Posted by Elizabeth on December 1, 2001, at 15:02:30
In reply to Re: Pill for Low self esteemELIZABETH, posted by janejj on November 30, 2001, at 16:05:36
Jane,
There's no specific treatment for that, but a lot of things, including Prozac, sometimes help. I would look at things that are supposed to help with social anxiety and interpersonal sensitivity; those are likely to be the most helpful to you.
Paxil probably isn't any more effective for social anxiety than any other SSRI (Paxil is also not particularly sedating for a lot of people, although it has a reputation for being sedating -- I, for one, found it made me jittery, and I know I'm not alone in this). MAOIs might be more effective, if the SSRIs don't help. It's possible that benzodiazepines could help. I know you're concerned about sedation; in my experience (not just taking it myself, but also observing others and talking to them about their experiences with it), a low dose of Klonopin usually isn't sedating and can work very well. Librium is another benzodiazepine that isn't very sedating usually. There are a lot of other things you can try, but those are the first ones I'd go with.
Some people think that there is something called a "depressive personality," and low self-esteem is central to this concept. Although I disagree with the idea that low self-esteem should be regarded as a "personality disorder," I know that it can have wide-ranging effects on your life and disposition, and as such it needs to be treated.
I hope you find something that can help you; I'm pretty sure that it's out there, although it might take a few tries to find the right thing. Good luck to you.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:85633
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85750.html