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
poster:Addletap
thread:98184
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020313/msgs/98184.html