Does Tianeptine help with social anxiety?
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This post answers: Does Tianeptine help with social anxiety? What are the advantages of Tianeptine? What are the disadvantages of Tianeptine? What is Tianeptine? What are the other medications for social anxiety? What are the therapy options for social anxiety? 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?
Does Tianeptine help with social anxiety?
Reports indicate that Tianeptine is as effective as other antidepressants such as fluoxetine, sertraline, amitriptyline, clomipramine in managing social anxiety and other anxiety-related disorders.
Tianeptine is beneficial for social anxiety for a variety of reasons such as it has a low risk of side effects and also improves mood and social interactions.
What are the advantages of Tianeptine?
Some advantages of Tianeptine are:
- If a low mood makes social interactions uncomfortable, Tianeptine’s mood-elevating effects can help.
- Tianeptine is an opioid, that has an anxiolytic effect.
- An excessive dosage of Tianeptine leads to a mild high without euphoria
- Tianeptine has no adverse effects like benzodiazepines.
- Tianeptine alters stress-induced brain abnormalities that may impair social cognition.
- Anecdotal evidence of Tianeptine’s use for social anxiety has been positive.
What are the disadvantages of Tianeptine?
The major disadvantage of Tianeptine is that it lasts only for three hours due to its half-life thus requiring multiple dosages throughout the day. Apart from this many reports indicate drug dependence abuse and withdrawal with Tianeptine.
Tianeptine lacks an abuse potential like other opioids where a large dosage does not result in euphoria rather just a mild high. the typical dosage of Tianeptine is 12.5mg- 25mg. open
What is Tianeptine?
Tianeptine is an antidepressant with an intriguing brain chemical profile. In contrast to most antidepressants, it increases serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) uptake in the brain and decreases stress-induced atrophy of neurons in the brain.
What are the other medications for social anxiety?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a type of antidepressant that medical health practitioners can prescribe to individuals with social anxiety.
Doctors can also prescribe SSRIs to individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many doctors consider selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors to be the first-line drug treatment for anxiety-related disorders.
SSRIs work for anxiety by stopping those nerve cells in the brain that reabsorb serotonin which plays a role in mood regulation.
SSRIs begin to show their effect within six weeks however individuals must understand that these medicines do not work for every person in a similar manner that is it might show effects for some while it might not for others.
Individuals can take SSRIs for up to 12 months to treat their anxiety issues and then gradually decrease their dosage with the help of the doctor’s advice.
SSRIs are not habit-forming and do not lead to dependence after long-term use.
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are antidepressant drugs that can be prescribed to individuals for their social anxiety. Doctors can also prescribe these for people suffering from depression.
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) might work for some individuals on whom other medications do not work to provide them relief with their anxiety symptoms.
Individuals must consult their mental health practitioners before taking these as many practitioners prefer SSRIs instead of tricyclic antidepressants because of the side effects that they cause.
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are a type of sedative drug that helps to reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety such as tensed muscles. They also help in bringing about a sense of relaxation and these are quick medicines that bring relief within a few minutes.
Though Benzodiazepines are effective within the short run doctors rarely prescribe these to individuals or any other individuals because they become less effective over time and can be addictive.
Unlike other antidepressants, benzodiazepines might also cause withdrawal symptoms which include depression, sleep problems, sweating, and seizures.
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-behavioral therapy
Cognitive-behavioral 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
Overall, tianeptine is a beneficial and well-tolerated medication for social anxiety. It may also be able to restore brain activity following complex and persistent stress. However, Tianeptine does have the limitation of being unidentified to doctors far outside Europe.
Frequently asked questions: Does Tianeptine help with social anxiety?
Which antidepressants help with social anxiety?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are commonly prescribed to individuals by their mental health practitioners to deal with their social anxieties.
Can antidepressants cure social anxiety?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox CR Can help in treating social anxiety disorder among individuals based on their clinical outcomes of improving symptoms.
Does anxiety medicine help with social anxiety?
Anxiety medicines and therapy options can help with other anxiety-related disorders such as social anxiety which is a type of performance anxiety in particular situations.
Is there medication for social anxiety performance?
Studies indicate that beta-blockers can help to control some physical symptoms of social anxiety such as sweating, increased heart rate, and trembling which helped with performance anxiety.
Citation
https://www.quora.com/How-effective-is-Tianeptine-for-social-anxiety-compared-to-SSRIs
https://getzonedup.com/tianeptine-for-social-anxiety/
https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/social-anxiety-disorder/medications-for-social-anxiety-disorder
https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tips-for-living-with-social-anxiety
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