Social Anxiety.

[[bm...]]

The Social Anxiety is terrible right now, going to the grocery store and just talking to random people is so hard and I tend not to have eye contact! When does this end? is this something that gets worse before it get's better?? Is this because my Gaba Receptors aren't unregulated yet?

[[...]]

When I was in w/d, everything that wasn't right was caused by benzo w/d. Probably the same is true of you.

 

Because we have an intact cognitive mind, we can use that mind as a tool to guide us through the crazy feelings. What's causing the disconnect you feel in public is depersonalization and derealization. Those are hard terms to define, and you can't really know what they mean until you experience them. I used to find it so weird to be around people when I was experiencing dp/dr but then on a mental level I conducted myself appropriately and was responded to appropriately. So it was what I was FEELING that was off. It's important to keeping working on having a good mental perspective and never lose sight of the fact that our feelings are skewed by our unhappy GABA receptors.

[[bm...]]

Thanks Yram, I guess it's all about time..

[[pr...]]

When I was in w/d, everything that wasn't right was caused by benzo w/d. Probably the same is true of you.

 

Because we have an intact cognitive mind, we can use that mind as a tool to guide us through the crazy feelings. What's causing the disconnect you feel in public is depersonalization and derealization. Those are hard terms to define, and you can't really know what they mean until you experience them. I used to find it so weird to be around people when I was experiencing dp/dr but then on a mental level I conducted myself appropriately and was responded to appropriately. So it was what I was FEELING that was off. It's important to keeping working on having a good mental perspective and never lose sight of the fact that our feelings are skewed by our unhappy GABA receptors.

 

Well said yram.

[[ve...]]

Sorry to read about the social anxiety bmwz.  How's married life treating you?  As I recall you got married last year?  Must be tough with the taper and now this, all in the first year.  As I recall, were you the one who posted about still drinking during your taper or once off?  I can't recall if it was you.  Anyway, drinking would continue to stimulate GABA and slow down the recovery time, just in case you had not considered this.  I may have mistaken you with another buddy from last year though.

 

Vertigo

[[Fl...]]

I originally got started in this mess due to social anxiety, and believe it or not as of the past month or so I would rate my social anxiety as BETTER than it was before I got started on the benzo, so yes, it does get better.

 

When I started to get back out in the world after acute wd I had a really hard time looking people in the eye. Even people I have known for 25 years. This continued right up through the one year mark but has improved tremendously over the past 6-8 weeks. If you didn't have this problem before you won't have it when you heal.

[[Ga...]]

FloridaGuy- great news on the SA improvement- that's terrific.

[[pu...]]

I am getting better now with the social anxiety. It was a new thing for me during withdrawal, I could not make eye contact and talking to strangers was almost impossible. I would get so anxious my teeth would start chattering. It has mellowed for the most part, now only occasionally it rears it's ugly head.