I am gonna be honest here. I have a very severe amount of approach anxiety. I already tried out everything to get past my AA. But nothing seems to work. I tried out several bootcamps, I tried tapes about overcoming social anxiety, I tried going infield and approach strangers. But at the end, I just don't seem to get anywhere. So I am seriously considering to take medication because I can't continue like I am now. I just came back from going out and I asked my wing to help me to open a set. But I simply couldn't open. When I thought about approaching my heart started to beat faster and I got difficulties to breath.

There is nothing left for me anymore than take medication to control my nerves. Can anyone of you guys give me some advice about which meds to take and what their side effects are ?

Xanax would be the obvious choice, I don't need it and it makes me tired but it may help you. It can be very addictive, be careful.

In my opinion you should avoid medication... be confident in yourself and dont think too much about the approach or how the approach is going to end, just try to enjoy the approach by relaxing and showing off your good points, if you get the hang of doing this, you won't get soo flustered. hope i helped in some way

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search of inner guidance

I was on Paxil (an SSRI) for about 5 years. (this was before I started approaching) It worked great I was super social for the first time since I could remember. It is made for social anxiety. BUT if fucked me up bigtime when I came off it. Stay away from SSRIs, they are shit, and a lot of people have gotten very messed up using them. Try to stay off any pills if you can.

If you do decide to take medication, KNOW that it is a crutch, and you are going to get off the crutch after a short while and start walking on your own when you feel you've reached a point where you've gained enough social experience to do without it.

How many approachess have you done by the way? I've done hundreds of approaches and still get anxiety, even approaching fat old ladys makes me nervous sometimes, but then I can approach 10's sometimes. I keep sliding back to that old anxiety where approaching ANYONE is tough, it makes progressing very tough, and makes me depressed, and my approaces suffer because of it. You HAVE to be upbeat and positive when you approach, with your mind clear from anything else, otherwise they go shit..

I dont count when I approach. I made approaches, but most of them bullshit approaches like asking directions and time. I think I made in between 50 to 100 bullshit approaches. Serious approaches with intent, maybe less than 5.

Medication can be very good, don't let the naysayers discourage you. People with severe anxiety depression can be helped tremendously by medication if they need it. Not to down anybody, but most people here aren't mental health professionals and really aren't qualified to to tell you whether you should/shouldn't take meds. I am in the healthcare field, but in a different specialty than psychiatry, so even I can't make good reccomendations. I strongly suggest getting evaluated by a psychiatrist (MD not psychologist - they are very useful for talk therapy but meds need to start first) and he will be able to decide if you need anything or what. They can do wonders for these problems. The hardest part for most guys is just overcoming the fear of making the initial appointment. Good luck!

I know where you are coming from, I too suffer from SAD. See a doctor to get the right prescription. I myself have improved drastically over 5 years by reading books on the matter. Taking there recommended steps and doing excercises. My SAD is not gone completely but I have made it bearable enough to succeed in life. It's a horrible thing and the least of your concerns should be about pickup btw. Some people have it more severe then others, so you may need medication and I have heard that it does help. if you would like some recommendations on books or websites PM me and I would gladly try to direct you to some good material.

I am registered in many other forums too. The main advice I got is to be more consistent with it. I try to speak to people on saturday and/or sunday. That is not enough. They advised me to speak to 1 girl a day. In the beginning it is going to be difficult but in the end it will help me to get over AA. So for the moment I will try this instead of medication. If this doesnt help than I will definitely go for meds.