Can Vyvanse manage social anxiety?

This blog answers: Can Vyvanse manage social anxiety? What is Vyvanse? What are the other side effects of Vyvanse? What are some warnings to keep in mind while taking Vyvanse? What is social anxiety? What are the signs and symptoms of social anxiety? How to manage social anxiety using self-help techniques? How to manage social anxiety using other methods?

Can Vyvanse manage social anxiety?

Certain types of anxiety disorders, such as debilitating social anxiety, may respond to Vyvanse medication in some cases. Vyvanse can help relieve anxiety in instances when social anxiety is caused by poor dopaminergic signalling, which leads to a loss of social confidence. 

According to a recent study, those with social anxiety have too much serotonin rather than too little, as previously thought. Dopamine and serotonin, as a crude oversimplification, counteract each other, with excessive serotonergic transmission inhibiting dopamine release and vice versa. As a result, people with low self-confidence and social anxiety may gain socially from Vyvanse medication.

What is Vyvanse?

Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine) is a stimulant for the central nervous system. It alters brain and nerve chemicals that cause hyperactivity and poor impulse control.

Vyvanse is an FDA-approved medication for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and children aged 6 and up.

What are the other side effects of Vyvanse?

Some serious side effects of Vyvanse are: 

• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing 
• Pounding heartbeats or fluttering in the chest
• Feeling of passing out.
• Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t real), 
• New behaviour issues, anger, antagonism, and paranoia
• Symptoms of psychosis.
• Numbness, soreness, a cold sensation, unexplained sores, or skin colour changes (pale, red, or blue appearance) in your fingers or toes are all indicators of circulation difficulties.

If you develop hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat, seek emergency medical attention right away.

The following are some of the most common Vyvanse side effects:

• Dry mouth
• A loss of appetite
• Loss of weight
• Sleep disturbances (insomnia)
• Racing heart and a 
• Jittery feeling
• Dizziness
• Anxiety
• Irritability or 
• Nausea

What are some warnings to keep in mind while taking Vyvanse?

Some warnings to keep in mind while taking Vyvanse are:  

• Vyvanse has the potential to become addictive, and it is a controlled substance. If you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, tell your doctor.
• In persons with excessive blood pressure, cardiac disease, or a heart defect, stimulants have caused stroke, heart attack, and sudden death.
• If you’ve recently taken an MAO inhibitor like isocarboxazid, linezolid, methylene blue injection, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, or tranylcypromine, you shouldn’t take Vyvanse.
• If you have a history of depression, mental illness, or bipolar disorder, Vyvanse may cause new or worsened psychosis (abnormal thoughts or behaviour).
• Numbness, discomfort, or discolouration in your fingers or toes could indicate a problem with blood circulation.
• If you have any of the following symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. 

What is social anxiety?

Individuals experiencing social anxiety might feel uncomfortable being in social situations to an extent that it hampers their daily functioning, it’s sometimes referred to as a social phobia.

Individuals consider public spaces as potential spaces of humiliation and embarrassment. Social anxiety affects how a person Interact with the world around them.

Social anxiety can be differentiated from shyness. In that shyness does not affect an individual’s daily life and functioning, moreover shyness is short-lived.

On the other hand, social anxiety is persistent and negatively impacts various aspects of an individual’s life like their ability to work productively or even develop or maintain close bonds with people outside their family.

What are the symptoms of social anxiety?

The symptoms of social anxiety can be both physical and psychological.

The most significant physical symptoms of social anxiety are:

• Nausea
• Excessive sweating
• Shaking or trembling
• Lightheadedness or feeling dizzy
• Increased heart rate

The psychological symptoms that individual experiences during a social anxiety attack are:

• Excessive and intensive worry about the social situation
• Worrying days or even weeks ahead of an important social event
•  Trying to camouflage themselves in the background or the need to avoid the social situation on a whole
•  The need for intoxication to face a social situation
•  The constant worry of being observed by others 

In addition to these individuals with social anxiety may avoid social interactions such as asking another person a question when in doubt, potential job interviews, shopping, using public services like transport or washrooms, carrying out activities in public such as speaking or even eating in that matter.

 

How to manage social anxiety using self-help techniques?

Lifestyle changes

Apart from therapy and medication what works best to manage social anxiety is certain lifestyle changes. These may include:

•  Regular exercises
•  Having a balanced diet,
•  Socializing and talking to people about their anxiety,
•  Journal writing to express and understand one’s feelings and
• Avoiding alcohol or drugs.

Take control of your breathing

It is normal for anxiety to bring about changes in your body, for instance, increased breathing. these changes often make an individual feel uncomfortable.

One can take control of this discomfort by carrying out a few simple steps such as holding one’s breath for two seconds and slowly letting it out through their mouth.

Repeating this step several times until one feels relaxed. This is most effective when one sits down in a comfortable position with their back straight.

 

Carry out progressive muscle relaxation

Research indicates that certain activities such as walking, or jogging can help in killing anxiety. Another effective technique to kill anxiety is progressive muscle relaxation.

Progressive muscle relaxation involves flexing and releasing a group of muscles in one’s body which helps to maintain their attention on the feelings of this contraction and relaxation.

Prepare ahead of situations

It is best advised that people who experience social anxiety must plan ahead of these situations that make them nervous to increase their confidence.

Start small

to kill social anxiety people must start small. In that individuals must avoid big social situations and start with the situation that they are compatible with.

For instance, one can start by going for lunch with friends and family members rather than with a set of individuals that whom they’re not familiar or confident with.

Push back negative thoughts

One very effective way to kill social anxiety is to focus and work on one’s negative thoughts actively.

Think about the negative thoughts that one has about a particular situation and write them down. Following which the person is required to write down positive thoughts that challenge the negative ones.

Sensory awareness

One’s senses can help them calm down while they feel anxious in any situation. For some people trying to look at photographs that give them a sense of happiness or using a particular scent that can help to distract them from the negative thoughts and reconnect with more positive ones can help to kill the anxiety at the moment.

How to manage social anxiety using other methods?

Like other physical conditions, even social anxiety has different approaches for its management and treatment. Some people might only need a single type of treatment while others might require a combination of approaches.

Some of the ways to manage or treat social anxiety disorders are:

Cognitive-behavioural therapy

Cognitive-behavioural therapy helps an individual to control their anxiety by using strategies like relaxation and breathing. It works on the principles of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

Exposure therapy

Exposure therapy is a kind of therapy in which an individual is exposed to a particular situation that they usually fear in a graded manner.

It usually starts with exposing the individual to a situation that is least triggering when the individual gets comfortable with this situation introduced or exposed to them with each session individuals become comfortable with a real-life situation that is otherwise anxiety-provoking.

Group therapy

As the name suggests group therapy usually involves two or more individuals who are experiencing similar symptoms and problems.

It is based on the principle that when an individual interacts with other people who are suffering from the same condition or fears they might not feel left alone or isolated.

This kind of therapy also helps in developing and maintaining social skills or techniques to interact with people in other social settings.

 Prescribed medication

Social anxiety can also be treated with the help of medication prescribed by a health professional. There are different types of anxiety medications each with its benefits and side effects.

Online therapy 

Individuals with social anxiety can also seek therapy online. This would involve interacting with the therapist one-on-one over an audio or video call. 

Some individuals with social anxiety might be more comfortable seeking help through this mode than others while in a different case some might prefer face-to-face therapy sessions. 

Conclusion 

Vyvanse is an FDA approved drug used in the treatment of ADHD and binge eating disorders. They are stimulant medications and must be taken in chewed form or by swallowing a capsule. 

Vyvanse must be prescribed by a doctor and it is important to have clarity by asking all the necessary questions before consuming this medication due to its drastic side effects. 

Frequently asked questions: Can Vyvanse manage social anxiety?

How quickly does Vyvanse begin to work, and how long does it last?

For ADD/ADHD: Clinical trials have indicated that Vyvanse improves attention in adults for up to 14 hours after taking a dose

Vyvanse was demonstrated to start acting within 1.5 hours and up to 13 hours after the morning dose in youngsters aged 6 to 12. It can take up to 12 weeks for patients with binge eating disorders to show a significant reduction in the number of binge days per week.

Is it safe to use Vyvanse if you’re trying to get pregnant?

Vyvanse does not have a pharmacological interaction with any form of birth control, according to the manufacturer’s product labelling. 

However, before starting any new medication, check with your pharmacist or doctor to see if there are any potential drug interactions that could reduce the effectiveness of your birth control.

Is there a difference between Vyvanse and Adderall?

Both medications are amphetamine derivatives. The distinction between the two medicines is that Adderall contains amphetamine salts amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, whereas Vyvanse contains lisdexamfetamine, a “prodrug” that the body converts to dextroamphetamine before it becomes active.

Citations 

https://www.drugs.com/vyvanse.htm l 

http://getzonedup.com/vyvanse-for-anxiety/  

https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tips-for-living-with-social-anxiety

https://www.ourbetterworld.org/series/mental-health/support-toolkit/anxiety-schizophrenia-mental-health-conditions-explained?gclid=CjwKCAjwk6-LBhBZEiwAOUUDp-UzfypPfEgdAw2kWde-NTdqQRout3YeVuR6TR-zE1bjLWyq7kTEuhoCTSUQAvD_BwE

https://www.verywellmind.com/work-anxiety-4692762