To Ink...depending on the person and what their problem is, various medications work, to lesson fear and help one function in a more "normal" fashion. Most here take anti-depression meds, and anti-anxiety medications and or sleep aids. I have tried various meds, but the one I found to be most helpful for me now is Effexor XR or what I am taking now which is similar to it, an SNRI, herbs that were prescribed, and sleep medication. My depression still comes and goes, but basically my panic or fear of blushing has gone away for the most part. There are other methods out there, but I don't know much about all the various methods.

Hi Redface, Thanks for your comments - hey you mentioned that some medication is working for social phobia..which one?..... I too believe our problems are somewhat genetic - I'll try reading this program thing since Im too cheap to go to a shrink. Take care ------- and remember that your family loves you --- who cares what other people think! - they do not understand.

Thank you again Susanne; I am originally from Toronto, and was diagnosed there, and I understand the basic concept of the article you forwarded. So CBT works from the top down, or the cognitive side of the brain; and medications work from the emotional side of the brain. If I am more right brained than left brained also, there is another difference. The left brained people tend to be very good at cognitive skills, whereas the right brained people are better at expression emotion through various means. I believe I have a real problem with logical linear thinking. My husband is the opposite, very linear and logical. Probably I do need to improve my weak area. But if it is my weak area, it is a very difficult task for me to do. I know I need to challenge my multitudinous negative thoughts; however it is much easier for a person who naturally has that ability, than for a person like myself who has a natural lack of this ability. I am not particularly good at the practical aspects of life, hence I believe I have this problem. My frontal cortex was damaged when I was a child, I ran into the corner of a wall when I slipped on a rug when I was about 3 or 4 years old, and had a big gash in my forehead, or the front cerebral cortex. Perhaps that contributed? Or maybe I just inherited my brain preference from my father who was also suicidal, and tried to kill himself on numerous occassions. He also had a deficit in the social area, would run in the bedroom and hide when people came over, etc. He was socially phobic. He said the medications never worked for him. So he self medicated on alcohol. I didn't want to follow his footsteps. On the other hand, I believe he was a highly intelligent person; although with a deficit in the cognitive area. O.K., I must try not to excuse myself right? I will attempt to climb the cognitive wall ahead of me. Maybe it will work! Who knows? Thank you again for your logical cognitive insights. I do appreciate it even if it may not sound like it!

Hello Redface, There are a couple of themes here that are common in people with anxiety disorders. First, anxiety problems often go together. The current classification system for anxiety disorders isn't perfect and people often have a "mix" of symptoms of more than one disorder. For example, people often have a mixture of symptoms of panic disorder and GAD, or GAD and OCD, or social anxiety , panic disorder and OCD. There are many different "types" of symptoms but a few common themes, for example, fear f physical sensations, fear of being embarrassed or judged, and "pathological doubt." Pathological doubt (what if?) is one of the main symptom of OCD and GAD. Prime examples of pathological doubt include thoughts like "What if my hand is dirty?" (OCD), "What if my child gets sick?" (OCD/GAD) and "What if I have cancer." (GAD). Another common symptom in OCD and GAD is a "need to know" and an intolerance of uncertainty. People with OCD and GAD are extremely intolerant of uncertainty, especially when it comes to themes of safety or harm to self or others. People with OCD and GAD tend to try to reduce uncertainty by trying to find out "the answer." Perhaps the most common example of this is a person with OCD who wants to know "why" they have OCD. In fact, even the experts wouldn't agree why any given individual has OCD and you could spend your whole life trying to figure out "Why" without getting anywhere. Fortunately, although we don't know what "causes" anxiety disorders (the "why"), we do know how to treat them effectively (CBT and/or medications). One way to understand it is that the "why" and need for certainty in understanding the cause of your symptom is just another symptom. For example, the idea " I can't get it out of my head that unless I'm on medications, I cannot cope" may be just another intrusive thought. In CBT you would be asked to challenge that intrusive thought as you would any other thought. In CBT you would be asked to increase your tolerance of uncertainty in this situation. In general the theme might be "Do you need to know why something works in order for it to work?" For example, I am not sure anybody really knows how aspirin works to reduce head ache or prevent strokes but people take it all the time...and

Many of us here seem to have experienced both. Many also experience obsessive thoughts too, or combinations of all plus more. Now that my medications seem to be working for social phobia, and particularly phobia of blushing, it makes me feel like I have a chemical imbalance, and nothing but medication will work. Working on the Panic Program and trying to deal with my exposure work doesn't seem to have the importance it had before. I have been through seven years of therapy once a week, but I have always had to ask each doctor I end up with this same question. Is it a chemical problem, or a cognitive one? It is very confusing for me, because, when the meds work, I believe that there is not other therapy that is really going to make a dint. Perhaps too, those who have more panic out of the blue, when they finally cognitively analyse what they are thinking prior to the panic, realize that there is a reason for it, and then, when learning the reasoning is faulty, understand what has happened to them. But even though I understand the congitive aspect of it, I still can't get it out of my head that unless I am on medications, I cannot cope. I have tried on a number of occassions. But when relief comes in the way of medications, I become convinced again that it is biological. Is there a difference between social phobia, fear of blushing, panic attacks and generalized anxiety, and their origins?