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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Michael Bell on November 12, 2006, at 10:42:23
Hi, just wanted to drop an update. As some of you may know, I battled with *severe* social phobia for a long period of time.
My social anxiety is still no longer here, after several months of quitting meds. Meaning, I don't get anxious in social situations. No anxiety.
How did I make the social anxiety go away? Remapping of the brain I think. I believe that social phobia is probably the easiest condition to do an independent cognitive-behavioral therapy for, assuming the conditions are correct. Here is why: with social phobia, u are scared of socialization. However, socialization always occurs and is unavoidable. It is not like fear of flying, where u can totally avoid getting on a plane. Thus u are always receiving exposure therapy, whether u realize it or not. Then, if u simultaneously are on a med that allows u to socialize without that same huge negative imprint on your "social memory", you start to "unlearn" your fear responses (though your thinking patterns may take longer to be rid of). I took Nardil (new) for a long period of time, over a year. I think it allowed me to socialize much better without the overwhelming fear, thus exposing me to social settings on a constant basis. Therefore my exposure therapy, though i didn't think of it as such back then, went on and on.
Then I stopped Nardil abruptly (dumb), and got my hands on cycloserine. The mistake I made at first was taking large doses. Don't do this, it will have negative effects. Take about 10 mg - 20 mg per day, if i remember correctly. I think this was the knockout punch that rid my fear patters completely. Took it for a few weeks. Haven't taken it for months.
A few points:1) The hardest part of social phobia to stamp out, that of rejection sensitivity, is still there, though to a vastly diminshed degree. So I still sometimes get thoughts of anticipated rejection, and my perception of how people view me is still perhaps somewhat skewed, but much less so, and it does not translate itself into anxious feelings. But I am convinced that these thought loops are a cognitive thing, and require a cognitive approach.
2) there is a fear structure in your brain that is linked with your perception structure. So in other words, u perceive social rejection, and this transaltes into the fear and anxiety in the fear structure of your brain. You must break the connection. I have done this. my perception is still a little out of wack, but there is no fear response on any physiological level.
2) I strongly believe that paranoid ideation and rejection sensitivity are powerfully linked.
3) stress in general will make ur symptoms flare up more, no matter what they may be. You must diminish your general stress levels.
4) I just started Dexamethasone a few days ago. Perhaps I shouldn't have, b/c its a steroid. But I wanted to see effects on my general stress levels. Stress has diminished. It has also diminished paranoid ideation. Not sure if I will stay on it. Not even sure if I'm taking a useful dosage (10 mg/day). Anyway, I'll probably take a break for a few days to judge the effects.
Posted by Phillipa on November 12, 2006, at 11:21:06
In reply to Social Anxiety is still gone, posted by Michael Bell on November 12, 2006, at 10:42:23
Steroids are okay in an acute crisis but longterm are bad as they killed my Mother. Love Phillipa
Posted by saturn on November 12, 2006, at 12:20:18
In reply to Social Anxiety is still gone, posted by Michael Bell on November 12, 2006, at 10:42:23
I really appreciate this post, Michael--I'm going to print it out. May I ask if you still take Nardil or a benzo? Peace...Saturn
And good for you with your success (big ups!).
Posted by Sabre on November 12, 2006, at 15:16:11
In reply to Social Anxiety is still gone, posted by Michael Bell on November 12, 2006, at 10:42:23
Thanks Michael
I had wondered how you got on.
How did you get a hold of Cycloserine? I suspect it is good stuff.Regards
Sabre
Posted by MARTY on November 13, 2006, at 4:54:51
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety is still gone, posted by Sabre on November 12, 2006, at 15:16:11
Thanks Micheal for this post.I'm really interested into cycloserine and I would like to discuss it with you privately (email) if you're willing to give me a couple minutes of your time.
Marty
Posted by Phillipa on November 13, 2006, at 18:53:46
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety is still gone, posted by MARTY on November 13, 2006, at 4:54:51
Marty glad to see you. Love Phillipa
Posted by Oppycat on November 15, 2006, at 15:46:27
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety is still gone » Michael Bell, posted by Phillipa on November 12, 2006, at 11:21:06
> Steroids are okay in an acute crisis but longterm are bad as they killed my Mother. Love Phillipa
Steroids killed my mother, too, and it wasn't even long term use. I know this isn't psycho-babble stuff, but I wanted to get that off my chest.Michael
Posted by Phillipa on November 15, 2006, at 19:32:34
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety is still gone » Phillipa, posted by Oppycat on November 15, 2006, at 15:46:27
What!!!!Babblemail me we can talk about it. Love Phillipa
Posted by Michael Bell on November 15, 2006, at 21:15:03
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety is still gone » Michael Bell, posted by Phillipa on November 12, 2006, at 11:21:06
Jeez! I'm really sorry to hear that. I'm not planning on staying on Dexamethasone. In fact, I took a 2 day break already. I def think my HPA axis is somewhat askew on certain levels, but I think you just scared me straight. Don't even think I wanna take low doses for an acute period. Gotta just stick with the exercise, dieting and relaxation techniques, I guess. Thanks for the feedback.
Posted by Michael Bell on November 15, 2006, at 21:16:53
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety is still gone, posted by Sabre on November 12, 2006, at 15:16:11
Got it when I was vacationing in India, actually. Probably could get it off the net if you really wanted to.
Posted by ed_uk on November 16, 2006, at 13:00:16
In reply to Social Anxiety is still gone, posted by Michael Bell on November 12, 2006, at 10:42:23
>even sure if I'm taking a useful dosage (10 mg/day)
10mg dexamethasone is a very high dose. Dex is an extremely powerful corticosteroid. Taking 10mg/day for more than a few days could quite easily cause severe toxicity. Taken on a long term basis, 10mg would eventually kill you. Before that, it would completely wreck most systems of your body eg. your eyes, bones, muscles, brain, immune system etc. Please take care!
Ed
This is the end of the thread.
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