Is there any treatment for social anxiety?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 29 year old male. I have been suffering from social anxiety. Following are the consequences that I am facing through in my daily life: I am not at all confident to talk with new persons, especially in group meetings. My heartbeat used to raise and I will forget things to be discussed. I cannot remember and pronounce properly even with the people whom I meet daily. I do not know how to react when they wish me or when they talk to me. I am trying my level best to get rid of this anxiety by facing it but once in a while, only I could handle these situations up to my expectations. Also, I have intrusive thoughts especially when I go to the temple or when I see the photographs of god, I will feel like something bad would happen to me. If I read a book and implement that in a big project also, I could not remember even the titles. Somewhere I have read, social anxiety can cause memory loss. Recently I forgot my card pin number which I used 2 months back. My concentration power is very poor too. The other problem that I am coming through is uncontrollable daydreaming, even though if I try to keep my mind busy I will get into it unknowingly. I could not do anything to improve my career because of these problems. I am not sure whether it is any disorder or normal behavior of people. Please suggest me if I require any treatment to get rid of these problems.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

You have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and social phobia. I can understand your concern. I have read through your history and from that, it is clearly evident that you have anxiety spectrum disorder. The symptoms like difficulty in talking with persons, increase in heart rate, forgetting things easily, inability to pronounce things properly, difficulty in reacting to others, difficulty to talk in arguments, etc., are due to social anxiety. The symptoms like daydreaming, poor concentration, inability to divert thoughts, etc., are due to anxiety only. The intrusive thoughts, repugnant thoughts like bad thoughts when you go to the temple, etc., are related to obsessive thoughts, and this needs proper evaluation. Social anxiety does not cause memory loss but due to persisting distraction and lack of concentration individuals find it difficult to focus and concentrate. This will cause feelings like loss of memory. Considering your history, I would suggest you visit a psychiatrist for evaluation. Medicines like SSRIs such as Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Sertraline, etc., can help to reduce these symptoms and you will feel better. These medicines are free of serious side effects and are better tolerated. Apart from medicines, relaxation exercises like yoga, progressive muscle relaxation exercises are also equally helpful in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Following are the medications I suggest you take tablet Sertraline 50 mg (Sertraline hydrochloride), should be taken in the evening for a week. After one week, increase your dosage to 100 mg and that should be taken for at least next 3 weeks before reevaluation. This would help to reduce your symptoms, tablet Propranolol 20 mg (Propranolol hydrochloride) on SOS basis, can help for anxiety attacks. For poor responses, higher doses would be needed. But before taking these medications, I would like to advise you to consult a doctor for clinical evaluation. Thank you.