Are benzos supposed to help decrease worry and anxiety?

I tried taking Xanax and Klonopin on occasion. It does make me feel better. I feel calm. It lowers my anxiety level. However, when I take it for stressful situations like dr's appointments and waiting for test results, it doesn't do much for me. It doesn't stop me from worrying and being anxious hardly at all. Is it supposed to help in these respects? Do I need a higher dose? I take 1 mg/day.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello My Struggle,

I take benzo but am weaning off it very slowly. However if I end up in tough shape again, I will be back at the MD to discuss this topic.

I have been taking a benzo for 25 years so I am willing to try getting off.

Remember we are all different and harry is right to suggest trying some alternatives to help you with the anxiety.

Special hugs and keep posting.

i too worry about horrible things. but i try to write it in a journal. i find that once i've put some of the silly or outrageous things i'm think down on paper. they stop bothering me as much. and they're out of my head. plus then i try to find a positive to write about also. just an idea.

Dear happypills,

Bad things do happen to good people. However, I would like to see you try just living in the moment, don't worry about yesterday as it is over.

You cannot control what might happen tomorrow and the worry appears to be making you ill.

No one is immune from developing a disease, but please try to not anticipate if, when, what and where?

Enjoy the good things in life now. Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much.

Living life to the fullest and practicing those things that make it all worthwhile is a goal for you that might help you get past the anxiety.

That is just my 2 cents worth, Happy! Gentle Hugs

I take Klonopin as most of you know, and I'm also going through some wholesale life changes right now, too. It's incredibly stressful. I think the drug has helped me cope, but it certainly hasn't eliminated anxiety. It's stopped the panic attacks but I've had a lot of weird IBS-like symptoms and stuff like that. Anxiety centered around meals has gotten worse of late.
Right now I'm in kind of a bad spot because I was relying on photography and other creative pursuits to employ the part of my brain that I think has caused my problem, and my situation now is such that I can't do those things. BUT the Klonopin still helps. It's just not a miracle. I think that once I'm settled and can write, photograph, and play music again, I'll actually benefit from all of this. But I digress...
It's impossible to really know, but I would guess that if you did not have your drug, your stressful situations would be worse to at least some degree. Your dose probably isn't strong enough to wipe out all traces of anxiety and I don't think you'd want it to be. That would introduce other problems down the line.
The coping skills are important. Positive thinking is important. At the same time, you have to be realistic and expect some "breakthrough" anxiety from time to time. All humans deal with it...it's just a little worse for us. If you sort of make your peace with it you'll do okay. To me, the barometer would be that if I'm feeling anxiety for NO reason and it's a really bad anxiety, that's when I would be concerned about changing or altering drug treatment.
Anyway, good luck.

CWH:

I do not take antidepressants.  I almost started taking Paxil but I chickened out.  I can't get past the idea of putting chemicals in my body on a daily basis.  I'm somewhat of a health nut.  I only eat organic fruits and vegetables.  I think that those drugs are gonna damage my liver or something.  But then other times I think that maybe quality of life is more important to me and especially for my kids.  Many SSRIs have only been around for a decade or so.  I don't think that doctors really know the long term effects they have on people, both mentally and physically.

Which antidepressant do you take?