Sertraline for Severe Social Anxiety

Hi there,

Ive been taking Sertraline for almost 4 years for severe social anxiety and its been a long road but it works like a charm for me now. In the beginning it was good because it was quite soon after I started taking it that i realized my physical symptoms were almost completely gone. If I had to speak in front of people or had to meet new people in any kind of social setting my heart would race SO fast that I would barely be able to catch my breath. It was as if I had just ran sprints on a track and this made even the smallest amount of conversation so difficult and so awkward. I also would turn the deepest shade of red (i have olive skin so imagine deep dark red, not rosy or a slight blush), it was humiliating. My color would change so profusely that people inevitably asked if I was ok, which just made it worse, It felt like I was imploding for everyone to see. Its painful just to think about it and perhaps that is why I stuck it out with the Sertraline. It was so hard to sleep and if I did it would only be for a few hours. I would have (and still do occasionally) crazy night sweats too. To me, it was better and necessary for me to be able to function at work so I sucked it up and kept taking it.

My doctor increased it over time and I was taking 100mg for over a year when I mentioned that although my awful symptoms were gone, I still had NO desire to socialize and would still avoid it (but be able to handle it if necessary for work). We opted to increase my dose slowly, up to 125, then 150mg where I stayed for a while as well. I still had no urge to get out and make friends or just get outside alone to enjoy my surroundings but I did notice that I didnt avoid hanging out if my sister asked me to join her with friends. It was very subtle but I surprised myself when I told her Id come along and wasn't having a second negative thought about it.

In the last 5 months we increased my dose to 200mg, from what I understand this is the maximum recommended dosage. Now Im living. Ive gone on dates, can smile at people I dont know, for no reason other than I feel content. I went to my sons back to school night as the one and only single Mom but it was ok. I love the dating part too, its been a long time since I felt the excitement that comes from connecting with someone. Things feel possible and thats like Gold to me.

All this being said, medication and even proper diagnosis can be a crap shoot. Its taken almost 4 years for me to get here and its not like I dont still struggle. Im still a homebody but Im not a prisoner and its worth it to me. Sertraline has helped me so much that sometimes Im scared of what would happen if I couldnt take it anymore for some reason or another. Either way Im glad it has worked as well as it does for me. My advice to you is to be patient, the stuff does take a while to regulate the brain functions that its meant to. If you have side effects then try going back down to the previous dose and stay there for another few months before you try to increase it again. I had to do that 2x. Dont give up, think about how complex our minds are and the science behind it, everyone is different. I had to find the right balance between my brain and the medication and then it felt like I could crawl out of my shell on my own and naturally If that makes sense. Hope this helps, Best wishes for you.