Chapter 1
Points for anxious people to consider daily meds
Anxiety can make someone feel anxious about taking medications. I understand that this can be challenging to navigate, since the target symptom is preventing you from getting help. I’m here to support you through this process.
Anxiety can drive you to see the risks but not the benefits of any potential treatment. However, in reality, these medications can make you feel significantly better within a few weeks.
Anxiety can become second nature to the point where individuals believe it is “normal” to feel anxious a lot, when in fact it is not. You learn to live with it but it makes life harder! It is a symptom that we can treat very effectively.
Consider just how much mental energy it takes for you to manage your symptoms on an everyday basis and how that energy could free up for creative and more constructive activities. You could be more focused at work or be able to spend time with your loved ones more mindfully and patiently. I have had many patients who were pleasantly surprised to experience this effect.
Consider that stress is quite detrimental on the body in terms of overall health and aging. It is one of the most significant risk factors for a lot of chronic health conditions. Objectively speaking, medications present a lower risk to your health when managed safely. In fact, they can promote overall wellbeing by restoring sleep for instance, which is so important. I have seen many stress-related medical problems (for instance, migraines or digestive issues) improve when anxiety gets better.
When we think about starting medications, we conduct a risk/benefit analysis. If the symptoms are severe enough, we consider the use of medications as we expect that the anticipated benefits will outweigh any potential side effects.
Anxiety medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are some of the safest medication categories. They are expected to come with minimal side effects while being very effective.
You will not have to stay on medications indefinitely, if you choose not to stay on them long-term and stop taking them after a couple months. In my experience, many patients choose to continue them longer-term, given how much better they feel without constant anxiety.
Once you see how you feel on a recommended treatment, you can make the educated choice of whether to continue taking the medication or not.
If the underlying problem is trauma, OCD etc, only reuptake inhibitors can help, PRN “as needed” medications won't touch those.