Help! I'm going to be divorced if I don't fix this

[Ray]

My name is Ray. I am comfortable around people I know, I can meet new people when I get a good feeling about them, but I cannot be social! I can't go to a bar or a club or any large social event where I am "supposed" to have fun. It's as if everybody is always wanting to know why I can't just party or let loose. If I were settled in one place I could develop friends that I trusted and my wife and I could hang out but I'm in the Air Force and in training moving all the time and we have no friends because I can't even go out to the pool to meet the people who live where I do. My marriage will not last if I can't take her out and have a good time with her when strangers are around. I know medicine isn't a cure all but has anybody taken any of the medications out there and had results above and beyond what just therapy can do?

[shoe]

Ray, I think being in the Air Force is a brave thing especially if you have social anxiety (or at least a situation-specific version of it). You definitely deserve kudos for that hehe. As far as medication goes, I myself have had good success with benzodiazepines. They don't have to be taken on a daily basis - just when you need them to work - and are usually effective within an hour or two. The potential problem is, if you take too much or if you are too sensitive to them, you can get sedated and less alert, possibly even confused.

Another type of medication - beta blockers - are used by some people to treat panic attacks, those are also taken as-needed. They treat mainly the physical symptoms, the anxious thought patterns doesn't seem to be affected.

SSRI's have some success with people who have anxiety in social situations, and there are a number of other medications that people have varying success on.

You could check the links out in the 'Medications' post in the 'Resources' section to get a better idea of what stuff is out there.

hope it helps
shoe