I wrestle with this topic all the time. I know not to say too much about it cause it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. The thing is, we all share many things in common yet the methods we use can be very different.
I have been reading post on here for a long time and I know without a doubt that medication can do wonders for some that suffer to help cope. Kitt is someone that has dealt with anxiety for many years and takes medication, but she also knows that it takes more than medication to manage anxiety.
My concern has always been this.....In this day and age everyone wants immediate results and for different reasons, think that medication is the cure and it's not...or they get on meds and feel better and slack on making the necessary life changes to fix the root of the problem.
I think doctors are quick to prescribe medication because so many post on here say that first time to the doctor they are being prescribed something, then some doctors give a referral to therapy and some doctors don't do that.
My other concern is....I read a lot of post of people using medications and have been for some time and they stop working and a switch is made to something else that may work or may not, then they are weaning off what they were taking and in some cases it really tough.....sometimes it sounds like dealing with the medications cause more anxiety than if they were just using methods to fix the root of the problem which would be thought modification and behaviors and our perceptions.
Anxiety takes time to learn to manage it well...if you are like me it might literally take years just to figure out what methods and techniques fit best and allow progress. In my case I certainly have more anxiety than the typical person, but I have learned to manage it so that I can live a normal life....it takes daily management and for most that suffer...it is my opinion that it will take daily management for them as well?
In my opinion and from what I have experienced, there is a percentage of people that may always be on meds and also manage their anxiety.... There is a percentage that will begin with meds and methods that will make progress and drop the meds and continue to make progress.... There is a percentage that choose no meds but just use one on one therapy and or self help therapy and make progress.
The one's that I am most concerned about are the one's that rely solely on medication to get them through and focus very little on changing their life style to fix the actual root of the problem that is causing the anxiety.
For that percentage of people, they may suffer for many years, if not for the rest of their days and it is possible that it could be preventable. So I usually try not to bring up the meds but encourage to focus on reprogramming thoughts and behaviors, because meds or no meds...life changes will be needed to recover.......WM