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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by janejj on November 30, 2001, at 13:19:04
Hi,
Is there an antidepressant or any other kind of drug thats works well for low self esteem ?
Regards J
Posted by Elizabeth on November 30, 2001, at 15:54:26
In reply to Pill for Low self esteem, posted by janejj on November 30, 2001, at 13:19:04
> Is there an antidepressant or any other kind of drug thats works well for low self esteem ?
A lot of them can. Can you go into what you mean by low self-esteem, exactly? Do you have a diagnosis?
-e
Posted by janejj on November 30, 2001, at 16:05:36
In reply to Re: Pill for Low self esteem, posted by Elizabeth on November 30, 2001, at 15:54:26
Hi Elizabeth,
What i mean by low self esteem is constant thoughts putting myself self down. Thinking that other people must think that i'm weird. Not talking to people because i don't want them to think i'm weird or just not having anything to say. Feeling that people must laugh at me behind my back, alot of my friends have said that i am the most paranoid person they know. Feeling that my friends don't like me, even though it is obvious that they do. fear that i am not good enough at any thing, that i'll never get a good job etc.
I have only been diagnosed with depression, for which i have been prescribed prozac. I feel that the reason i am depressed is because of my low self esteem. So i'm wondering if there is a drug or specific antidepressant that could help ?
I know paxil is good for social anxiety, but i'm not sure thats what i have ! Paxil is also sedating and i need energy.
Any suggestions would be great !
Regards,
J
Is there an antidepressant or any other kind of drug thats works well for low self esteem ?
>
> A lot of them can. Can you go into what you mean by low self-esteem, exactly? Do you have a diagnosis?
>
> -e
Posted by Elizabeth on December 1, 2001, at 15:02:30
In reply to Re: Pill for Low self esteemELIZABETH, posted by janejj on November 30, 2001, at 16:05:36
Jane,
There's no specific treatment for that, but a lot of things, including Prozac, sometimes help. I would look at things that are supposed to help with social anxiety and interpersonal sensitivity; those are likely to be the most helpful to you.
Paxil probably isn't any more effective for social anxiety than any other SSRI (Paxil is also not particularly sedating for a lot of people, although it has a reputation for being sedating -- I, for one, found it made me jittery, and I know I'm not alone in this). MAOIs might be more effective, if the SSRIs don't help. It's possible that benzodiazepines could help. I know you're concerned about sedation; in my experience (not just taking it myself, but also observing others and talking to them about their experiences with it), a low dose of Klonopin usually isn't sedating and can work very well. Librium is another benzodiazepine that isn't very sedating usually. There are a lot of other things you can try, but those are the first ones I'd go with.
Some people think that there is something called a "depressive personality," and low self-esteem is central to this concept. Although I disagree with the idea that low self-esteem should be regarded as a "personality disorder," I know that it can have wide-ranging effects on your life and disposition, and as such it needs to be treated.
I hope you find something that can help you; I'm pretty sure that it's out there, although it might take a few tries to find the right thing. Good luck to you.
-elizabeth
Posted by sid on December 3, 2001, at 9:14:46
In reply to Re: Pill for Low self esteemELIZABETH, posted by janejj on November 30, 2001, at 16:05:36
Hi J,
actually, low self-esteem is a symptom of depression. You mention your depression perhaps being caused by your low-self-esteem... The chicken or the egg? Which came first ?I'd say work on your depression for now, it should help your self-esteem; if it's still problematic, psychotherapy might help (cognitive, behavioral short-term therapy are the most useful I find). You would learn why you think the way you think, why it does not make sense, and you would practice catching negative thoughts about yourself and actively change them. You need to be your best friend. Healing your depression might do the trick, if not, it'll require a bit more work on your part I believe. That's the kind of thing that will be useful for the rest of your life anyway.
I'm dealing with some of the same problems, except I did the therapy first and I'm now trying meds to do the rest of the work because I am still stuck with chronic depression. But I managed to get out of a major depression without meds - it was a lot of work, but it proves useful everyday, especially when I'm stressed. I still have negative thoughts about myself at times, but I've learned to say: "that's the old me still yaking, the new me knows better." And I move on.
sid
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