Social Anxiety Disorder Medications

One of the options to treat social anxiety disorder is medication.  The medications used to treat this disorder are antidepressants and currently the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has approved three for this specific treatment:

  1. Paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil CR)

  2. Sertraline (Zoloft)

  3. Venlafaxine (Efferox)

Using other Medications

Sometimes doctors prescribe other medications than the 3 mentioned before.  Although these treatments are not FDA approved, they are not illegal, this practice is called off-label use.  Among the medications for social anxiety disorder included in this classification we find:

Anti-anxiety medications. These are the benzodiazepines, these medications can be addicting and sedating, that’s why they are only used for short-term treatment.

Beta Blockers. These social anxiety disorder medications block the effect of adrenaline, reducing the physical symptoms of social anxiety.  They are recommended for certain situations, not for a regular treatment.

Alternative antidepressant.  Doctors may also suggest other types of antidepressants in order to find the most effective one for you.

Side Effects of Social Anxiety Disorder Medications

When talking to a doctor about the use of medications to treat social anxiety, be sure to also talk about the possible side effects of using these products.  The different medications have different side effects.

For example anti-anxiety medications can provoke addiction, drowsiness, weakness, memory loss, light-headedness, fatigue, speech difficulty and blurred vision.  These side effects will also have an effect on your life, and can end up bringing more problems, it is not a good idea to change one problem for another right?

Social Anxiety Links