I have an anxiety disorder as well, which I'm trying to manage without medication. It sometimes coexists with depression, sometimes by itself - been struggling with it for just over 5 years now.

Sucks, doesn't it.

I know that this is old, but i wanted to add to it as well. I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and OCD ( i am more obsessive than compulsive though) The OCD has been going on since i was in High school ( i am now 25) I take paxil and xanax. i also take klonopin at night when my mind is going nuts and i cant sleep. otherwise i am up till like 4am. it is hard to lose weight when you have anxiety and panic. but the excercise is actually GOOD for this problem. I see a therapist, but really I think that the excercise has been the best thing. i also reccomend
THE ANXIETY AND PHOBIA WORKBOOK by Edmund J. Bourne, PH.D
a friend recommended it to me and i am so happy that she did! look it up on amazon and you can see everyones opinons on this book. I recommend it to anyone that has problems with anxiety, panic, phobias and OCD.

Hello everyone!

I don't know if I have a chemical imbalance or whatever but my mother is bipolar and a drug addict, don't know if she was bipolar before she became a drug addict but it just makes it worse. And my father was a alcoholic and now is a drug addict. So growing up i was scared constantly cause bad things just kept on happening, and I never knew when my mother was going to go off and get violent. And sad because the my father made it clear that I wasn't wanted by him and even more sad cause i watch my mother fall apart and couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. And she was an amazing mother, so loving and caring, made me feel so beautiful and wanted and when she got into drugs i ended up taking care of her at age 10. I use to think about suicide a lot, I use to be a cutter, I hardly slept, I use to have panic attacks ALL THE TIME and of course be depressed and didn't leave the house in 2 years.

Then I moved, the depression and panic attacks are almost completely gone. With some people it's definitly environment and being expose to horrible things at such a young age. Doctors gave me meds when i was younger but the side affects are worse than the depression sometimes. So i haven't taken anything since I was a teenager. (and of course now reserach shows giving teens antidepression meds makes them want to die even more)
I still have mild panic attacks. But thank god they aren't as bad as they use to be and i go out a lot more!

I have social anxiety, OCD, depression, and am currently taking Fluvoxamine and Seroquel (as my "sleeping pills" though I'm trying to get off Seroquel right now). Sigh.

Ok... Wellbutrin increased my anxiety episodes. It increased the severity of my anxiety attacks. However, as with any drug, it works different ways with each of our body chemistries.

I've had anxiety attacks all of my life, but they increased after my father died. I was a victim of severe childhood abuse, and suffered from many phobias. After my father died, I took wellbutrin, paxil and lexapro. Paxil worked the best for my anxiety. However, I still lost a lot of sleep. I used Lunesta to make me sleep because I wasn't getting enough sleep to function.

Adavan, Xanax and Valium were all perscribed to me in the months after my father died. The problem is that they are only meant for short term use. They are schedule 4 drugs and highy abused. I worked for a pharmacy for a while so I'm familiar with these drugs. I didn't want to be dependent on drugs. So I tried a different approach.

What has helped me the MOST has been counseling. In certian situations behavior modification is required. In other situations the pain has got to go somewhere. Your body is going to deal with the traumas in life.... It doesn't matter if you want to or not! I started seeing a counselor at Church, but continued my meds. Slowly, I weened myself (with DR's approval) from all medications. I don't know how many of you are believers. However, I know that my healing has come from the Lord, and for that I am thankful! That is what has worked for me.

However, we all have different circumstances, and body chemistry. There may be a time where I need medication again. Just play it by ear because.... It's a daily battle that we will have to fight for the rest of our lives.