This is an ongoing series of posts I'm creating in order to help those suffering with severe social anxiety looking to self medicate in a safe, healthy, and effective manner. DISCLAIMER: I do not in any way condone using any psychoactive substance (Legal or illegal, especially illegal, be smart) to cover up the symptoms of a personal problem which you are not taking steps in your sober life to overcome. 18+ only, if you're underage, take steps to better yourself in your natural state only, the younger you are the easier of a time you'll have at it anyway.
Today I'll be getting into Benzos. Depending on where you live the legality of many benzos can differ. However in the United States where I live they are classified as Schedule IV substances, and as a result of the Federal Analogue act of 1986 not applying to schedule IV drugs, analogues/chemically similar research chemicals can be legally purchased online. However this is not recommended, as not much research has been done on these unregulated substances, so they can have unknown adverse side effects. With that being said, if it's a choice between illegally purchasing say Xanax off the street or legally acquiring a better researched benzo analogue such as Etizolam, I would suggest the latter. Though, I cannot personally speak on the effectiveness of such substances due to never having tried them.
Benzos are a double edged sword, this is apparent to me after only trying two different kinds (Alprazolam and Clonazepam). I have not personally used Clonazepam enough to completely differentiate it's effects from Alprazolam, so all I can say on that is it seems as if Clonazepam is just a slightly less sedating, longer lasting version of Alprazolam (though this information could be found with a quick google search, and I'm sure there are more subtle differences which I have not noticed). They can be very effective in killing anxiety, namely Alprazolam as it's very fast onset makes illuminates a stark contrast. However, they suffer the same downfall as Alcohol in my opinion, they're simply too intoxicating. Just in a different way. The "drunk" feeling which accompanies alcohol isn't very present with benzos at all, but they can cause severe memory loss if taken in too high of doses, and I've found that even low therapeutic doses affect your memory.
I've also found Benzos to not be nearly as effective in easing social anxiety as they are with more generalized anxiety (which I don't have as much of anyway). I have a personal bias in this case as I despise benzos. They leave me feeling empty and numb. Sure you may not have as much social anxiety, but you just don't care. Of course this is just my personal experience, and I know people who find the effects much more pleasant (Though none of these people have social anxiety, they just use them as a party drug). I would most definitely NOT recommend benzos to anyone suffering from social anxiety as I have not found them to be very effective, and as with alcohol NONE of the effects bleed over into your sober life IME. Bottom line, despite me using very low doses of Xanax back in high school a couple of times to get through some oral presentations, they aren't effective in the way that I believe a lot of SA sufferers wish them to be, I'd stay away from these substances. (However I think it's worth mentioning that other benzodiazepines may have a different spectrum of effects, as I'm not the most experienced in this particular area. I'm just putting my experience there. Also, you may have noticed me mention using these in High school, any high school students reading this, don't be stupid like I was.)
This isn't even mentioning how they are very physically addictive and have some of the most dangerous withdrawal symptoms of any substance, very often leading to seizures which can be fatal. Any rap fans here? Hear about Lil wayne having seizures all the time? (Albeit not very recently). I believe him coming off of Benzos definitely plays a part in that, I would not blame it solely on the lean, although I admittedly am not very educated on the side effects of codeine/promethazine so take that with a grain of salt.... and I went off on a tangent.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, I hope I can help at least one person. Next up... Phenibut!