Does Paxil really work for social anxiety?
Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at
5:59 am
I’m 16 years old and have social anxiety. I’m scare to talk to people and don’t have any friends at all. I’ve been like this for 3 years and I want to stop. But are there dangerous risks when taking Paxil? Does it really work? Would I have to take Paxil everyday for the rest of my life?
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I took paxil for about a year. It didn’t help my anxiety and I didn’t like the side effects. The one warning I would give anyone who begins on paxil is never stop taking it cold turkey. You have to gradually dose down if you want to stop. so, be sure you always have medication available each day.
I don’t want to scare you away from it either. Many people take paxil and it works for them. The best advice I can give you is that your anxiety can be cured naturally without the use of drugs. There are many self-help programs and/or counseling that can assist you in getting rid of your anxiety problem. Social anxiety disorder is really just a convenient medical term anyway. It isn’t a disease. At your age it is normal for many people to have anxiety and you shouldn’t worry about having it the rest of your life. You can live anxiety free. Just look into all of your options to deal with it.
There are certain dangers that come with Paxil. My brother took it and it made him absolutely psychotic because he didn’t have depression and they just gave it to him to stop certain behavioral issues that come with autism, which was absurd.
If there is uncertainty over your diagnosis than I would start with a different drug. If you weren’t always like this maybe it is a psychological problem and not physiological. So, just consider therapy before taking medication so you can avoid the physical and psychological dependence as well as the side-effects that go along with medications.