Posted 10 July 2019 - 11:59 AM
If you have to throw your money away on herbs and similar (not to say pharmaceuticals necessarily treat social anxiety to any amazing degree or without problems), I'd probably recommend bacopa monnieri.
Glycine and Magnesium are pretty good stuff that does work long-term with some modest effect, in my opinion. Don't take too much magnesium however as it might produce lethargy and various problems.
Various herbs or whatever inhibiting MAO-B or MAO-A might work (though smoking a pack of Marlboro a day is not recommended). Otherwise anything promoting or mimicking BDNF or NGF etc might have some effect (one of the theories behind why SSRIs work against depression and to some small degree work against anxiety), so Lion's mane maybe.
Posted 11 July 2019 - 07:06 AM
Phenibut is the most powerful but is addictive and has withdrawals. Kava is pretty effective but its effects last only an hour or two. For group situations I found Noopept to encourage me to express my opinions etc. and it also helped with public speaking / presentations.
Edited by Galaxyshock, 11 July 2019 - 07:09 AM.
Posted 11 July 2019 - 09:59 AM
Phenibut is the most powerful but is addictive and has withdrawals. Kava is pretty effective but its effects last only an hour or two. For group situations I found Noopept to encourage me to express my opinions etc. and it also helped with public speaking / presentations.
Where do you buy your Noopept from? Also at what dosage did you find it useful?
Posted 11 July 2019 - 10:20 AM
Where do you buy your Noopept from? Also at what dosage did you find it useful?
I used to buy from Powdercity before they went out of business but looks like the shop is back but I'm not sure if it's the same. Then I bought from Mindnutrition but they no longer sell noopept or racetams. But Intellimeds.net should be fine for Noopept. I took 10 - 30 mg dosage.
Posted 18 July 2019 - 01:32 AM
Posted 18 July 2019 - 06:17 PM
Theanine, Picamilon, Valerian, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola Rosea, Inositol, maybe Fish Oil and N-Acetylcysteine (more so for anxiety as a result of depression I guess).
But you shouldn't expect a strong and rapid anxiolytic effect like benzos provide.
There exist some interesting russian drugs / nootropics like Mebicar, Selank and others, but I have no experience with them.
Posted 19 July 2019 - 03:12 AM
Propranolol 20mg plus F-Phenibut 150mg-200mg or plain Phenibut (I use f-phenibut because I need it to act in 1 hour), you are shielded against social anxiety in a pretty effective way.
Propranolol effects: Panic attacks wont occur, shaky voice wont occur, nor trembling hands. Basically adrenaline will not affect you because propranolol blocks it.
And then Phenibut will do its own thing via its own anti anxiety mechanims namely VDCC blocking, Gaba-b agonism, and apparently also some antaganism of b-pheneline (not exactly this, something similar in name) which is in the end means another way of antagonizing adrenaline.
So far this is the best combo I have found. Of course you can take one or the other alone and it will be great on its own from my experience as well, but the combo builds up. As far as I know this combo is safe. I´ve taken it quite a few times myself so far and all good.
Propranolol has been prescribed since the 60s and has a very safe profile.
The only problem I find is Dry Mouth which, if you want to kiss a girl, can be problematic. If anyone knows a solution for dry mouth please share it.
Posted 19 July 2019 - 12:37 PM
Why use herbs and B.S. instead of the real deal?
Get on Zoloft of Paxil. I'm on 200 mg Zoloft and have zero side effects at all. All the herbal MAOIs are pretty shit except that one people mix with DMT. But you can't mix MAOIs with SSRIs obviously. So just go on Zoloft. Paxil is notorious for weight gain which is why I chose Zoloft. Those two in recent academic literature and over the years have been found the most effective SSRIs for SAD. There's one SNRI which works but I always forget the name, begins with a V. True MAOIs like Parnate work better but are riskier and the response rate is actually surprisingly not that much higher. These were all double blind studies of course.
Phenibut is ineffective on its own. I have combined it with alcohol (fatal combination - do not attempt it) many times along with caffeine, which has worked. High dose phenibut on an empty stomach has a hangover worse than alcohol, it literally feels like the room is diagonal, your eyes go all weird, and you can barely walk standing upright.
On nights when I have gone out without drinking much I have used high amounts of Valerian root. During the daytime I can walk up to randoms on the street. Because I get positive feedback from doing this since I take very good care of my physical appearance, it provides positive reinforcement. Unfortunately I recently had a severe accident and haven't been able to do my CBT stuff in a while. I self-implemented CBT based on the practitioners guide by Dr. Leahy. But when I was doing it I did get to a point where I could go up to women stone sober and chat them up... It took only a few months? But I only got to the point where I could talk to them for about 5 minutes, get a number, maybe get them to follow me to a bar - but THEN I'd start feeling the pressure. If it wasn't for the escalator thing I'd probably be doing very well.
As soon as my scars and injuries heal I'll start doing that again.
Edited by CalumJones, 19 July 2019 - 12:39 PM.
Posted 19 July 2019 - 04:14 PM
Why use herbs and B.S. instead of the real deal?
Get on Zoloft of Paxil. I'm on 200 mg Zoloft and have zero side effects at all.
Studies have shown that up to 70% of SSRI uses end up getting permanent sexual dysfunction. SSRIs may also cause emotional flattening. If you are not getting these side effects then great, but lots of people do get them.
But when I was doing it I did get to a point where I could go up to women stone sober and chat them up... It took only a few months? But I only got to the point where I could talk to them for about 5 minutes, get a number, maybe get them to follow me to a bar - but THEN I'd start feeling the pressure.
Are you sure you have social anxiety, and not just shyness or nervousness?
Social anxiety is often erroneously described as "shyness", but in fact social anxiety has very little to do with being shy. Social anxiety involves intense worry and anxiety over how other people may perceive, evaluate or judge you, or what you say.
Social anxiety is not really about being nervous of social activity, but anxious about how others will see and judge you.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 07:21 AM
Studies have shown that up to 70% of SSRI uses end up getting permanent sexual dysfunction. SSRIs may also cause emotional flattening. If you are not getting these side effects then great, but lots of people do get them.
Are you sure you have social anxiety, and not just shyness or nervousness?
Social anxiety is often erroneously described as "shyness", but in fact social anxiety has very little to do with being shy. Social anxiety involves intense worry and anxiety over how other people may perceive, evaluate or judge you, or what you say.
Social anxiety is not really about being nervous of social activity, but anxious about how others will see and judge you.
Yeah well obviously antidepressants aren't something you just pop for fun. There are risks, though exaggerated. Sexual dysfunction btw is a very broad term, it can mean delayed ejalucation (which IMO is a meh factor), loss of libido... It's not always actual impotence, and post people can still use stuff like Cialis.
Personally I don't have any of the issues mentioned.
HOWEVER - the point is that antidepressants and western medicine are a godsend for people who NEED IT.
I will tell you now this is no joke: I would be dead without SSRIs. If I all I had was some crap passionflower I would be dead. If all I had was some phenibut that makes you feel wasted drunk I'd not be able to function in normal life and then suffer life threatening withdrawals - since it's kinda similar to benzos. If I had to describe phenibut I'd say it's like a mix of alcohol, benzos, and MDMA. But not strong enough on its own to be more effective than any of those on their own. But in combination (fatal - do not try - DO NOT TRY) which I have done it works like that.
So obviously for me whatever possible minor side effect is better than the alternative. I'd rather live to 50 and be mentally healthy than live to be 100 and suffer every day... I am a victim of childhood trauma which gave me severe anxiety and at first bad dissociation and all sorts. I watched my mom die, watched her buried, I was only 14 and I didn't have a dad (he was alive but I never saw him since I was like 5) so my life was basically just me and my mom, and she was taken from me quite suddenly and unexpectedly... After her death I became MANIC for about 6 months or perhaps a bit more? I was like some madman, super extroverted, I think I wanted to wear an army general's hat to school. I was just totally mentally ruined.
Yes I am certain it is not "shyness", I was never a shy person until post-trauma. Post-trauma I had to take Valium just to walk into an office years ago when working and I'd STILL have panic attacks, even on valium I'd have to hide out in the bathrooms for hours due to how stressed and scared I was. In fact one time I had such a bad attack on the train I had to get off and lie down on the platform, it was raining and people stepped all over me to get on the train. Nobody cared.
I suffered for a DECADE without the medication I needed because of fearmongering - like people saying how terrible antidepressants are. As for emotional numbness, I was emotionally numb anyway (numb in the positive - so as in very unexcitable etc.) so if it made a change there I wouldn't even notice, I would always just have to fake positive emotions but never feel them. So I can't comment on that side of things. Now I do sometimes feel good emotions but it's usually emotions like feeling accomplished etc, I tend to not get very excited etc.
But all these herbal remedies etc. it's practically B.S, I've tried them all... Someone with the actual disorder (at least to the extent I had it) needs to rely on 21st century treatment options. The best are: Antidepressants/anxyioltics (though the latter can cause physical dependence and aren't good for socializing due to sedation IMO), CBT therapy, mindfulness practice DURING an anxiety producing situation... The latter since much of anxiety is anticipatory. E.g. walking up to reception you might feel nervous before you even enter the building. Mindfulness can help you pull yourself into the moment so it's like you're not even realizing you're going there until you're there. And the anxiety is much less.
I always noticed that I would fare a lot better when taken by surprise. So for example, if a stranger randomly and unexpectedly said something to me, I would react much less nervously than if it was something I had built up like walking from the train station to the workplace getting more and more anxious until I'd be literally hyperventilating.
I am VERY well read on Social Anxiety Disorder, I have many textbooks. My favorites on the subject if anyone's interested are:
Edited by CalumJones, 20 July 2019 - 07:26 AM.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 12:12 PM
I agree, CalumJones, that there's a lot of hysterical fear mongering about pharmaceutical antidepressants; it's best to present these drugs in a balanced way, not hiding the possible side effects, but not become hysterical about them either.
I suffer from a range of mental health conditions, which appeared after a viral brain infection. These include: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety (though this is intermittent), depression, anhedonia, blunted emotions (blunted affect), some days of mild psychosis, ADHD, and on bad days, an autism-like sensitivity to the presence of people (which is not the same as social anxiety).
One top of that, I also developed myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome) from the viral infection, which brings its own mental symptoms such as brain fog, and emotional/stress sensitivity to any form of even mild social discord.
I've been self-medicating with pharmaceutical drugs I buy online, at prescription-free pharmacies, trying to find answers to all my issues. When I tried an SSRI for my depression, within hours of taking on pill (of citalopram) my depression and suicidal ideation dramatically worsened. This paradoxical worsening of depression on SSRIs I imagine explains why suicides have been associated with SSRIs. However, I appreciate that SSRIs do work well for many people.
I did better on TCA antidepressants such as amitriptyline, but I did not feel quite right on these. I found the best and most natural-feeling antidepressant for me was the MAOI drug moclobemide (this has also been shown to have much lower side effects than many other antidepressants, in the study I cited above). Moclobemide is also used for social anxiety.
Did you ever try choline for social anxiety? This works very effectively for me. I usually take in the form of a 1200 mg lecithin capsule (lecithin contains about 25% phosphatidylcholine).
In my case, the social anxiety would appear after the social event. I'd have no problem socializing, but I'd come home afterwards and start becoming quite anxious about how my words were construed by others, and whether I might have offended anyone by what I said, or whether my words were taken the wrong way. But within an hour or so of taking choline, all those worried thoughts would completely disappear. Choline is known to help social anxiety, but does not work for everyone.
Edited by Hip, 20 July 2019 - 12:12 PM.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 03:14 PM
I did better on TCA antidepressants such as amitriptyline, but I did not feel quite right on these. I found the best and most natural-feeling antidepressant for me was the MAOI drug moclobemide (this has also been shown to have much lower side effects than many other antidepressants, in the study I cited above). Moclobemide is also used for social anxiety.
Have you considered the "real" unselective and irreversible MAOIs like tranylcypromine or phenelzine?
Posted 20 July 2019 - 03:20 PM
Have you considered the "real" unselective and irreversible MAOIs like tranylcypromine or phenelzine?
I have not tried those. Do they have advantages over the reversible MAOIs?
I understand you can only safely take irreversible MAOIs if you follow strict dietary restrictions to avoid high tyramine foods.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 03:32 PM
The old MAOIs are considered (much) more powerful for e.g. severe and treatment resistant depression / social anxiety disorder.
Phenelzine's additional GABAergic effects contribute to enhanced anxiolysis and tranylcyprome has some stimulant properties.
The dietary restrictions exist, altough they are somewhat exaggerated. The potential drug interactions must be strictly followed though.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 03:42 PM
The old MAOIs are considered (much) more powerful for e.g. severe and treatment resistant depression / social anxiety disorder.
I wonder if these old MAOIs would help my anhedonia. Anhedonia and blunted affect (blunted emotions) are the bane of my existence. My depression does respond reasonably well to moclobemide. I also find Spanish saffron useful for depression (several studies have found saffron to be as effective as pharmaceutical antidepressants).
But even on days when I have no depression, my anhedonia and blunted affect are always there. And unfortunately there are almost no recognized treatments for anhedonia.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 04:06 PM
They might, as dopamine is strongly involved in anhedonia and the effect of old MAOIs on dopamine is much more pronounced than that of Aurorix.
But those old drugs shouldn't be taken lightly and they have a lot of potential interactions not just with (OTC) drugs, but also herbs and supplements.
One thing you might consider for your anhedonia is low dose amisulpride, which increases dopaminergic neurotransmission.
It's approved for dysthymia in Italy.
Edited by unbreakable, 20 July 2019 - 04:09 PM.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 04:38 PM
One thing you might consider for your anhedonia is low dose amisulpride, which increases dopaminergic neurotransmission.
It's approved for dysthymia in Italy.
That's in fact what I've been taking daily for some years now, just 12.5 mg daily. Helps with depression, and also helps with some social withdrawal symptoms I had. It helps a little with anhedonia.
A lot of my symptoms are suggestive of some sort of mild schizophrenia-type condition, since anhedonia, blunted affect, social withdrawal, and psychosis (I sometimes experience very mild psychosis, but never any hallucinations, delusions or paranoid thoughts) are all schizophrenia symptoms.
The melatonin-like antidepressant agomelatine has been shown to help anhedonia, but I did not notice much from it in my short-term tests.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 05:10 PM
Could be considered the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, but might also be signs of schizoid personality disorder or asperger sysndrome.
Hard to differentiate, but usually at least the latter two wouldn't be the result of a viral brain infection.
You did not have those symptoms before the phyiscal illness? Was it viral enzephalitis/meningitis? Treated in the hospital with aciclovir?
For CFS you might look into ribose, high dose Q10 / ubiquinol, acetyl-carnitine and modafinil.
Valaciclovir might be an option.
Edited by unbreakable, 20 July 2019 - 05:15 PM.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 05:48 PM
You did not have those symptoms before the phyiscal illness? Was it viral enzephalitis/meningitis? Treated in the hospital with aciclovir?
No, only appeared after the viral infection.
I caught a nasty viral infection in 2003, which blood tests and symptoms suggest was coxsackievirus B4, which is an enterovirus. This viral infection started as a sore throat that would not go away, and I felt it slowly spreading to other organs over a few months, like the stomach, the nose, the intestines.
Then one day I was out doing my daily run, and I felt something happening in my head. Within about 20 minutes, I had sustained very noticeable brain damage: I was suddenly almost unable to recognize people by their face; I lost my sense of smell; I felt like the emotional part of my brain had been cut out with a knife; I became almost unable to read simple sentences (the brain infection caused some severe ADHD).
After this brain infection I had such severe generalized anxiety disorder that I felt unable to seek medical help, and did not see a doctor until around 2 months later. When I explained to my doctor I thought I may have had meningitis/encephalitis, for some reason he did not believe me, and I was so mentally frail at that point that I was unable to argue. So I never got a medical diagnosis, but it seems very likely it was a viral brain infection. There was permanent and overnight personality change and loss of mental faculties, so something clearly happened to my brain.
Thereafter I suffered for many years moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder (this is now in remission thanks to some anti-inflammatory treatments I devised), anhedonia, blunted emotions, social withdrawal, recurrent bouts of mild psychosis, severe ADHD (which has slowly improved), bouts of depression (neurologically caused, not caused by life circumstances), and I also then developed myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome), which at one point was becoming severe (in bed for about 20 hours a day due to sheer fatigue) but is better these days. ME/CFS is linked to coxsackievirus B, as well as certain herpesviruses like Epstein-Barr virus.
Edited by Hip, 20 July 2019 - 05:51 PM.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 05:59 PM
Could be considered the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, but might also be signs of schizoid personality disorder or asperger sysndrome.
Yes, I can relate to several of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia: anhedonia, low libido, blunted affect, social withdrawal, reductions in speech (but only when I get these bouts of mild psychosis), loss of interest in things I previously enjoyed (I used to read a great deal, with interests in science, philosophy, psychology, meditation and spirituality, etc, but now I have very little interest in these; the only interest I have is now medical science, but that's not for pleasure but for practical reasons, as I am trying to find solutions and treatments for my mental and physical health conditions).
Posted 20 July 2019 - 07:09 PM
I agree, CalumJones, that there's a lot of hysterical fear mongering about pharmaceutical antidepressants; it's best to present these drugs in a balanced way, not hiding the possible side effects, but not become hysterical about them either.
I suffer from a range of mental health conditions, which appeared after a viral brain infection. These include: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety (though this is intermittent), depression, anhedonia, blunted emotions (blunted affect), some days of mild psychosis, ADHD, and on bad days, an autism-like sensitivity to the presence of people (which is not the same as social anxiety).
One top of that, I also developed myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome) from the viral infection, which brings its own mental symptoms such as brain fog, and emotional/stress sensitivity to any form of even mild social discord.
I've been self-medicating with pharmaceutical drugs I buy online, at prescription-free pharmacies, trying to find answers to all my issues. When I tried an SSRI for my depression, within hours of taking on pill (of citalopram) my depression and suicidal ideation dramatically worsened. This paradoxical worsening of depression on SSRIs I imagine explains why suicides have been associated with SSRIs. However, I appreciate that SSRIs do work well for many people.
I did better on TCA antidepressants such as amitriptyline, but I did not feel quite right on these. I found the best and most natural-feeling antidepressant for me was the MAOI drug moclobemide (this has also been shown to have much lower side effects than many other antidepressants, in the study I cited above). Moclobemide is also used for social anxiety.
Did you ever try choline for social anxiety? This works very effectively for me. I usually take in the form of a 1200 mg lecithin capsule (lecithin contains about 25% phosphatidylcholine).
In my case, the social anxiety would appear after the social event. I'd have no problem socializing, but I'd come home afterwards and start becoming quite anxious about how my words were construed by others, and whether I might have offended anyone by what I said, or whether my words were taken the wrong way. But within an hour or so of taking choline, all those worried thoughts would completely disappear. Choline is known to help social anxiety, but does not work for everyone.
SSRIs have a paradoxical effect for most people which goes away in about 2 to 4 weeks. This may be because one of the main actions of SSRIs is creating BNDF or whatever, which happens after that period.
Usually prescribers warn you that your symptoms may get worse for a little while - or they SHOULD - because it's expected and common.
In general, TCA antidepressants have been found to have a lower patient response rate than SSRIs or Effexor, and they also have hiher incidence of side effects and (IIRC) drug interactions. MAOIs have the highest patient response rate but are clearly the most dangerous. Reversible MAOIs like mobclobemide tend to offer little relief for most. It's the patients who take irreversible MAOIs such as Nardil and Parnate who respond the best. However, there IS a risk (albeit apparently exaggerated - according to users) you could DIE from eating cheese or cured meats from it, or from taking certain OTC medicines with it.
Forms of MAOI may be more efficient for people with a wider range of neurotransmitter issues, as MAO breaks down serotonin, dopamine, and I believe also norepinephrine. So by inhibiting MAO you inhibit the break down of these compounds. I would expect the feeling to be similar to MDMA but without such intensity (since MDMA literally floods your brain with these transmitters). Reuptake inhibitors like SSRIs, SNRIs, Rtalin and cocaine work slightly differently (Note: cocaine is ALSO a releasing agent of serotonin, which differentiates it from RItaln, otherwise the action of each drug is comparable).
I also had a viral brain infection (encephalitis) but I was only around 8, but Ithink only my short term memory was effected. You have a wide range of symptoms that SSRIs may not cover. I know sertraline is effective for anxiety disorders and OCD spectrum disorders. When treating people suffering with just OCD, higher than usual doses like 300 to 400 mg were used and apparently eased symptoms.
---
FYI what you're discussing for your social anxiety is "Post Event Processing", which is something CBT deals with. Sufferers of the condition usually have anticipatory anxiety, anxiety DURING the event, and then negatively evaluate their performance afterwards via Post Event Processing. What you describe in fact sounds more like OCD thought patterns if the anxiety is not present DURING the social event. So for example, many people with severe social anxiety would not be able to walk around a grocery store without sweating etc.
If you "obtain" the books I recommended, get the Cambridge one as it deals with OCD moreso IIRC. But I have many psyh books so I'd have to check. I do know it covers GAD well. A close friend of mine actually also has GAD and OCD and displays similar symptoms. Like he'll randomly become obsessed about the meaning of something someone said to him like, 10 years ago.
Edited by CalumJones, 20 July 2019 - 07:17 PM.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 07:56 PM
FYI what you're discussing for your social anxiety is "Post Event Processing", which is something CBT deals with. Sufferers of the condition usually have anticipatory anxiety, anxiety DURING the event, and then negatively evaluate their performance afterwards via Post Event Processing.
I had not come across "post event processing" before, but that's certainly what I sometimes get. I am not anxious at the events, except for my normal generalized anxiety disorder when I get that, but that's not social anxiety.
Don't think it is OCD, because I don't really have any significant OCD traits, apart perhaps from a perfectionist streak.
SSRIs have a paradoxical effect for most people which goes away in about 2 to 4 weeks. This may be because one of the main actions of SSRIs is creating BNDF or whatever, which happens after that period.
Yeah I know that SSRIs often take a few weeks to start working for many people; but in my case, the dramatic worsening of depression after one low dose pill of an SSRI was so severe that had I had easy means, I may have killed myself there and then. It was that bad. Fortunately I was aware that SSRIs can sometimes dramatically worsen depression, so I knew I just had to wait for 24 hours to get the drug out of my system. I suspect these cases of teenage suicide that occur just after SSRIs are prescribed might due to the same dramatic worsening of depression that sometimes occurs.
Interestingly enough, a long time ago, back in the 1990s, when SSRIs like Prozac were new and all the rage, and often talked about in the newspapers, I got hold of some Prozac just to try, just to see what all the fuss was about (even though I was not depressed). I did not at that time experience these adverse effects. So something clearly changed in my brain, making it sensitive to the adverse effects of these drugs.
Because my brain feels like it is in a constant state of low-level inflammation ever since my viral infection, I wonder if it is those with chronic brain inflammation who might experience these adverse effects from SSRIs.
Posted 20 July 2019 - 08:28 PM
I had not come across "post event processing" before, but that's certainly what I sometimes get. I am not anxious at the events, except for my normal generalized anxiety disorder when I get that, but that's not social anxiety.
Don't think it is OCD, because I don't really have any significant OCD traits, apart perhaps from a perfectionist streak.
Yeah I know that SSRIs often take a few weeks to start working for many people; but in my case, the dramatic worsening of depression after one low dose pill of an SSRI was so severe that had I had easy means, I may have killed myself there and then. It was that bad. Fortunately I was aware that SSRIs can sometimes dramatically worsen depression, so I knew I just had to wait for 24 hours to get the drug out of my system. I suspect these cases of teenage suicide that occur just after SSRIs are prescribed might due to the same dramatic worsening of depression that sometimes occurs.
Interestingly enough, a long time ago, back in the 1990s, when SSRIs like Prozac were new and all the rage, and often talked about in the newspapers, I got hold of some Prozac just to try, just to see what all the fuss was about (even though I was not depressed). I did not at that time experience these adverse effects. So something clearly changed in my brain, making it sensitive to the adverse effects of these drugs.
Because my brain feels like it is in a constant state of low-level inflammation ever since my viral infection, I wonder if it is those with chronic brain inflammation who might experience these adverse effects from SSRIs.
OCD is a spectrum of disorders, it's not just the really "scatty" people who think if they don't count to the number 9 every time they leave a room their family will be hit by a car or whatever.
Body Dysmorphia is actually within the OCD spectrum.
But in general ruminating over events and the likes brings to mind my friend who does have OCD thought patterns such as randomly becoming very concerned about whether he came across "cuck" in certain events from years ago etc. etc.
I am somewhat read on GAD but not so much. I know it has a high comorbidity rate - in other words, if you have GAD it's very likely you will also suffer from some sort of depressive disorder, other anxiety disorder, or somatoform disorders. I also know that sufferers have an "intolerance of uncertainty" leading to "what if...?" after "what if...?" before an event has even occurred. Honestly academic books on the matter are going to be the most helpful, many contain treatment plans. As said I find Wiley and Wiley Blackwell publications the highest quality. And of course you want something as up to date as is possible to obtain.
Posted 21 July 2019 - 03:10 PM
CalumJones, in terms of getting prescribed useful drugs, did your doctor ever arrange a consultation with an NHS psychiatrist, and if so, did you find this helpful? I am in the UK, but I have tended to take responsibility for diagnosing and treating my own symptoms, buying my own pharmaceutical drugs online.
But I've wondered if it would be helpful to get a consultation with a psychiatric expert. What puts me off, though, is the fact that many psychiatrists tend to view mental health as something psychologically caused, rather than caused by aberrant brain biochemistry; this means then may want to give you some talk therapy, as opposed to pharmacological intervention.
Posted 21 July 2019 - 04:27 PM
CalumJones, in terms of getting prescribed useful drugs, did your doctor ever arrange a consultation with an NHS psychiatrist, and if so, did you find this helpful? I am in the UK, but I have tended to take responsibility for diagnosing and treating my own symptoms, buying my own pharmaceutical drugs online.
But I've wondered if it would be helpful to get a consultation with a psychiatric expert. What puts me off, though, is the fact that many psychiatrists tend to view mental health as something psychologically caused, rather than caused by aberrant brain biochemistry; this means then may want to give you some talk therapy, as opposed to pharmacological intervention.
Posted 23 July 2019 - 05:23 PM
CalumJones or any else: how would you label or interpret the following mental symptom I sometimes experience:
I get these mental states where words, concepts or images on TV can sort of jolt the mind, and create substantial internal mental tension, such that I need to avoid exposure to conversation, and even watching TV. It's as if my mind cannot process words, ideas, concept and thoughts, so the coping strategy is to avoid conversation or TV.
It's not the meaning of the words or images that is the issue, as I get the same tension with any word or concept; it just relates to the mental processing any word, concept or image, as if my mind cannot process them without causing mental unrest and upheaval.
My feeling is that the above symptom might be part of the mild psychosis I get on random days from time to time.
Posted 23 July 2019 - 10:03 PM
There exist some interesting russian drugs / nootropics like Mebicar, Selank and others, but I have no experience with them.
I can highly recommend Selank, however using it long-term (at least in the nasal drop form with preservatives) might not be the most practical as in my experience it causes some mild nasal irritation just after using up one small bottle (~10 days moderate use every day). Very noticeable anxiolytic action and it doesn't give any weird or undesirable side-effects that I usually get from most purported anxiolytic herbs or medications (at worst it makes me a bit tired but not in the awful lethargic or cognitively impaired way of say benzos).
As far as those other Russian or obscure medications, Mebicar is alright, a friend used that for a period and I just tried a single tablet here or there, it does work but it's a bit weird, somehow causes a little bit of stimulation at the same time for me.
Mexidol/Mexifin certainly does something and has made me very relaxed and generally feeling really good here and there (5ml IM) but long-term use seems a bit dubious (not sure if the relaxing effect lasts with chronic administration for weeks), especially with the sulhpite that is in some preparations for injection. And I have no idea if the tablets are worthwhile. But keep in mind my anxiety levels when trying out this substance and most others mentioned was rather low to begin with, mostly, so it's not necessarily easy to tell.
Afobazole is also pretty good but it does make me feel slightly odd, probably number 2 for me after Selank if just considering anti-anxiety effects. But I don't see a need to use it personally, I might use some selank or mexidol again, once in a while but mostly not and not necessarily primarily for anti anxiety effects (selank and mexidol has or could have some other more broad effects e.g. improving cognition). My cerebrolysin cycles which I've done for many years now also does seem to help a bit, especially over time, with anxiety, but that's certainly not the main effect of that compound (I'd say more anti-depressant and anti-stress, and general brain function / thinking ability).
Other than that glycine (every day) and magnesium (at reasonable doses and keeping in mind calcium intake) does seem to work long term for me giving general and modest anti-anxiety effect. Taurine could possibly help as well, that one is a bit weird in my experience, you can get stimulation from it too.
Edited by Keizo, 23 July 2019 - 10:11 PM.
Posted 23 July 2019 - 10:39 PM
CalumJones or any else: how would you label or interpret the following mental symptom I sometimes experience:
I get these mental states where words, concepts or images on TV can sort of jolt the mind, and create substantial internal mental tension, such that I need to avoid exposure to conversation, and even watching TV. It's as if my mind cannot process words, ideas, concept and thoughts, so the coping strategy is to avoid conversation or TV.
It's not the meaning of the words or images that is the issue, as I get the same tension with any word or concept; it just relates to the mental processing any word, concept or image, as if my mind cannot process them without causing mental unrest and upheaval.
My feeling is that the above symptom might be part of the mild psychosis I get on random days from time to time.
Sounds like me after using a bunch of oral tobacco (snus) for a long period and having drank caffeine-rich beverages for a few days (like even just 70mg caffeine per day). Also can happen or be made much worse if I have let's say a tooth infection which I had at some point, or at other points irritated gums due to the tobacco.
If you are a lot like me I'd stay away from most anything vaguely speaking cholinergic, like racetams, choline supplements, nicotine, caffeine. On the other hand I think Methylphenidate has no effect or even a positive effect on these types of feelings (unless the dose for that time was obviously too high, as in no tolerance after a break and I jump straight on my 20mg ER Ritalin capsule).
My diagnosis would be that you are probably pretty tense, and that maybe some sort of inflammation has something to do with it or had something to do with it, but maybe at this point it's just a cognitive deficit the brain cannot fix and perhaps whatever caused it is no longer an issue. Have you tried taking paracetamol or an NSAID? Back in the day I did that and sometimes I felt much better, and much more clear headed and more relaxed, I think that was when I had some of those dental/gum issues. My oral tobacco use (and this is when I decided I needed to end it) came to the point of me getting this pain going through half my skull from my teeth area, probably due to chemical irritation/damage and then I guess the nicotine itself activating those already aggravated nerves, and it just felt really bad at one particular point in time, but mostly symptoms weren't like that but more blurred.
If you want to heal your brain from general wear and tear or some sort of dysregulation, then I can suggest cerebrolysin, and nothing else really, only thing I've taken that seems to obviously and strongly work long-term and with (semi-)permanent effects, but it might not do anything for you.. who knows. (Reason I started using it was after quitting benzos, I couldn't speak or think very well, was more tired and fogged out than tense (or so I thought), and after the first 5ml injection I could speak much better and so on and so forth.) As far as inflammation I'm no expert but just in my experience chewing garlic cloves here and there and eating some vegetables sure seems to help me feeling better overall. If you do decide to get some cere I'd pick up a small pack of mexidol at the same time, just because that is the medication with purported main action being anti-oxidant (which is really weird in my opinion and makes me very suspicious, but it's also pretty cheap, at least compared to cerebrolysin). https://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Emoxypine
Edited by Keizo, 23 July 2019 - 10:43 PM.
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
Community Forum Software by IP.Board
Licensed to: ImmInst.org
