Social Anxiety best medication ? - I've been on Zoloft for about 10 weeks but it does NOTHING bit of research pointed to me it does little for SE - what's the best one for Social anxiety - help greatly appreciated

I'll also add about 8 years ago i had anxiety & the medication the GP put me on for about 6 months worked perfectly & i came off it after 6 months. Since it came back recently we where trying to work out what medication it was but as the records are no longer there it's a guessing game & obviously Zoloft was not the one. I'd just really like to get the right one next time so i dont have to keep jumping from one med to the next until we find the right one.

I guess I'm just after peoples opinions of what the most effective medication is for Social Anxiety so I can then go to my GP to talk about it.

Thanks

Hi Just-asking,

You probably aren't going to like my answer, but I do not recommend medication as the primary treatment for social anxiety disorder. Psychotherapy is the best treatment - and more specifically, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Medication does not treat the underlying cause and symptoms almost always return in time once medication is discontinued.

I would only recommend medication if the symptoms are severe, and as a temporary adjunct treatment to psychotherapy.

Anxiety is primarily a disorder caused by faulty thinking patterns (and this includes social anxiety). CBT helps you change the thoughts that are feeding your anxiety. Once you learn how to manage your thoughts (and it does take time and effort - but well worth it), your social anxiety will be mild to non-existent.

I suggest you find a therapist in your area who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders by using CBT. CBT is not a long-term therapy and is very effective if done properly.

As for medications, usually SSRIs (which include Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, Luvox, etc) are the ones that are most typically prescribed. Effexor (an SNRI) is also prescribed in some cases.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Cheryl i do hear what your saying & understand that a phsycologist is part of the pathway but my GP thinks as it is fairly severe & leaves me cooped up in the house if you dont include medical appointments then she thinks the most important first step is to find medication to control it first then she wants me to see a psychologst. We already do questionaire thingts at each appointment just struggling to find the right med and i dont really want to keep juggling them for now Zoloft does nothing. The other issue is she knows my funds are tight considering i'm not going to work and the pyscologist is quite expensive. I will get there just need to settle it first so i can get back to work.