Scared of new meds - help!

I got in to see my new psychiatrist yesterday.  He doesn't do talk therapy or anything, he just evaluates your condition and prescribes whatever meds he thinks are necessary.  He was thinking of putting me back on Zoloft (which is what I was on for 5 years until I recently made the terrible mistake of going off it) but when I told him about my problems adjusting to it the first time (it severely increased my anxiety and depression and also created suicidal thoughts which I have never had other than at that time) he decided to put me on something else.  He put me on Anafranil and Xanax.  Both of these frankly scare the crap out of me.  Xanax for use once in a while seems okay but for at least the next 3 weeks he wants me on it 2x/day every day.  I have heard that getting back off of these benzos can be devastating.  Also I researched some of the side effects of Anafranil and they seem particularly harsh.  For someone like me who got so many of the worst side effects (at least in the beginning) of Zoloft I am terrified to begin again.

AM,

The new medication is TCA, a tricyclic antidepressant. They use to use these in the earlier days before the SSRI's. Supposedly the SE of TCA are troublesome and have a very narrow therapeutic index as opposed to the SSRI's. The SSRI's are suppose to be a safe drug, but as I've learned, everyone responds differently to everything, and this may work better for you! I think you should at least give it the full 2 weeks before tossing it unless the SE are that bothersome. Good luck!