text: If you are experiencing depression, social anxiety, and body dysmorphia, your values of yourself seem quite low and/or negative.\n\nI imagine these medications you're on cloud those particular values you have for yourself.  As a result, they make you feel alienated from yourself, that self that is consistently negative toward itself.  :)  This is in theory "for the better," but if you don't mentally understand why, the chemicals you're injesting will, I surmise, only "hollowly" pick you up, leaving you feeling alienated and without guidance on where to go after feeling this "elevation."\n\nYou'll have to be more specific what you mean by "maintaining friendships when getting used to an anti-depressant."  Are you having trouble maintaining ones you already have and have had for a while given your new state?  Are you simply having problems sustaining relationship with people you just met?  You can see your question is a bit vague to get a precise answer.\n\nHowever, I am like another Answerer who suggests seeking advice from your counselor.  In particular, it should be known very explicitly to your psychiatrist that you are having trouble maintaining friendships, and have had this experience in the time you've been getting used to your anti-depressant.  If this is new for you, this experience, there may be a direct relationship between the two that alarms the psychiatrist.  Or, it may be a small symptom of taking the medication.  It's probably partially up to your psychiatrist to decide, and partially up to you.\n\nI would generally recommend taking your time maintaining friendships, whether you're depressed, on medication, or whatever your condition might or might not be.  Friendships when forced can turn the friends off to each other.  Letting friendships form naturally, meaning letting them form or not form, is a nice alternate recommendation.  A better recommendation is seeking out a support group, especially one that socializes after the meeting.  That way you'll be able to maintain friendships via consistent meetings, and learn about others interests, plus your own, and then make friends via the understanding of common interests.  More than likely, if people are attending a support group for mental illnesses, they have plenty of common interests, not to mention common experiences very much like your own with respect to getting used to anti-depressants!\n\nI hope some of these thoughts are helpful for you.  Get well soon!  :)