I'm too scared to start meds because of sides effects and the fact that most people experience a relapse after a couple months of stopping.... Your brain literally comes back to what you were before the meds so what's the point? More than 50% who start SSRIs need to keep taking them forever. Has anyone recovered without meds? Or natural remedies? I believe in science and doctors, but the risks are wayyyy too scary.

wim hof method helps me to clear my anxiety temporarily.. but its better than a valium

@Todd James search it on youtube.. and dont worry if you feel tingly from it

I'm really big on mindfulness and it has change a lot for me, but I'm still struggling a little bit with depression and OCD... Everyone has been telling me the meds are like a boost, but I feel it might be just temporary.

@nothavingagoodtime I can say that I took medication 20 years ago and it did help for my anxiety/panic. I was on it for about 5 years and came off. I was ok (mostly) with rare occasions of heightened anxiety over the last 12/15 years. This winter, I think because I’ve been alone, isolated, it’s cold and gray (where I’m located) and dark, I’m not around my friends, and at the peak of covid in my area I happened to take a week off from work for vacation. I think all the time alone and all that’s going on, it just hit me. I usually have a harder time in winter anyway but not like this. All the old anxiety has resurfaced. So idk if medication is a life long thing. It may be. It may not be. It’s different for everyone I supposed. But I’d love to hear from others about your question and how they manage without medication ag all and how long it’s been going on. I often wonder if there’s ever a way around medication or is that something that is inevitable.

Thank you for answering, your story sounds horrible and you deserve better. Yes, that's what I'm scared of, doctors are quick to prescribe things without knowing sometimes. Thank you again, stay strong ❤️

How do you feel with lexapro. I have precription but afraid to start it. I have a 5mg precription but Dr said I could start with half if I felt more comfortable

Will look into it! Thank you for answering. ❤️ Good luck with the Lexapro, it was the one I was advised to take

@ChefT I had a really rough time when getting on Paxil and Prozac, the Prozac they had to give me liquid to get on it such a tiny bit at a time. Knock on wood, I have not had any side effects starting the Lexapro. I was really scared because I did with the other two so bad.

thanks.. i also have paxil but havent started taking it

@Todd James My mom and brother are both on Paxil and have no issues. I don’t think I could have functioned without it and am grateful I had it. I had really bad dry mouth on it and my psychiatrist wanted me to try something else to see if we could reduce that but overall I was happy on it. I was on Paxil from age 12 to about 34 off and on. It is one where you have to be consistent with it, some are more forgiving with missing doses but that one you might feel off for a day if you miss a dose and withdrawal can be harder where with Prozac it was no big deal and easier to come off of but for me personally it was not as effective at treating my anxiety as the Paxil was.

@OCDMM good to know.. i have it and i will consider giving it a proper shot. Im kinda using medications as a last case scenario

Every meds (SSRIs) are different, but most of them have high chances of these side effects: drowsiness/or insomnia, highly decreased sexual desires, migraines, feeling numb/emotionless/ unable to cry and many others. It is also very hard to come off SSRI as there is horrible withdrawal symptoms that can go on for months (symptoms of depression/OCD may come back twice as hard). Most people need to go back on the meds because of that relapse and simply can't go on without them anymore. For at least 50% of people they have to have the meds for life. But then again, some people simply have none of these! But it's not majority.

Hard for me to tell because I suffer from insomnia when not on meds. Some people say adjusting the time of day you take them can help, though.

@OCDMM interesting.. did it take long for lexapro to kick in?