How would one boost oxytocin?

Question

I know that this is a strange question but I've heard that increased levels of the hormone oxytocin helps to alleviate social anxiety. I have a social anxiety disorder and was wondering if there's anything I could do?

Answer 1

Read the article in this link - a nasal spray has been developed.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/me...

Plus a more recent article in this link - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...

Hope they help.

Answer 2

I first learned about Oxytocin being used to alleviate social anxiety on the TV show "Boston Legal" (of all places).   :-)

... the character who has a medical condition like Tourettes or OCD sprayed himself with it to calm his ticks and social interaction condition.

Along with being a trust and bonding hormone (ie. produced by a mother while breastfeeding) there has been a recent study where ocytocin was proven to relieve anxiety as well.

I've checked out anecdotal reports on forums etc bymen who have tried the cologne, and they believe it worked in their efforts to attract women... but I sometimes wonder how much of that is the ocytocin in the cologne acting on the women (making them more inclined to trust and feel a bond with the guy) and how much is its effect on the man wearing the cologne, causing him to be less shy and anxious while interacting with the women.

BTW, there's another good study on the recent edition of the Bremelanotide Bulletin regarding an Oxytocin study done at the University of Zurich, if you're interested.  I've added a direct link in my source(s) below.

Hope that helps and good luck!