social skills

[petunias]

I have poor social skills. I receive negative feedback from people about my social skills. I think my social skills are made worse by my severe anxiety. I'm not taking medication currently and am reluctant to try it, as I have experienced adverse effects from a SSRI I took. I suppose I need to push myself out of my comfort area. Posting this is a start I guess.

[Hylas]

Absolutely it's a start and good for you. I totally understand your reluctance to try antidepressants again, I never felt quite right on three different SSRI's and suffered a bad reaction to an SNRI after about 10 months and vowed never to go that route again. My GP has never once offered me an alternative treatment. I've tried other non prescription therapies since, primarily for depression and I'm hoping it will help with my SA too. Don't give up, hopefully you'll find something that works for you soon.

[petunias]

Originally Posted by Hylas

Absolutely it's a start and good for you. I totally understand your reluctance to try antidepressants again, I never felt quite right on three different SSRI's and suffered a bad reaction to an SNRI after about 10 months and vowed never to go that route again. My GP has never once offered me an alternative treatment. I've tried other non prescription therapies since, primarily for depression and I'm hoping it will help with my SA too. Don't give up, hopefully you'll find something that works for you soon.

Thank you Hylas. My GP has not ever offered me an alternative treatment either. Could you share what other non prescription therapies you've tried for depression and SA? I'm thinking peer support groups (such as this one) would probably benefit me more than 6 sessions of psychological therapy with an unknown therapist.

[Hylas]

Hi P, Read the cover article in the Stanford Magazine March 2023 issue
Also a good read is Johan Hari's book Lost Connections
Psilocybin therapy clinical trials are taking place in the UK.

[Hylas]

Have you explored the possibility you have ADHD too, it doesn't always manifest itself in the way you'd expect. It could be a underlying factor so do speak to your GP or do the online self test questionnaire.

[petunias]

Thanks Hylas! I will explore those..