Q: I am 24 years old and suffering from depression. I consulted a psychiatrist who suggested me to take Clonil 25 mg at night and Inderal 10 mg in the morning. I cannot mingle with people because I feel that they will tease me, which I won't be able to tolerate. I often feel that I should end my life, as I don't have self-confidence. I feel that people neglect me. I also have severe hair loss, but it has minimised after I started taking the above medicines. For a few days, when I was taking those tablets, I had very good self-confidence. My mouth is getting dry very often. What is the solution to my problem? I cannot face people and their talking about me. I get angry on small topics and my face and ears become red. Please advise.

A:Based on the brief information provided it is most likely that you are having Social Anxiety, which could be a part of Social Anxiety Disorder or it may be a personality trait. Recently over the last few decades the awareness of this disorder has significantly increased and also that is quite unrecognised, common, and newer treatment modalities are being investigated. There are other medicines also available, however need to understand that all medicines may have one or the other side effect. I would strongly advise you to go back to your Psychiatrist and discuss with him other medicines. Besides, it is also advisable if your Psychiatrist is able to refer you to a Psychologist for behaviour therapy, which has also been found to very useful. A combination of medicines and behaviour therapy has been found to be very effective in ameliorating the symptoms. Thoughts of ending life may be too exaggerated and obviously are not a solution- you might require to have depression ruled out for yourself.