My badger friend needs some advice on anxiety/motivation

[Synesthesiac]

Hi all. My mate Steve, who is a 70kg 6 foot tall talking badger, is in a bit of a muddle at the moment. He's just in the process of probably (infact nearly definately) failing his first year at university due to him not attending any lectures in nearly two months. He lacks any motivation to work. He also experiences social anxiety in certain specific situations, so much so that it has started to effect his normal life.

He nearly had a panic attack the other day when he was in the kitchen with the two of his house mates that he hardly ever talks to. No-one was saying anything and everyone was just doing their own thing, and this awkward type of silence started to build up tension in him until he found it unbearable and he had to leave the room and calm himself down. His housemates were probably completely oblivious to it. He just generally avoids social situations, which is probably the underlying reason why he has not been attending lectures. He also has very erratic sleeping habits and Insomnia, which doesn't help matters.

The only time that Steve tells me he feels normal and able to relax and be himself around people is when he is on stimulants, MDMA or GHB/GBL (unfortunatly, alcohol does not seem to do the job anymore for steve like it used to). All of which are short term fixes and no help in the long term. This has lead him to start using GHB very frequently, which he doesn't want to continue (he's not addicted, but can see the psychological need becoming more and more every time he uses it)

The badger in question has been to the doctor and said that he is depressed and anxious. The doc gave him some information about SSRI's and said he should think about them and come back to him. Thing is, Steve does not think he's really depressed, he is always good at finding things to occupy him (usually online activites, games, DVD's, drug use, music playing, etc) which keeps him happy even when alone. He's just unable to relax and be himself in any type of social situation at the moment, and very unable to retain focus on work or specific tasks. He knows that this is not something that he can continue, and he is eventually gonna have to face up to the real world.

Steves heard some very bad things about SSRI's and is very unsure about using them. Steve needs some type of motivational aid, and also something for his social anxiety. He's been looking at propranolol, modafinil, benzo's, antidepressants, various stims, and other things, but is really unsure what would be best for him.

So before this turns into Steves life story and a complete detailed psychoanalysis, does anyone have any suggestions about what a badger in need of a push in the right direction could use to get him back on track?
Anyone else found something that works really well for social anxiety?

Many thanks for reading if you got this far.