Some antidepressants are used as a treatment for social anxiety disorder, but their efficacy is not entirely convincing, as only a small proportion of antidepressants showed some efficacy for this condition. Paroxetine was the first drug to be FDA-approved for this disorder. Its efficacy is considered beneficial, although not everyone responds favorably to the drug. Sertraline and fluvoxamine extended release were later approved for it as well, while escitalopram is used off-label with acceptable efficacy. However, there isn't enough evidence to support citalopram for treating social phobia, and fluoxetine was no better than placebo in clinical trials. SSRIs are used as a first-line treatment for social anxiety, but they don't work for everyone. One alternative would be venlafaxine, which is a SNRI. It showed benefits for social phobia in five clinical trials against placebo, while the other SNRIs are not considered particularly useful for this disorder as many of them didn't undergo testing for it. As of now, it is unclear if duloxetine and desvenlafaxine can provide benefits for social anxiety sufferers. However, another class of antidepressants called MAOIs are considered effective for social anxiety, but they come with many unwanted side effects and are rarely used. Phenelzine was shown to be a good treatment option, but its use is limited by dietary restrictions. Moclobemide is a RIMA and showed mixed results but still got approval in some European countries for social anxiety disorder. TCA antidepressants, such as clomipramine and imipramine, are not considered effective for this anxiety disorder in particular. This leaves out SSRIs such as paroxetine, sertraline and fluvoxamine CR as acceptable and tolerated treatment options for this disorder.[19][20]