Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

23,095 Members
43,242 Posts
1 Online
Anxiety Disorders
/ Anxiety Support Group

Making things worse

Mike1975
Mike1975
Saw my psychiatrist today for my social anxiety, since it has increased with a new male starting(my usual trigger seems to be new males in my work/social group and major life changes such as a change in work). He and my therapist had been saying how part of my diagnosis was caused by the chemicals in my brain and that was why I was on medication(effexor/klonopin) along with therapy. Today he seemed to say the medication was only to keep me calm enough to do therapy. This has made me very anxious, since being told part of my problem was biological has eased my anxiety at least a little whenever it pops up. But thinking now that it's just my faulty thinking and handling of stressful situations is making me even more nervous. A friend who suffers from OCD and sees the same psychiatrist said if it wasn't partly chemical I wouldn't be on effexor but it's not the same as hearing it from him. Broke down and left a voicemail at his office asking for a clarification of my diagnosis(just mental or chemical too). Hoping to hear back tomorrow.
I'd appreciate any thoughts from anyone suffering from social anxiety or any anxiety who can empathize or have any input. I've been researching online which has only made me more nervous. One study or Dr. says it's all in your mind, another says it's a combination with the brain chemicals. I can take knowing therapy is necessary but finding out it's all me and not partially biology will be very hard. Sounds kind of crazy I know. I tend to run on sorry, but do appreciate any input.
Thank you:)
TigerLily27
TigerLily27
Hi Mike, I have anxiety too- mine is Generalized anxiety but within that I have had social anxiety a lot too. I feel like the internet can sometimes make my anxiety even worse with health type of concerns because I always find the worst and assume it is that-) so I'm trying to break free of that. I was curious after what you said so looked it up. I found this on the mayoclinic website and thought I'd share it w/ you cuz I found it to be interesting:
Brain chemistry. Natural chemicals in your body may play a role in social anxiety disorder. For instance, an imbalance in the brain chemical serotonin (ser-oh-TOE-nin) may be a factor. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and emotions, among other things. People with social anxiety disorder may be extra-sensitive to the effects of serotonin.
Brain structure. A structure in the brain called the amygdala (uh-MIG-duh-luh) may play a role in controlling the fear response. People who have an overactive amygdala may have a heightened fear response, causing increased anxiety in social situations.
Mike1975
Mike1975
Thank you for the response TigerLily. I wish you the best with your struggle too. Sounds like we both have been confused and extra anxious due to all the differing information on the internet. I've been told by numerous people not to search it for information but I do and this happens:). I'm just hoping I misunderstood my psychiatrist since at the time we had been discussing Klonopin and not Effexor. I also hope that it is chemicals that are off and that is why I experience more anxiousness with new people and situations than the average person does. I know now meds probably won't be a cure all, but knowing that they help would be a great load off my mind.
Lilaolivia
Lilaolivia
One thing that struck me about your post was that your triggers are related to males in your life... I have the same difficulty... My medication helps me, but being a part of a group like this is so very helpful also... I have been diagnosed with so many things, but I try to not allow myself to allow that to be my "identity"... I am not a doctor,but I have been a psychotropic pin cusion for years... For me, it's all about those little bits of learning to trust... Testing the waters... If I need to back away, I back away to my safety zone... My place of peace... It helps to have a home in which I feel safe... Thank you for your post...
LuckyEmpath
LuckyEmpath
I have found that the medical world is split on what causes anxiety. All the Dr's I have had feel it is a chemical imbalance in the brain and meds are the only solution. I, on the other hand, have never felt that it was a chemical imbalance - and for me it isn't. Mine are caused by a combination of trauma when I was a child and negative thinking. I have been able to drastically reduce my anxiety by working hard to heal from the trauma and adjust my thinking from negative to positive. For me, this was a more acceptable solution than meds because I don't like taking meds. Taking meds very often causes me more anxiety than not taking them.

I hope you and your therapist are working towards finding the cause of why you become so anxious when a new male enters your social group because, based on my experience, once you find the cause you can heal it and the anxiety will go away.

I do hope your Dr. gets back to you today and is able to calm your anxiety about whether or not it's a chemical imbalance. Anything that brings you peace of mind is a welcome addition to your day.

Take care
TigerLily27
TigerLily27
Hey, about my comment, I wasn't meaning to say that it is one way or another. I wish I knew! I wish there was some sort of test, that sure would be nice. In my mind it's easier for me to move on if I tell myself it's a chemical imbalance along with other factors like my own thinking and experiences and habits. That makes me not feel like it's entirely my fault which leaves me feeling too stuck to even do anything about it. I have no idea either what all resulted in any of my anxiety, I'm sure it was a combination of multiple things, but for me it just hit one day and it sorta seemed to come out of the blue. So for me that's easier than trying to heal over some experiences, because my experiences don't really give me answers, I feel like I had a relatively plain and boring lol kidding childhood. I hope you feel better today.
worldofblah4
worldofblah4
I wouldn't worry about your diagnosis. It isn't really important. You should just treat the symptoms. Diagnosis in my opinion is just a box you can be put in. Maybe effexor and clonopin aren't the right meds, see if you can try other ones. I also would recommend trying CBT/DBT to help change your thoughts. Good luck and feel better.
Mike1975
Mike1975
I ended up having to call the Dr. office myself but he left a response that it was chemical. That is a relief, although I thought I'd feel even better but can't complain. I am attending therapy which was once a month but may increase with the situation I'm in now. I know there are self esteem issues in addition to the social anxiety so hoping therapy will help with that too. I now meds take awhile to work but they always seem to finally kick in once the crisis over(the stressor is out of my life or I have become used to the situation). So can't say for sure if they are working although they could be taking the edge off when I'm doing "ok" and not so much when in a full blown crisis.