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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tepiaca on April 11, 2003, at 18:21:47
Hi I have a question . I have SP and I want to know If I gonna have to take medicines for ther rest of my life.
I take Klonopin to treat it , so I dont have to be scare If I become adict to this drug , anyway I gonna take medicines for the rest of my life
am I wrong?
Posted by btnd on April 11, 2003, at 19:45:58
In reply to Social Phobia . Is this forever?, posted by Tepiaca on April 11, 2003, at 18:21:47
> Hi I have a question . I have SP and I want to know If I gonna have to take medicines for ther rest of my life.
> I take Klonopin to treat it , so I dont have to be scare If I become adict to this drug , anyway I gonna take medicines for the rest of my life
> am I wrong?
>It's hard to tell what future may bring (gene therapy?). For now the only way to escape from this chronic condition is to use medications which treat the problem. Klonopin, Nardil, stimulants.
Posted by Carlos C on April 11, 2003, at 21:31:54
In reply to Social Phobia . Is this forever?, posted by Tepiaca on April 11, 2003, at 18:21:47
> Hi I have a question . I have SP and I want to know If I gonna have to take medicines for ther rest of my life.
> I take Klonopin to treat it , so I dont have to be scare If I become adict to this drug , anyway I gonna take medicines for the rest of my life
> am I wrong?
No you are not wrong. There's a difference between addiction and what is refered to as medical dependency. Since there is no cure for SP medication is an alternative to living in misery.
Posted by Ritch on April 11, 2003, at 23:33:45
In reply to Social Phobia . Is this forever?, posted by Tepiaca on April 11, 2003, at 18:21:47
> Hi I have a question . I have SP and I want to know If I gonna have to take medicines for ther rest of my life.
> I take Klonopin to treat it , so I dont have to be scare If I become adict to this drug , anyway I gonna take medicines for the rest of my life
> am I wrong?
>Hi, I don't think you will have to take medicines for the rest of your life. I talked to my Mom (who is in her '70's now), and found that she was suffering from social phobia symptoms in the 1950's after she was divorced from her first husband and was dealing with newly diagnosed epilepsy. She was very scared of having a seizure in the daytime and having something embarassing happen to her. So much so, she didn't attempt to find a job for many years and stayed with my grandparents and didn't venture out much at all-despite only having seizures while she was sleeping (and Dilantin+phenobarbitol stopped them after awhile). From what she told me, she just "grew" out of it-with some support and encouragement from her neurologist to seek employment. My pdoc told me something like this: 1) When you are 20 you may be convinced that everyone is constantly evaluating you, 2) When you are 40 you may not care what others think about you (but still believe they are), and 3) At 60 you realize they weren't thinking much about you at all the entire time. The trick is to "realize" that sooner rather than later.
Posted by jumpy on April 12, 2003, at 9:19:33
In reply to Re: Social Phobia . Is this forever? » Tepiaca, posted by Ritch on April 11, 2003, at 23:33:45
> Hi, I don't think you will have to take medicines for the rest of your life. I talked to my Mom (who is in her '70's now), and found that she was suffering from social phobia symptoms in the 1950's after she was divorced from her first husband and was dealing with newly diagnosed epilepsy. She was very scared of having a seizure in the daytime and having something embarassing happen to her. So much so, she didn't attempt to find a job for many years and stayed with my grandparents and didn't venture out much at all-despite only having seizures while she was sleeping (and Dilantin+phenobarbitol stopped them after awhile). From what she told me, she just "grew" out of it-with some support and encouragement from her neurologist to seek employment. My pdoc told me something like this: 1) When you are 20 you may be convinced that everyone is constantly evaluating you, 2) When you are 40 you may not care what others think about you (but still believe they are), and 3) At 60 you realize they weren't thinking much about you at all the entire time. The trick is to "realize" that sooner rather than later.
Great insight Mitch. Please, Please write a book for the rest of us ... like the "World according to Mitch" or "How to deal with Mood Disorders" by Mitch. You are offically in the Hall of Babble Fame!
I have also heard and seen that certain mental illnesses reduce in severity as we age ... like depression and bipolar disorder in certain people. This has happened to some friends, one with bipolar and the other with unipolar, now in their 60's and more stable and happy. Doctors say this is due to reduced hormone activity which drive many people's illness.
Have a nice weekend.
Jumpy
Posted by Ritch on April 12, 2003, at 10:33:55
In reply to Once again ... another Hall of Fame Post » Ritch, posted by jumpy on April 12, 2003, at 9:19:33
> > Hi, I don't think you will have to take medicines for the rest of your life. I talked to my Mom (who is in her '70's now), and found that she was suffering from social phobia symptoms in the 1950's after she was divorced from her first husband and was dealing with newly diagnosed epilepsy. She was very scared of having a seizure in the daytime and having something embarassing happen to her. So much so, she didn't attempt to find a job for many years and stayed with my grandparents and didn't venture out much at all-despite only having seizures while she was sleeping (and Dilantin+phenobarbitol stopped them after awhile). From what she told me, she just "grew" out of it-with some support and encouragement from her neurologist to seek employment. My pdoc told me something like this: 1) When you are 20 you may be convinced that everyone is constantly evaluating you, 2) When you are 40 you may not care what others think about you (but still believe they are), and 3) At 60 you realize they weren't thinking much about you at all the entire time. The trick is to "realize" that sooner rather than later.
>
> Great insight Mitch. Please, Please write a book for the rest of us ... like the "World according to Mitch" or "How to deal with Mood Disorders" by Mitch. You are offically in the Hall of Babble Fame!
>
> I have also heard and seen that certain mental illnesses reduce in severity as we age ... like depression and bipolar disorder in certain people. This has happened to some friends, one with bipolar and the other with unipolar, now in their 60's and more stable and happy. Doctors say this is due to reduced hormone activity which drive many people's illness.
>
> Have a nice weekend.
>
> JumpyThanks Jumpy, my cognitive functioning is rather peaky right now (gotta watch out for mania starting up). I've finally gotten about six hours sleep for two days in a row. There was a period of about week or so where I was sleeping about 3-4 hrs a night and I was getting a little tweaky. Starting dropping off the Wellbutrin, now I am down to just 50mg and feeling somewhat more level-headed. It is very weird that just two months ago I could easily sleep 10hrs day....
Posted by Larry Hoover on April 12, 2003, at 10:42:02
In reply to Re: Social Phobia . Is this forever? » Tepiaca, posted by Ritch on April 11, 2003, at 23:33:45
> My pdoc told me something like this: 1) When you are 20 you may be convinced that everyone is constantly evaluating you, 2) When you are 40 you may not care what others think about you (but still believe they are), and 3) At 60 you realize they weren't thinking much about you at all the entire time. The trick is to "realize" that sooner rather than later.
I was extraordinarily lucky, when at the tender age of 15, a friend told me the following: "You wouldn't worry so much about what people thought of you, if you realized how seldom they did."
Lar
Posted by noa on April 12, 2003, at 11:22:37
In reply to Re: Social Phobia . Is this forever? » Ritch, posted by Larry Hoover on April 12, 2003, at 10:42:02
I think it depends on a lot of things, but it isn't necessarily the case that one would need meds forever for sp.
I know that I am a lot less socially anxious as I get older. This was true even before I was on meds for my depression. I learned to put certain things in better perspective, I became more assertive, etc. And, hopefully, people develop more awareness of their personal power as they get past early adulthood.
OTOH, some people have sp that is much more biologically determined. I was speaking with a colleague recently who said that she was extremely shy as a kid, and had all the involuntary physical symptoms of flushing rapid heart beat, sweating, etc. Now, she says she still gets some of those physical symptoms even when she isn't feeling anxious in social situations. Like part of her brain is still responding as if in danger even though she has stopped paying attention to those messenger circuits. She knows she is flusing from other people telling her and from being able to feel some of the heat on her skin, but she is able to ignore it.
BTW, she says a key experience for her in helping overcome her extreme shyness is a public speaking class she had to take in high school.
So, I think there are things one can do, in addition to or possibly to eventually take the place of meds, to mediate the effects of sp, like training in assertiveness or public speaking or maybe biofeedback kinds of training, etc.
But each of us is so different.
Posted by noa on April 12, 2003, at 11:23:43
In reply to Re: Social Phobia . Is this forever?, posted by noa on April 12, 2003, at 11:22:37
BTW I have also heard that there are psychologists who use virtual reality for systematic desensitization therapy for phobias! I wonder if they are used for sp.
Posted by Carlos on April 13, 2003, at 4:05:16
In reply to Re: Social Phobia . Is this forever?, posted by noa on April 12, 2003, at 11:22:37
> BTW, she says a key experience for her in helping overcome her extreme shyness is a public speaking class she had to take in high school.
>
> So, I think there are things one can do, in addition to or possibly to eventually take the place of meds, to mediate the effects of sp, like training in assertiveness or public speaking or maybe biofeedback kinds of training, etc.
>
> But each of us is so different.I've never had any CBT (Congnative Behavorial Therapy, I believe). But it sounds like some self CBT with the public speaking class. I can see this as helping acutely, but having your natural brain chemisty kick back in. Not to shatter hopes, I'm sure that for some people that me be all they needed. Best wishes.
-Carlos
Posted by jonh kimble on April 13, 2003, at 20:07:32
In reply to Re: Social Phobia . Is this forever?, posted by Carlos on April 13, 2003, at 4:05:16
I also believe the biological element of sp really varies from person to person. Also, I believe different neurotransmitter dysregulation leads to different forms of sp. (dopamine, gaba, and maybe serotonin are the biggies i believe) Some are terribly afraid of things like signing checks, going to public washrooms, being wathched. these generally go together i belive, although i dont struggle with any of these, yet i have exrusiating sp.
for me, its no prob standing up in a class and saying something, yet i cant even talk to my best friend, my mom, or ANYONE!!! it centers around interpersonal sensitivity, inability to converse, and a feeling like everyone will pry into me and find out all these horrible things, and really seems to fluctuate with my bi polar swings. there have been times when i could chat non stop, had the silvertongue, all that... only to feel just the opposite an hour later. there are times i cant even utter a word. i believe dopamine is at the root of all this. its hard as frigin hell, but im hoppin for that miracle med.
im sure others struggle in different ways that are not easy at all either, and i hope for the best for all of you.
Posted by Kevin123 on April 15, 2003, at 14:36:10
In reply to Re: Once again ... another Hall of Fame Post » jumpy, posted by Ritch on April 12, 2003, at 10:33:55
Ritch just out of interest why do you call yourself jumpy?
From Kev a GAD sufferer and Social Phobia and Depression
Posted by Ritch on April 15, 2003, at 21:51:49
In reply to Ritch?, posted by Kevin123 on April 15, 2003, at 14:36:10
> Ritch just out of interest why do you call yourself jumpy?
>
> From Kev a GAD sufferer and Social Phobia and Depression
>You must have confused some things. Jumpy is a different person that I replied to.
Posted by jumpy on April 15, 2003, at 22:25:20
In reply to Ritch?, posted by Kevin123 on April 15, 2003, at 14:36:10
Hey Kevin123,
I am jumpy ... cause of my panic attacks and anxiety disorder (I made the name up)
Jumpy
Posted by Kevin123 on April 19, 2003, at 8:15:08
In reply to Re: I am the Jumpster! » Kevin123, posted by jumpy on April 15, 2003, at 22:25:20
Please can you describe your problems
As I might be the same.Kev
This is the end of the thread.
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