I use benzos. :cat::cat::cat:

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Yes same here ! Yes I feel as if I can come off unliked etc

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I am on clonazepam!

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I already am on citalopram

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Then maybe seeing a psychologist about it would help.

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What your going through sounds simple but I can tell it’s a complicated issue.
Maybe a medication change for that social anxiety.
Therapy with someone who is qualified and knows what your going through would probably be important as well.

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Have you tried escitalopram? That was once introduced to me as citalopram with extra help for anxiety.

Have you tried meditation? I used to suffer social anxiety very badly. I find grounding through my feet helpful, which is something I learnt through meditation.

Also exposure therapy.

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Been told to meditate! I want to go back to gym and maybe finally give meditation a try

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Sounds like a very positive focus! Well done :smiley:

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I have times of intense social anxiety. Its very cyclical, so sometimes Im pretty confident and comfortable with myself (usually for a period of months) then I feel like I dont want to talk to anyone and think Im worthless

I found that high dose zoloft, like 150 to 200 mg, was the only thing that helped me. Been on paroxetine, lexapro and wellbutrin before that, and while wellbutrin helped my depression, none of them took care of the anxiety. Everyones different tho

Have you considered an MAOI? I heard theyre very effective for social anxiety, but should only be a last resort since it basically blasts all your neurotrnsmitters at once lol and you have to be on a weird diet since oyu cant digest certain proteins anymore

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yea i get winded from long conversations with family personally. im not sure about meds but i can understand what you mean

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Meds don’t help that much. They can give you anti-anxiety meds which are addictive, but also seem to blunt cognitive function which renders you useless in social situations. Your best bets are therapy and practicing socializing. You’ll eventually get better at it. I do a lot of planning ahead and anticipating so I have things I can say for different scenarios. It really does work and I can pass as an NT for extended periods when I really need to.

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I don’t usually think meds are the go to solution, but Pregabalin has helped me massively with my anxiety

Think like you it has always been there, but once the psychosis was dealt with, it seemed to be more prevalent

Have they diagnosed you with Anxiety yet??

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Oh yes I was diagnosed with GAD at age 17. Age 27 diagnosed SZ

My pdoc doesn’t wanna give me anything more. Told me to do therapy.

I’m on an SSRI Citalopram and benzo Clonazepam
My AP is Clozaril

No I didn’t talk to doc about an MAOI…first I hear of it

Gotta see if it won’t interact bad with my other meds

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