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[Tellemurius]

hypertension drugs i don't know really what my father uses but i think they use the same stuff for ADHD and ADD ie. speed.

[scriver]

@Vector: I am already going to a therapist, and was considering bringing this up at my next appointment, but will definitely do so now. I didn't really realize panic attacks could be reinforced into behavior, but now I do and am taking steps. I'm not going to go all 'herp derp testosterone mangrit' on the issue, but I will keep at it, and a change in tactics probably is necessary.

Telling your therapist is a good idea, yeah. I'm a bit surprised that you hadn't already, if you've already got one.

[sonerohi]

Well, my meetings with her are spaced out pretty far, and when I saw her last I had only had one instance, which we discussed a little but ultimately dismissed. When I see her next I'm updating her on the other ones and telling her the seriousness of it.

[smigenboger]

Well, my meetings with her are spaced out pretty far, and when I saw her last I had only had one instance, which we discussed a little but ultimately dismissed. When I see her next I'm updating her on the other ones and telling her the seriousness of it.

Anti-anxiety medications are controlled substances, and with the way ADHD and anti-anxiety medication is often abused and sold, people are hesitant to prescribe it. They get more hesitant the younger you are. I would not recommend Xanax, or other high-dose fast acting anti-anxiety medications. I'd instead recommend low-dose ones such as Librium so that you don't develop a dependency, gain a high tolerance, and don't get a high and a low point from taking it. It's also safer to prescribe, since it's much harder to abuse. I don't know how young you are, but nevermind you're in high school, don't drink anyway.
Ask if it would be better to have a low dose constant effect medication instead of a situational one, since it could just mask the symptom and not help you get over it.

Just about everything anyone's said on this thread, mine included, can be contradicted by someone else's opinion. What works for you may not work for someone else. Even on here some people are saying it's bad to remove yourself from the cause, and that it's bad to 'push on through' anyway. Take everything with a grain of salt.

[scriver]

Well, my meetings with her are spaced out pretty far, and when I saw her last I had only had one instance, which we discussed a little but ultimately dismissed. When I see her next I'm updating her on the other ones and telling her the seriousness of it.

Ah, it's seems I jumped to conclusions again. For whatever reason I presumed you had been going for some time, but looking back I can't see any reason for thinking so.
Also, thanks for the explanation. Forgot to say that.

[ChairmanPoo]

ADD are not treated with antidepressants, but with amphetamines (or alternatively, with atomoxetine, which has the added benefit of not being dependence-inducing). As for xanax and librium, both are short-term benzodiacepines, and AFAIK they're be pretty much interchangeable (in class we were recommended alprazolam in this context, but this is likely because it's more widely prescribed overall rather than it being inherently better or worse). They're only suitable for the beggining of the symptoms, though.  For long term treatment, selective inhibitors of serotonin recaptation were recommended.

[Vector]

Vector, the way I see it, going to these lock ins might be more similar to your shower therapy than having your mother pressing your face into a bowl of water (What the hell gave her the idea that would be helping anyway? It's just outright cruel). He said he had no trouble spending time with small groups of people and friends, so trying to expand the "safe" zone to slightly bigger social happenings would be the next logical step. As long as he have friends around him, and have fun (except for or despite the attacks), of course. If these "exercises" increases anxiety rather than the opposite, of course he should step down a notch and try something less taxing. All I wrote in the above post was under the assumption that he was in fact ready to face these kind of situations. Maybe I should have been a bit more clear on that.

Ah-ha, I was mostly thinking that there had to be an interim step between "small groups of people and friends" (which, to me, means about 5-8 people, tops) and "400 people in a locked area that you can't get away from and are probably making a lot of noise."

I'm not even socially anxious, but I am pretty shy (internally)--and the latter of those two would be very difficult for me to deal with.  If this is the interim step, then yeah, he should probably focus more on slowly introducing himself to that particular situation.  I figure it'd probably work better to focus on calming down whatever makes him uncomfortable, though, before he moves on to whatever terrifies him. 

[smigenboger]

ADD are not treated with antidepressants, but with amphetamines (or alternatively, with atomoxetine, which has the added benefit of not being dependence-inducing). As for xanax and librium, both are short-term benzodiacepines, and AFAIK they're be pretty much interchangeable (in class we were recommended alprazolam in this context, but this is likely because it's more widely prescribed overall rather than it being inherently better or worse). They're only suitable for the beggining of the symptoms, though.  For long term treatment, selective inhibitors of serotonin recaptation were recommended.

I didn't know anti-depressants were being abused like amphetamines were, but I'm sure they are. In high school it seemed like there was always someone trying to sell their ADD meds and high test painkillers.

Huh I thought librium was different. Perhaps I was just recommended low dose tablets several times a day than one big pill when needed. Did you say SSRI's are recommended? I thought that was for depression, though a few doctors said the meds can overlap.

[scriver]

Ah-ha, I was mostly thinking that there had to be an interim step between "small groups of people and friends" (which, to me, means about 5-8 people, tops) and "400 people in a locked area that you can't get away from and are probably making a lot of noise."

I'm not even socially anxious, but I am pretty shy (internally)--and the latter of those two would be very difficult for me to deal with.  If this is the interim step, then yeah, he should probably focus more on slowly introducing himself to that particular situation.  I figure it'd probably work better to focus on calming down whatever makes him uncomfortable, though, before he moves on to whatever terrifies him. 

I agree with that. It's always hard to give advice with the vast Internetian Void separating us, though. So perhaps caution would be for the best.
I also admit that my firdt post was a bit of a gut reaction to people saying he should semi-isolate himself or avoid  the issue. Made me go a little "No don't do THAT!" and perhaps come on a bit too strong for ghe opposite direction.

[ChairmanPoo]

But ADD meds aren't antidepressants, but amphetamines, and thus quite subject to abuse. As for SSRI's, they're used for other things besides depression, yes, or so were we told. Social phobia, generalized anxiety, OCD (in this one triciclicals are the first choice, according to my notes). In particular, what my notes say about social phobia is that benzodiacepines should be used short-term only because of dependence risks, and that long term MAOIs and SSRI's should be used. I added a little parenthesis saying "recurrence risk" to MAOIs, I dont know if it applies to SSRIs too.

[sonerohi]

Well, I'm already on Focalin for ADD, but that is my only med currently. I can confirm that it is an amphetamine.

@Vector: I can handle maybe 50 people at a time, so long as I know names and it isn't the whole judgmental first meeting. Of these 400 in the lock in, I know maybe 170-200, but the whole of us only assembled for listening to speakers and stuff, which I was handling ok. It was when we broke down into our designated discussion groups, of about 15 (of which I knew 6 well enough), that I just started freaking the fuck out. 

[Tellemurius]

they use speed for anxiety medication becuase the same reason for ADD and ADHD, it (supposedly) calms the person down.

[ChairmanPoo]

ADD patients have a neurotransmitter disorder which results in certain attention-related parts of the CNS being less active than they should. Amphetamines can correct this (to an extent, at least). They're certianly not routinedly used as anti-anxiety medication in people without ADD.

[Vector]

@Vector: I can handle maybe 50 people at a time, so long as I know names and it isn't the whole judgmental first meeting. Of these 400 in the lock in, I know maybe 170-200, but the whole of us only assembled for listening to speakers and stuff, which I was handling ok. It was when we broke down into our designated discussion groups, of about 15 (of which I knew 6 well enough), that I just started freaking the fuck out.

Then it seems like the real problem is meeting new people (specifically: issues with feeling judged, which you should talk to your therapist about), not just being around people in the first place.  For that, I suggest coffee shops or other hangouts where you don't know folks, or just striking up conversations with classmates you've never talked to.  Trust me, lots of practice helps =)

[Neonivek]

I have problems with stress too for the most part because I always feel the need to worry about every little thing and I always suspect that at any moment my friends won't like me anymore because of the way I act or acted or something I said or even for no reason.

My friends think it is totally rediculous for me to be stressed around them and that those are the times I am supposed to be relaxing rather then tensing up.

If isn't that pleasant to analyse everything you do and wonder if because of something you did or didn't do will make someone you like, dislike you. Heck I dislike being disliked and I have felt pretty bad being disliked by people I generally dislike.

I guess I am too accomidating...

Though that is only one of the things that stress me out to the point of losing it. I think for someone who stressed a lot, it is genuin work not to be stressed. I am going to work on my friend stress and relax a bit more everyday.