Hi, everyone. I am wondering how Xanax compares to alcohol as far as dealing with anxiety and making one feel more at ease. I have severe social anxiety which reach its pinnacle when i have to interact with attractive females, and have found that alcohol (as long as I'm quite drunk) makes the anxiety go away. It also makes me a more outgoing and talkative person in general. Does Xanax do the same thing? Or do you just lose those feelings like the ones where you feel wherever one is judging you and you just feel more comfortable being in your own skin, but you don't become more likely to talk to people? I'm just wondering since I've been told it's like alcohol, but without getting you drunk. So I'm trying to figure out how it actually makes you feel. Also, has anyone bought from this place: http://www.pharmaoffshore.com/ I can't go to a doc because I don't want my family finding out about my "condition" and I am 21 and on their insurance.

Any help is appreciated..

Hi HF,

I am being the conservative poster tonight, well not in the political forum, but in regards to meds.

You are so lucky to be a young man, please don't start taking anti-anxiety meds unless you have no choice.

I don't really have anxiety issues but have taken both. Xanax makes one more dreamy; booze makes one open up.

Xanax is a very dangerous drug. If one starts taking it on a regular basis, one becomes addicted/dependent upon it.

Did you know that if one suddenly stops taking xanax, one can die from seizures? Even pain killers won't do that to you.

Do some research on this board and on the net in general and please reconsider.

That said, the plain or the sort of pretty girls, can be super nice too.

And as a woman, I always thought nervous was cute.

Sincerely,

Meon

Great post me onlytits I couldn't have said it better myself. HF; please...please...please don't start this med unless you absolutely need it. I started this med when my mother had cancer to deal with the anxiety and I wish to God that I had never taken this med as my body has become dependant on it. If you take a xanax to talk to a girl you will more than likely fall asleep on her. I don't think that would impress her very much
I know I misspelled a few things but please don't take this post as judging anyone or offensive. ALOHA!!!

HF, I know what booze can do to a guy who is trying to perform, I wonder what zanax does? Anybody know?

(LOL mozartz at my name mixup. Silly is a great way to start the day.)

Same potential side effect as alcohol. The inability to "perform" can be much more damaging to a man's psyche than his perceived inability to talk to the opposite sex.

Yup. Xanax does seem to make my thingy soft....blush Sorry about the name mix up. That is too funny!! LOL But yeah....I think that I had better luck getting my thingy up when I was drunk. When I had a xanax in me it was almost impossible. Talk about embarrasing!!!

Hi! haha I keep coming across some hilarious threads tonight.

But ... what makes me wanna chime in is pretty serious. I don't think xanax is a good drug to get started on for anxiety issues at all, either. Listen to the good ol' poobah up there. I, like most of the posters on here I've seen with Godly amounts of accumulated knowledge (I'm not one of them!), am highly, highly critical of xanax for things like this. If any anxiety medicine were to be used, I think there are much better ones out there. Though, we all have to admit a lot of people are going straight for the high, in which case none of this post is useful at all. lol

Not only the withdrawal part, but also, just in general as a treatment for anxiety, xanax is so bad. There are much better drugs, like diazepam, for example. Since xanax has a very short half life, it's out of your system quick, and thus anxiety will quickly come back (not to mention the addiction potential of that).

But even young men can have bad anxiety problems, so I wouldn't entirely factor age into the notion of whether to seek medicine for issues. Though, of course, as a student of psychology, I'd always see medicine as a last resort for cases like this. It's not like you're sitting at home afraid of the darkness; rather, social situations that, in my opinion, in and of themselves are sort of anxiety-causing. (Talking to girls make me nervous, too ... I'm incredibly shy!)

As for your actual question, I think you'll find a great difference of opinion for how xanax actually makes you FEEL, given the subjective nature of that. Some people it straight up knocks them out and is thus useless for social situations like that, and in others, at low doses, it sort of alleviates the tense, anxious feeling and allows the person's natural confidence to surface and manifest itself. I think if you were to use meds, using this sort of feeling to "train" yourself what it feels like to be confident and not so nervous is the best idea, as you don't want to turn into someone with an addiction to any medicine (alcohol, either).

Eventually (and with some actual work on your part- mental "work" is harder than physical sometimes!), most people with slightly elevated levels of anxiety can train their mind away from the anxiety and into the confidence that is natural in all of us, just sometimes beaten down by the stresses that accumulate in life. I think this approach, even if medicine is decided upon (which is definitely a question best answered by someone qualified and trained to do so) is best as opposed to a regiment of any sort of anti-anxiety med. Of course, this can be drastically different for individuals with severe anxiety problems. But that doesn't seem the case with you.

Now .. if you basically just mean you wanna get high on xanax and hit on girls, I guess I wasted a bunch of time writing all that (don't go high dose, though). :P Best of luck, man! Go get'em!

@mozartkc - You're friggin hilarious, man. :P

That's perfectly normal if your libido is high, because she has something you really want. Learning to mask this 'desperation' (for want of a better word) is the key to success, since if a female senses you want her that much you'll have no chance. You just have to act cool, like you're not that bothered, though it's not easy.

Alright everyone, thanks for the replies. From what meonlyits, mozartkc, and bnewhart001 have said, I think I'll not order that Xanax. It's true, I don't want to get addicted to anything, or have "performance" issues if I ever get that far.


This is the idea I had. I was planning to take the Xanax to see if it alleviated some of my anxiety, or even made me feel kinda "good" then tried talking to a girl, see if she'd be at all interested, then see if I could talk to her without Xanax after I got to know her a bit, then hopefully just learn to interact with people in general without being so anxious about everything. But as people said, if Xanax is that addictive, I'd probably just end up addicted to the Xanax, at which point my problems would become far worse than not being able to talk to girls.


No, this isn't my goal. Girls was just an example, I get feelings of anxiety other times too, even in class for example, sometimes I feel like everyone is looking at me, even though they probably don't even know I exist. Even sometimes friends comment that I am tensed up, and I need to relax. So, I think I need something to make me relax overall at times.

This being said, is there anything else that can be taken for anxiety that isn't addictive, but would give you a calming or "feel good" effect. I wouldn't mind even being a bit high as long as it wouldn't be too obvious or make me stupid stuff. Like something I could take when I'm about to be in a situation that makes me uncomfortable, that lasts a few hours, and can be taken as needed without killing me or getting me addicted.

Thanks for the help

Good decision, HF. Smart too. See you are a catch!

There's kava-kava which is an herb. Also maybe some b-vitamins would help

Anyone want to weigh in on kava-kava?

I'll weigh in on kava kava. It's one of those herbs that barely makes you feel anything. It's for the placeboists out there.

To the topic starter: I am in a very similar situation. I am a 23 year old single guy and I take benzos to help out with social anxiety disorder. And a lot of it has to do with the opposite sex for me too.

For me, Xanax works way better for talking to girls (or anybody) than alcohol does. Plus, sometimes alcohol obviously can't be used (while at work, for instance). I won't go on about how great Xanax is for social anxiety. It seems like your main concern is possible addiction.

I take Xanax (actually klonopin at the moment), but not on a daily basis. I'll take a dose if I'm going to be training some new girl at work. I'll take a dose if a co-worker invites me to play video games or something. If I were still a student I would take one before a speech for class (man I wish I had had benzos back then). I'll take a small dose if I'm invited to a bar and just sip beers when I'm there. (Yeah I know, this is controversial. There is a thread in this forum that was locked for some reason where I spoke on this.) I usually take a kpin about 3 times a week. If I feel like a tolerance is building up too much and I I'm starting to not feel the drug, I just take a week or two off.

I think it comes down to you and whether or not you think you have the self-discipline. If you have an alcohol addiction problem, don't even try ordering Xanax.

Also, look into Klonopin. It seems to be the drug of choice for most people with social anxiety disorder. I believe it has much less dependency issues than Xanax does.

Oh yeah, and about the whole "performance" thing. In my experience, I find that it's hard to perform very drunk because of lack of motor skills and lack of focus while drunk, etc. Xanax doesn't inhibit motor skills and focus nearly as much as alcohol does, so I don't think there's a problem here. The other concern I saw was that you would be just too tired to perform because of the sedative effects of benzos. Just drink a red bull or something. Stimulants + benzos is a great combination. Some people seem to think stimulants will just "cancel out" benzos, since benzos are CNS depressants, but they don't just make you calm and uninhibited because of the sedative nature of the drug. Benzos work on GABA (you can read about this other places, I'm no expert on the matter). When I take benzos and stimulants together I feel awake and very calm at the same time.

No they don't, but they multiply addiction/dependency issues.

Benzos for video games?!

Dude,
you;re abusing and its THAT simple.
Taking stimulants AND benzos together? or alcohol?

This is NOT drug-ABUSERS web site. Thats another one.

oh yes, in case nobody mentioned it, benzons will dramaticly reduce your seizure threshold. Meaning that they make it easier to have a seizure. Seizures CAN be deadly. Xanax is well known for inducing seizures. all you have to do is take the daily for a week, then stop. Could happen in the car, in the shower, where ever.
No warning, no memory and no consciousness. Its missing time.
I am currently in need of major surgery on one of my arms because of a seizure. I seized, then fell on the floor convulsing and destroyed a shoulder. Xanax. No warning, no memory of the event.,

I truely hate to see you trying to justify your abuse. its your life but you;re throwing it away. at your age, you will destroy any and all chance of ever being able to recover and deal with the things that cause you anxiety, because you will train your brain that this is the way it is and the ONLY way to cope is by hiding behind a drug that only mask your symptoms.
life is far better when you can walk in a place and say what you need to, do as you want, and make decisions that come from YOUR desires and know that you did it on your OWN.....
I really hope that you get some help and stop being an addict. you will never make it that way., trust me, I have seen too many friends die or commit suicide because they could not escape later on in life after they realized that they were out of control and it was the drug of choice that ran their life.
You gonna allow that to happen? or are you strong enough or smart enough to get out NOW while you can?
Good Luck...it only gets harder if you stay on this path.

Dude, those 3 don't go well together? Jeez, what am I gonna have for breakfast now?

Never ceases to amaze me. Are we 12 here or what?

lol...

yep, that sure limits the candy bowl on the desk ! looks like I;ll have to just go with M&Ms again.

maybe a Christmas candle kinda thing with a bunch of xanax and speed floating in vodka?? I guess the cnadle would be out...

I dont; understand the facination with wanting to commit suicide this way, i honestly dont. I did stupid $hit when I was that age, but not THAT stupid ! I always wanted to wake up the next day!

Well when I was 12 I didn't need to take benzos whilst playing games on my Amstrad CPC464, with its 64kB of memory and built-in cassette player, loading a decent game in 15 minutes.

Maybe it's these new-fangled computers and XBoxes that induce tremendous anxiety with their hard drives and colour monitors.

My Amstrad never crashed or got a BSOD.

Sure. I wasn't advocating taking adderall and xanax or anything like that. It was a simple comment that you can drink a red bull while on Xanax if the sedative effects are too strong. What's the problem with that?



You didn't understand my post, and you don't understand social anxiety disorder. Like many other disorders, it gets the "oh, its all in your head, you don't need medication" reaction from those that don't have it.

There are people out there that have a condition that need medication. I don't know about the thread starter. Maybe medication is totally wrong for him. I just thought I would give him my thoughts about benzos and tell him about my own experience with SAD.

About the "video games," again, you just don't understand social phobia/social anxiety. From your standpoint (from the standpoint of someone that doesn't have the condition), it just seems outright silly to take medication if you are doing a "simple" social task with people. The truth is, for many people even the most simple social tasks can be extremely unbearable.

I made a comment about drinking a red bull if you need to while you are on xanax. And I never said anything about alcohol. I was commenting on social situations where he could use benzos, and one of those situations (especially for younger single guys like the thread starter and I) is the bar. Just go to the bar and get a virgin bloody mary, a water, or just sip on a 3% beer. I never said I pop adderalls and xanaxes and head out to bars every night and start shooting vodka.



You don't know me and you have no idea if I'm an addict or not. But go on...



You sure know a lot about me. Taking benzos because I have a severe anxiety disorder is throwing my life away? No. Not doing anything about it and just staying home laying on my couch depressed is throwing my life away. Maybe some day I'll take a xanax and then go to a bar to try to meet a girl, drink a beer, and drop dead. Maybe you're right. I'll take my chances.



So what causes my anxiety? Please inform me.




It is who I am. I get sweaty palms when people take to me. I stutter when girls start to talk to me. I constantly yearn for interaction with others and get lonely and depressed at home. I wasn't abused as a child, I had a good upbringing. I'm not weird or different. I wasn't picked on as a child. I don't have "issues." I have a disorder just like anyone with depression or PTS disorder. The drug doesn't mask my symptoms, it helps me cope with them. That's the point of medication.

...The rest of your post just follows the same thread. I'm not trying to pick a fight. I know your intentions are good. I know benzos can become a crutch for me. I know there are risks. But please, you don't know me. I'm not an addict. And my problem isn't only in my head. Medication is can be very helpful.

are you THAT stupid?

what was it? 3 days ago in another thread where YOU stated that you drank and took benzos! Now Red Bull and benzos?

You're in FULL denial.

And yes, I Can comment on social anxiety having spent many many hours in a classroom studying behavioral disorders and how to help someone that suffers from them.

talk about symptomatic ! and displaying.....WOW.

get some help.

Now Eluded, I thought you were trying to convince me that you actually got along w/folks on the board. Need to try a bit harder.

Well, first off I'll say this. I will try to engage in a friendly debate. I'll admit that I could be totally wrong about everything. I'm only 23 years old. I have respect for older people that have experienced more life. That out of the way...

3 days ago I attempted to explain how I have taken benzos before going into a bar. And by "bar", I'm refering to the social context (having "a couple" beers with a girl from work, etc), not alcohol itself. I don't think I've contradicted myself at all. If you want to disagree about taking benzos before going into a bar, fine. It's quite understandable. It's a controversial issue. I've never advocated alcohol + benzos as a medication regiment. If I didn't get my point through on the last thread, I suppose I probably won't in this one.

So, how am I in denial? Please explain. Again, I'm not trying to pick a fight. I think we can have an informed debate here.

and YOU need to keep out of my business.

why don;t YOU try taking a look at the larger picture here and quit worrying about what I am doing. What I do is NONE of your concern.

I never have, ever would, and never was trying to convince YOU of anything. I could care less about what YOU think. You are NOBODY to me. Your opinion of me means nothing to me.

You are just a kling-on. Someone trying to get involved with something that others have going on so you feel included. Does inserting yourself into my post make you feel involved? like you are part of something?

or is "stalking" just your thing?

Satellite, if Eluded upsets you and you see no sense in what he says, please don't leave us.

Lots of us would like to have a rational discussion w/you, just not sure that is Eluded's style.

I will read through through the thread in am and let you know what I think. And if he yells at me just ignore that too. (Oh wait, he already did!)

It's the downside of free speech.

Wow. I honestly didn't comprehend what you just typed. Were your posts directed at someone else? If so, I apologize. I thought you were talking about me.

Hi SH,

His post was directed at me. He is just so rude to posters and gets mad when I call him on it.

Anyway, if you look at the top corner of the post you can see an RE: Meonlyits and that's how you know to whom someone is replying.

E's probably gonna yell some more now. He is really good at that.

Anyway, I am off this thread for the night. See ya in the am.

Meon

Dude,
I am TRYING like H3ll to save your life and prevent you from a lifetime of misery and dependence.
I have seen it, done it and been there. AND one of a very few to survive the 70's where I come from.

I just came back to the area where I grew up when I was 23.
Over the past year I have learned that MOST of the friends that I partied with and did vals or ludes and drank with, are all dead.
Some died of OD, some from organ failure, and about half from suicide. Men that were in their fifties that came from famlies that had everything,. that ended up with NOTHING because they allowed themselves to get trapped by a drug and could never get away from it. SO they shot themselves in the mouth, or in the temple, or they swallowed 100 pills and chased it with some booze.

What I am saying is that you are already displaying the classic signs of dependence. You are trying to explain why you use and what makes it ok. You are mixing things and self medicating.

I am not trying to offend you. I am TRYING to get you to open your eyes. This is a monster that will turn on you and bite your head off and you will never escape. You can regain control NOW, but in 5 yrs, you;ll will have changed your entire lifes course.

I know and understand what anxiety is and does. I was agoraphobic at one time. After a very near deadly motorcycle accident, the PTSD almost killed me with the NEED to self medicate and try different things.,
It was my dr when I was discharged from the 3 month hospital stay that advised me to seek the help of a mental health professional. That offended me,. so I experimented for the next 15 years and lost those years. I was not a "man" until I was 35 yrs old.
Kind of a late start, don;t you think?

I am telling you from experience, you CAN get over the anxiety. Pills make it EXTREMELY quick and easy. Getting past it long term is a little more difficult but its a permanent solution that will also create a confidence in you that cannot be shaken by anything because you already know what hell is and YOU survived it and moved ahead. Being able to say that and KNOWING that you did it without a pill is a tremendous leap forward and its done everyday.
Its scarey at first, but every step that you take forward without the crutch gets you closer to running at life full speed with confidence and maturity.

Look, when I was 23 I was exactly like you. Even after a couple funerals back then, I was slow to figure it out. But, I did and If I cannot pass that on to a young man today and spare him from a lifetime of doubt, insecurity, and dependence, then everything that I went thru was meaningless and I do not believe that for one second.

You ARE whats strong. its not the damm pills. Its YOU. The pills just make you THINK they are helping.
I alreqady told you the first step.
start by building your self confidence by meeting and talking to less intimidating people. Practice. Gain confidence. Then move up the social ladder....

If you learn to depend on a xanax to give you the courage to walk up to a woman that you desire, then you will have to be high 24hrs a day and that my young friend, is dependence.

I tell you all this because I KNOW that you can do better, be stronger, and succeed without going thru all that stuff that I did.
You;ll end up a better person, associating with better people and that will direct you to opportunity that you would never see if you were doing xanax or whatever crutch, all the time.

anxiety is the sensation of lack of control. fear, sometimes self esteem.
Look good, speak intelligently, behave intelligently. You will be SEEN as intelligent and THEY will then come to you!

you have to know the game and I'm telling you right now, what you are doing will never give you a half a chance of ever winning. you;ll always be watching someone else walk out with the one you wanted. trust me,. you CAN do this.

and if YOU would stop stalking my post,.......

you would not be so offended.

That was directed to someone that likes to just jump on threads without knowing whats going on.,She thinks its cool to follow me and others that her cool friends hate, and attempt to start arguements with me and others.
she's just a stalker. She's never been welcome in my threads and I do not reply to her becasue of what she is.

I don't know. I will read in the am. Damn E, you have anger issues!