Alrighty, I am a 24yrs old male and about 6 months ago I finally went into the doctor to get help with my Social Phobia that I have been dealing with since around 4th Grade in Elementary school. When I first went in there, she put me on effexor and said my social phobia was probably caused by my depression. (I would have days were I just felt hopeless and really down) Well I took the effexor for about 2 weeks until I decided to stop it because I was having really bad nightmares and just felt dead like a zombie. It was about 2 months ago when we were asked to go to some peoples house to play poker and my heart just started racing and I dreaded the fact of having to go, Well I said I was not going and me and my girlfriend got into a big fight and she told me that I need to get back to the doctor and get help.

So I went back to the doctor and she decided to put me on Zoloft 50mg for 3weeks and then she upped me to 100mg and I have been on Zoloft now for about 7 weeks. So far the Zoloft has helped alot with the depression, I dont have the down days like a used to and its also helped alot with General anxiety such as worrying about bills and things in daily life. But I have noticed no change in my social anxiety at all. I am still very inpatient around people. When people talk to me , I get bored of them easily and it drived me nuts unless we are talking about something that really interests me. Also being around people I am a nervous wreck and do not say a thing at all most of the time.

Well my doctor told me to come back in a year and let her know how the zoloft has done and then referred me to the psychologist for counseling and maybe some testing. well I went to the psychologist for the first time last week and basically sat there for an hour and told him my autobiography and my issues and he told me next time I come in we will do some testing and also said that it could be a possibility I have Social Phobia mixed with some ADD as alot of the cases he has seen ADD mixed in with Social Phobia or something like that.

Well anyways I will get to the point.... After ruling out that depression is the cause of my social phobia. After doing alot of internet research for the past week I am starting to think that maybe its ADD that is actually causing my Social Phobia???

Heres some of my issues I have:
- Terrible Handwriting (I am also left handed if that means anything)
- I was always an under-achiever in late elementary,middle school and highschool. I always got poor grades (Most of the time failing) and struggled with school and homework.
- Dropped out of high school in 9th grade.
- I am really forgetful about stuff and have a hard time remembering.
- whenever I am around people, my mind just goes blank and Its hard for me to think of something to talk about, then my anxiety goes crazy once there is to much silence and over all I just feel really shaky and will start getting a headache if I am around people to long.
- I get social drained easily and just start feeling tired after being around a group of people for atleast 10 minutes.
- I procrastinate ALL the time.
- I have no motivation for anything and can never hold down a good job, my last job I quit after the first day because my mind was so exausted from dealing with the people.
- I tend to feel tired alot of the times throughout the day.
- Very inpatient overall and with people..
- I daydream/space out quite often.

So yea, I am wondering what you guys thing here. Does it sound like ADD? I know for a fact it would'nt be ADHD because I am the total opposite of hyper.

Thanks for the help.
Jeremy

It does sound like ADD. Doesn't mean it is, but it sounds like it. Stick around on the forum, there's a lot to read and learn. Also, check out www.addmtc.com it has some pretty cool info.

Hyperactivity is not always present in the ADDer. But hyperactivity manifests itself in ways that common sense rules out, so many people who think they're not hyperactive actually are. Foot tapping, finger tapping, tics and racing thoughts are all "hyperactivity". You don't have to climb walls and go all crazy feet to be a hyperactive.

Speaking of crazy feet, you're about to get a welcome graphic.

Hyperactivity is not always present in the ADDer. But hyperactivity manifests itself in ways that common sense rules out, so many people who think they're not hyperactive actually are. Foot tapping, finger tapping, tics and racing thoughts are all "hyperactivity". You don't have to climb walls and go all crazy feet to be a hyperactive.

Speaking of crazy feet, you're about to get a welcome graphic.wow, yea I thought what they ment by hyper was like the way a kid would act on a cup of sugar.

And right now as I type this , both of my knees are moving back and forth. go figure...

Thats another problem I have, is when I am around people I have all these thoughts racing in my head and I pretty much turn into a nervous wreck. Stuttering my words out and stuff.

verbal dyslexia is common. Racing thoughts IMO is hyperactivity, but I don't know if doctors recognize that as being hyperactive. Fidgetting definitely is. It is believed that fidgetting is a means for your body to maintain a certain amount of stimulation in your brain so that you can more or less feel normal. ADD is associated with a lack of certain substances in your brain, and the fidgetting helps compensate. (I'm not sure how exactly, but there's research done on the subject... www.fidgettofocus.com (http://www.fidgettofocus.com) )

As for anxiety, it's very common in ADDers. Personally, I would sometimes experience all the symptoms of anxiety all the way to downright hyperventilating panic but with absolutely no bad thoughts, or fear associated with that anxiety. Just the symptoms but none of the mental stuff. That is such a freaky experience, because it makes NO sense at all. If anxiety is ADD-related, and because for me it just comes on for no reason, I suspect that it is very much tied to your brain chemistry. Strattera (a non-stimulant ADD med) has completely erased my anxiety. It was unbelievable.

Well, looks like your doctor is suspecting ADD and so are you. Looks like you're on the right path to getting something done about it. Good luck to you, and stick around, let us know what happens!

Welcome jeremynd - our stories have some similarity in that I have suffered from general anxiety, social phobia and depression my entire life. Some of what you speak of is quite familiar to me. Among other things:

...will start getting a headache if I am around people to long.
- I get social drained easily and just start feeling tired after being around a group of people for atleast 10 minutes. ...I actually start yawning and feeling exhausted - it's a reaction to the stress.


I daydream/space out quite often.As an adult, I don't stop doing things long enough to daydream, but I spent most of my childhood in that cozy, dreamy world of thought and feeling....sigh....I miss it.

Anyways, I've always seemed to have issues that the anxiety and depression could not explain. Lots of memory and concentration problems (OK, anxiety CAN explain that), but also this hyperfocus thing and my complete inabitity to structure my own time. I just figured I had poor willpower, poor self-discipline, poor self-control. Read about hyperfocus if you haven't, and see if you relate!

I would have to say that I have no (physical) hyperactivity whatsoever. I'm actually quite agonizingly slow and methodical in about everything I do. Makes me unsuitable for many types of jobs. Part of that is because I have to recheck everything I do many times as I'm doing it (for a variety of reasons involving my faulty memory and thought processes). And then there are just so many times that I cannot even make myself do things that I need to (guess I coulda just said "procrastinate"). I used to think I was just lazy. But I wonder - are lazy people happy to be lazy? Are they relaxed? Are they lying about on the couch, watching TV and thinking "this is the life"? Or are they racked with guilt, moving, tapping, biting nails, thinking of all they should be doing, and yet are unable to force themselves to get up and do it? I'm often in this state.

It's as though I'm mismatched somehow - something is off-kilter in me. I don't know about "fast mind vs. slow body" - that doesn't seem exactly right. More like two parts of my brain in constant battle. But for whatever reason, there is a part of me that wants to constantly move and do and accomplish more than is possible for the physical and mental machinery I was given. And it doesn't matter how much I do accomplish, it is never near enough. Sleeping and eating and showers are an irritation because I can't stand the waste of time...my daily life is about impatience and frustration.

I discovered this forum in a roundabout way, and found people here that relate to my bizarre inner workings. Something I never expected. So stick around!

W
As an adult, I don't stop doing things long enough to daydream, but I spent most of my childhood in that cozy, dreamy world of thought and feeling....sigh....I miss it.
Woah, totally... I sometimes wonder if I just lost my imagination or something.

Quote:
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Woah, totally... I sometimes wonder if I just lost my imagination or something.
You know, that's really interesting. I hadn't really thought about it. When I was young, that thought-world was full of beauty and magic and infinite possiblity. It was a wonderful, safe place to be. But at some point, I stopped believing in those three things. All of my thoughts have been corrupted with negativity for a long time. I'm no longer safe in my own mind - after all, I'm far meaner to myself than anyone else. I think I purposefully avoid it. Hope that's curable - I'd love to "space-out" again.

Strattera (a non-stimulant ADD med) has completely erased my anxiety. It was unbelievable.
Now this I would like to try. Can it be taken along with Zoloft?

I am guessing it is more common for them to prescribe you Strattera first before they try Adderall on you. Right?

Also, Since I have been on Zoloft, My Short term memory has gotten even worse.

For example, yesterday my girlfriend asked me to go get her birth control refilled because she had to work. Well I completely forgot about it and finally remembered at about 6:30 lastnight. So I take it today with me, so a bunch of running around and ended up forgeting again, so I was like a block way from home and I had to turn around and go 3 miles back twords the drug store.

Speaking of crazy feet, you're about to get a welcome graphic.I will more than glad to post one for him, as soon as he posts in the New Member Introductions thread...I am unable to post images here. ;)

See ya there, jeremynd.

Now this I would like to try. Can it be taken along with Zoloft?

I am guessing it is more common for them to prescribe you Strattera first before they try Adderall on you. Right?

Whether Strattera can be taken with Zoloft is something that a pharmacist or doctor should answer.

I think that prescribing Strattera first for adult ADHD is becoming the trend. I don't know for sure though.

Strattera was first designed as an antidepressant but with tests they saw it didn't have the effectiveness on depression that it wanted, so they turned it into an ADHD drug.

Because ADHD often comes with mild depression, irritability, anxiety and stuff like that, maybe you should ask your doctor to try ONLY strattera for a while. Who knows, it may solve the same problems that you're taking Zoloft for. It wouldn't hurt to find out! And IMO, the fewer drugs you take the better.

I agree with pedalpounder. The depression may be associated with the feelings of helplessness, not truly depression in itself. I had down days all the time before my omega-3 days. But it wasn't consistent enough to be depression, the straterra might increase your productivity and demeanor and then help you feel better about everything.




Whether Strattera can be taken with Zoloft is something that a pharmacist or doctor should answer.

I think that prescribing Strattera first for adult ADHD is becoming the trend. I don't know for sure though.

Strattera was first designed as an antidepressant but with tests they saw it didn't have the effectiveness on depression that it wanted, so they turned it into an ADHD drug.

Because ADHD often comes with mild depression, irritability, anxiety and stuff like that, maybe you should ask your doctor to try ONLY strattera for a while. Who knows, it may solve the same problems that you're taking Zoloft for. It wouldn't hurt to find out! And IMO, the fewer drugs you take the better.

The depression may be associated with the feelings of helplessness, not truly depression in itself.Thats what I have been thinking for awhile now..