I was recently diagnosed with ADD and am still in the process of trying out different meds with my psychiatrist.

I'm pretty sure i also have SAD, although I haven't yet been formally diagnosed with it, nor have I talked to my psychiatrist about it. I feel as though I'm reading the story of my life when I read the threads about people with SAD. I have an immense fear of rejection in all aspects of my life. I always feel as though no one will like me once they talk to me because I'm so awkward. I also freeze up in social situations. I ALWAYS think people are talking about me. I try to study at the library or starbucks but I feel like everyone is looking at me and talking about me and wondering why i'm so awkward. I'm also really paranoid with my friends. I have 5 close friends and I always feel like they're plotting against me to "kick me out" of the group or something.

I am now in college and I feel like its getting exponentially worse. Surprisingly, in the dorms I was pretty social; but i would NEVER go to class and instead, I would just stay in my bed ALL day while people were in class and like "prepare" for the socialness of the evening. I ended up failing 3 classes that year, but I guess it was worth it because thats the least anxiety I had ever felt in a new social situation.

The next year was okay at first but then I pledged for a professional co-ed fraternity. It was really hard to even just go to the "rush" events by I thought it would look good on my grad/business school application. I didn't get along with one of the members so they kicked me out. Ever since then, my social anxiety/fear of rejection/ fear of social events has gotten 10000 times worse. The only way I can go out with my friends and "enjoy" it is if I'm really drunk, which sometimes ends up badly and if not, i don't usually remember the night anyway.

My third year, I took the first quarter off because I dreaded it so much. When I went back, i did better in my classes because I avoided social situations on campus AT ALL COSTS. My friends are fairly understanding but they think i'm just blowing it out of proportion, but still they accomodate in ways such as not making me be the designated driver when we go out because they know that i freeze up and cannot tolerate social situations when i'm sober.

Anyway, I'm starting my 4th year in a month and at first, i decided i would just be really reclusive this year so that i could do well in school. But i really don't want to. I want to be a social person without the anxiety/awkwardness/paranoia but AHHHHHH i don't know what to do. I also found out that i'll probably have to work this year because my paretns are having some financial troubles, and i'm absolutely dreading the job interviews, let alone the actual social aspect of the job, itself. I've considered maybe having a drink before each interview, since i'm turning 21 in 2 months, but i don't want to become an alcoholic.

After reading some of the threads, I really want to try meds for this since the meds i've taken for ADD have helped so much. However, I've looked up some of the meds and they all have side effects of weight gain. I've been recovering from 7 years of bulimia for the past year and I dont think i can deal with the stress of weight gain. Does anyone know of any meds that don't cause weight gain? or do ADD meds offset the weight gain for those of you that take both? Any suggestions about my situation in general?

Also, has anyone recovered well from SAD? I sometimes feel helpless and like i'll have it for the rest of my life and never be a normal person and just end up an old lonely weirdo woman. :(

AHHHHHH I JUST WANT IT TO GO AWAYYYYYYYY! :mad:

I think you are wise in not attempting to use alcohol to treat your anxiety. There are more appropriate meds for anxiety than alcohol. Alcohol can cause weight gain, or weight loss, btw...

Stimulant meds for adhd tend to cause weight loss. Antidepressants can cause weight gain. Atypical antidepressants like wellbutrin tend to cause a litte weight loss or tend to be "weight neutral".

The stimulants given for ADHD might make your anxiety worse. In that case it would probably be necessary to treat your anxiety along with the ADHD... talk to your doctor. If weight gain is a problem, discuss that , and your past problem with bullemia with your doctor. Your doc might be able to come up with a suite of meds that will work okay for you.

I seriously doubt that it will just "go away". These things tend to not get better by themselves. In my opinion your best bet would be to get into therapy for your anxiety and see your doctor for treatment.

ME :D

I think you are wise in not attempting to use alcohol to treat your anxiety. There are more appropriate meds for anxiety than alcohol. Ditto - I self-medicated with alcohol (and a few other less-legal substances). I'm easily addicted to anything that feels good, and in the end it turned around and made my life much worse, to put it mildly (into a living h*** would be closer to the truth). You think it's bad now.... Anyways, my advice is - no matter what - don't go there.

Sorry I can't share any real success with medications yet, since I gave up looking a long time ago. I only recently went back to therapy and decided to try for change again. All I can really share with you is my own experience:

1) (as speedo said) When I did nothing - nothing got better by itsself.

2) Using alcohol and drugs made it much much worse.

3) Be as honest as you possibly can with your psychiatrist. Something I've always struggled with...but nothing is to be gained, and much is to be lost, by failing to reveal important things about your psychology. It sounds to me like this anxiety has a huge impact on your life - definitely talk to the dr about it. I've heard from other anxiety sufferers that there are a variety of medications available for that alone - some daily, some just as needed (like before an interview!).

Good luck - keep us updated!

Hey, rADD-- I know I'm joining this party a little late (just found this thread today), but I wanted to say a few things, because what you wrote sounded verrry familiar. I used to bounce from one study spot to another (seriously, I must've had 6-10), never staying long before anxiety & ADD had me practically jumping out of my skin. I showed up ridiculously late to classes, then blew them off entirely and diverted my energies into social pursuits. Which required that I drink. A lot. Which led to people who would drink as often as I needed to, people who, unfortunately, ultimately made me want to drink even more.

Anyway, that was then, and here is what I would say now, to you and (if I could) to myself at that point:

1.) You are ahead of the game if you've already figured out that you need to treat ADD and SAD. Please be patient. Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right arrangement, but I promise, even slow progress is better than nothing, or coping strategies that make things worse. And I should know, I've tried all three.

2.) Busyhermit has it right: "You think it's bad now..." I remember how frustrating & lonely it was to be in college with organized, outgoing friends who didn't get it. But things got much, much worse before they got any better for me. There is a reason people use therapy/meds/exercise to cope with anxiety, when god knows it would be easier to walk down to the corner store and pick up a 40.

I sat up a little straighter when I realized that you're female too. From one girl to another, I'm begging you, do not fall into the getting-wasted-to-go-out-comfortably trap. I know how seductive it is because I did it myself. And it caught up with me eventually, although I got off way easy compared to other girls I know. I don't want to be the buzzkill who drops the R-word here, because I know how I used to tune out at that point... but let me just say, esp. as you're about to turn 21, there's a lot of predatory trash lurking out there. The problem with drinking to drown out your anxiety is that it muffles the instincts you need to alert you when something's not quite right.

3.) If you're worried about body image, I can tell you right now, as someone who has worked in bars, habitual drinking is like paying to get hit with the ugly stick. Over time it often does cause weight gain, and messes up your complexion, and it ain't great for the teeth, either. Also, I didn't realize until I was the one handing people drinks, (mostly) sober, just how sloppy you look to others when you're loaded.

4.) Everyone is different, but if you ask me, social anxiety is a little different from ADD in terms of permanence. Some people are able to overcome social anxiety over time (for example, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy can help) and some people do better with medication. There are tons of options you might try. But you won't recover from it without addressing it head-on and sober. Talk to your psychiatrist. Get a referral to someone else if he/she doesn't listen.

And hang in there.