46 replies to this topic

[Drexel]

This is not exactly a "nootropic", and the consequences of taking it regularly are nontrivial, but it is certainly natural... the single best med I ever found for social anxiety and depression, hands down, is testosterone cypionate. It completely ended my issues within a few weeks. OP, I suggest getting your testosterone levels checked (and thyroid and cortisol while you're at it), and consider a replacement regimen if they are low. Most of the solutions that have been suggested here are band-aids... while some are quite effective, finding and fixing the underlying issue, when you can, is the best route to feeling really well.

Oh, and to all the meditators... there's a reason that the old meditative traditions tell you to get your diet and fitness regimen in order before throwing yourself into the work of self-realization: If you're dealing with biochemical issues, the work is much harder and sometimes impossible. Even full blown hundred-thousand-megawatt killed-the-buddha-on-the-road-and-laughed-about-it I AM THAT enlightenment won't bring you genuine and lasting inner peace if the root of your anxiety and depression is an overactive thyroid or gluten sensitivity or some other physical malfunction.

[medievil]

noos, on 15 November 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

medievil, on 15 November 2011 - 10:48 PM, said:

I didnt read the full thread but do you have any reward issues? Its possible your bordering more on avoidant personality disorder wich is best fixed with something like amphetamine unlike sa wich better responds to benzo's, in sa only anxiety is the issue and no motivational or reward related issues.

How do you differentiate both?
Avoidant does not avoid from fear?

Hmm for me it was easy to differentiate as i dont respond to anxiolytics like alcohol, and alcohol definatly reduces fear, and makes you not care in higher doses. I just felt uncomfortable in social situations, and only amp can fix that completely, and the fix like MDMA lasts till the end of the next day, way past the high.

But my case is a bit differend, most ppl would respond to alcohol for both, i gues trialling is the only option.

[medievil]

Drexel, on 16 November 2011 - 02:20 PM, said:

This is not exactly a "nootropic", and the consequences of taking it regularly are nontrivial, but it is certainly natural... the single best med I ever found for social anxiety and depression, hands down, is testosterone cypionate. It completely ended my issues within a few weeks. OP, I suggest getting your testosterone levels checked (and thyroid and cortisol while you're at it), and consider a replacement regimen if they are low. Most of the solutions that have been suggested here are band-aids... while some are quite effective, finding and fixing the underlying issue, when you can, is the best route to feeling really well.

Oh, and to all the meditators... there's a reason that the old meditative traditions tell you to get your diet and fitness regimen in order before throwing yourself into the work of self-realization: If you're dealing with biochemical issues, the work is much harder and sometimes impossible. Even full blown hundred-thousand-megawatt killed-the-buddha-on-the-road-and-laughed-about-it I AM THAT enlightenment won't bring you genuine and lasting inner peace if the root of your anxiety and depression is an overactive thyroid or gluten sensitivity or some other physical malfunction.

Thats cool it worked for you, i didnt notice a difference on my test cycle, for many it can be of major benefit tough, in that case perhaps daily doses of clomid can be of great benefit (it can be used chronically, safely for atleast a year i think if i'm correct, as its been studied as a TRT alternative.

[nupi]

medievil, on 18 November 2011 - 09:03 PM, said:

I just felt uncomfortable in social situations, and only amp can fix that completely, and the fix like MDMA lasts till the end of the next day, way past the high.

But my case is a bit differend, most ppl would respond to alcohol for both, i gues trialling is the only option.

Interesting. Alcohol does not truly remove the fear for me either (at least not when interacting with strangers, I do not have an issue with close friends either way, it however lowers baseline anxiety in general) so do you respond to MPH as well or only to Amphetamine proper?

Edited by nupi, 19 November 2011 - 02:47 AM.

[ViolettVol]

noos, on 15 November 2011 - 10:44 PM, said:

ViolettVol, on 15 November 2011 - 12:55 PM, said:

hippocampus, on 12 November 2011 - 07:12 PM, said:

psychotherapy
there is no fucking magic pill for every problem

buy your friends a drink with this money.

anyway, piracetam helps some people with social inhibition ...

I actually wasted more than a year on psychotherapy , talk therapy, and I feel I'm in the same place i was and any progress ive had was from books i bought that taught me right thought pattersn because my psychotherapist just listened and offeren little or no advice and appeared ambivalent to my ideas on what to change to make myself better. After i stopped it, i actually took some pills for anxiety which allowed me to reach an important goal in life. unfortunately they were benzos so now im in withdrawal, but had i stayed in that same psychotherapy i might have been in worse shape cause it was causing total hopelessness.
I think talk therapy is good up to a point, cbt might be good but in the right circumstances. Good supps can help.
And dont advise peolpe in depressed state to buy drinks or go anywhere near drinks cause alcoholism is not what they want to develop.

'ViolettVol', may I ask:
What type of therapy you did?
Which books helped?
Which benzo you used? I don´t like clonazepam
Thanks

I went to therapy for depression and anxiety, at first it did not say what type it is - overtime it turned out to be just "talk therapy", I'd sit there and talk talk talk about all the problems and the therapist would just ask questions, but there was no program, no continuity in addressing the  problems and it felt automated and artificial because she would almost always start and end therapy with the same phrase. I was very involved and determined to try and start cognitive-behavioral therapy with her, but she was just ambivalent toward that I suspect because she was not trained in cbt. I just felt we were not cooperating - talking about problems is great and some people only need that from therapy, but curing such issues as I had and still have - OCD, extreme anxiety and depression - requires involved work from both patient and therapist.
I used clorazepat (tranxene)which I think is a milder version of clonazepam plus zolpidem which is a hypnotic and a sleeping aid so it was stupid of me to use it during the day - for a very short time it made me calm, motivated, so I managed to reach a goal I set for myself, but then tolerance developed and I ended up back with my issues.
The books that helped were CBT and OCD self- help books written by psychiatrists, I dont have them near me now, buit one of them was "Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and depression" - they teach you how to change thoughts and behaviour but you have to be disciplined in practicing their advice and exercises daily.
In my case they helped me escape "from the edge" but I think the msot effective would be work with a cbt therapist because then they check your progress and you are better able to keep yourself accountable for working on issues.
Now I'm in gradual withdrawal from the benzos and zolpidem, so I'd advise anyyone to try supps, noots instead of meds, unless there is ever a medication invented that does not cause tolerance overtime and side-effects.

Edited by ViolettVol, 19 November 2011 - 11:31 AM.

[Geovicsha]

Haven't read this entire thread, but something that has helped my social anxiety significantly is Dr Thomas Richard's audio tapes 'Overcoming Social Anxiety', complimented with an extensive booklet.

Richards himself battled social anxiety for many years; the wounded healer concept really enhances the effectiveness.

Worth a pretty penny if you don't want to be all "Ahar, matey! I be sailin the seven seas" about it.

[k10]

Geovicsha, on 19 November 2011 - 12:25 PM, said:

Haven't read this entire thread, but something that has helped my social anxiety significantly is Dr Thomas Richard's audio tapes 'Overcoming Social Anxiety', complimented with an extensive booklet.

Richards himself battled social anxiety for many years; the wounded healer concept really enhances the effectiveness.

Worth a pretty penny if you don't want to be all "Ahar, matey! I be sailin the seven seas" about it.

This too ^

VERY effective CBT series for social anxiety. Highly recommended in combinations with meds/supplements

[Delta Gamma]

I know this isn't the answer you're probably looking for, but have you ever considered joining a church or becoming much more involved in yours?

A friend of mine recently converted to Mormonism and has completely turned his life around, the constant supportive environment and frequent requests to attend low intensity social situations was exactly what he needed.

He's lost 30lbs, is slowly weening himself off Zoloft and Xanax, and is dating again for the first time since high school.
Personally I'm agnostic, but I'm not going to deny that religion does help many people.

[medievil]

nupi, on 19 November 2011 - 02:46 AM, said:

medievil, on 18 November 2011 - 09:03 PM, said:

I just felt uncomfortable in social situations, and only amp can fix that completely, and the fix like MDMA lasts till the end of the next day, way past the high.

But my case is a bit differend, most ppl would respond to alcohol for both, i gues trialling is the only option.

Interesting. Alcohol does not truly remove the fear for me either (at least not when interacting with strangers, I do not have an issue with close friends either way, it however lowers baseline anxiety in general) so do you respond to MPH as well or only to Amphetamine proper?

If combined with a ssri and mirtazepine then ritalin kills my sa as good as amphetamine, otherwise its too anxiogenic.

[ScienceGuy]

SEE HERE FOR MY TWO CENTS: TREATING ANXIETY SAFELY & EFFECTIVELY

Many of my recommendations are effective in treating both ANXIETY and DEPRESSION... and you can keep the 500 USD as my advice is FREE!

[evodude]

so who won the 500? Or was it a cheap markiting strategy ?

[brainslug]

noos, on 15 November 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

medievil, on 15 November 2011 - 10:48 PM, said:

I didnt read the full thread but do you have any reward issues? Its possible your bordering more on avoidant personality disorder wich is best fixed with something like amphetamine unlike sa wich better responds to benzo's, in sa only anxiety is the issue and no motivational or reward related issues.

How do you differentiate both?
Avoidant does not avoid from fear?

I think AvPD is more of a mentality of anxiety and worry, in the personality of the person. Social anxiety is more of the feeling of anxiety in or thinking of social situations, and I think it is caused mostly by a seperate part of your brain than general cognition.

People with AvPD, for example, would do something like quit a job because they fully believe that everyone hates them even though they really do not, it is just anxiety and negativeistic thinking about oneself. Someone with social anxiety would just be highly uncomforatable in a social situation or they may have a feeling that people hate them or are judging them, but they do not fully "think" that and probably wouldn't make major decisions based on these percieved dislikes, although it would be possible that they would quit the job because they can't stand the stress and anxiety of the social situations.

Another thing, I read somewhere that people with SA are mainly concerned with how THEY look in the social situation and if they are embarassing themself, ie: blushing, shaking
Whereas people with AvPD are concerned with monitoring others and what the people's opinions are of them and if these opinions put them in danger.

There is high comoribidity between the two, and there is a lot of overlap of symptoms.

[yadayada]

Change your surroundings. You'd be amazed.
Oh and listed to some Royksopp. lol

Edited by redan, 04 February 2012 - 11:19 PM.

[Lufega]

The whole prize thing was a scam.  I sent him a PM full of advice.  I write many posts on a forum dedicated to SA.  Never heard back from this person...

[evodude]

Scammers are equal to parasites to society praying on the goodwill of others. I think we should close this thread. Admin?

[nupi]

medievil, on 18 November 2011 - 09:03 PM, said:

noos, on 15 November 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

medievil, on 15 November 2011 - 10:48 PM, said:

I didnt read the full thread but do you have any reward issues? Its possible your bordering more on avoidant personality disorder wich is best fixed with something like amphetamine unlike sa wich better responds to benzo's, in sa only anxiety is the issue and no motivational or reward related issues.

How do you differentiate both?
Avoidant does not avoid from fear?

Hmm for me it was easy to differentiate as i dont respond to anxiolytics like alcohol, and alcohol definatly reduces fear, and makes you not care in higher doses. I just felt uncomfortable in social situations, and only amp can fix that completely, and the fix like MDMA lasts till the end of the next day, way past the high.

But my case is a bit differend, most ppl would respond to alcohol for both, i gues trialling is the only option.

How do I convince my shrink of that? He would not even go for MPH :(

[absent minded]

evodude, on 05 February 2012 - 10:51 AM, said:

Scammers are equal to parasites to society praying on the goodwill of others. I think we should close this thread. Admin?

Me and the OP could really use that pill in your avatar then my parents wouldn't have a parasite adult-child any longer

Edited by absent minded, 05 February 2012 - 11:40 AM.