There is a lot of controversy surrounding medication.

Some people are dead set against using any form of conventional medication, some can't use any because of religious reasons or bad side effects and then there are some people who can't do without it.

I simply say "Do what suits you!"

As someone who approaches anxiety disorder recovery holistically and in a complementary manner, I am a firm believer in the fact that medication has it's place in the world of mental health. 

However, I am also a person who favours the natural way over the conventional way, but sometimes, when we are in a life or death situation, or perhaps in my case, in the depths of a crippling and severe anxiety disorder and having suicidal thoughts, medication can be the very thing that saves lives!  

This does not detract from the fact that medication is very much overused, and is incorrectly looked at being a 'quick fix' when in fact recovery from anxiety disorder is SO much more than putting a pill in your mouth!

Recovery is not linear, and it's not a fast process, whether you opt to take medication or not. Recovery is complex and requires great courage and determination!

Does medication help anxiety?

Obviously when talking about methods that have helped a person, we need to always bear in mind the ever famous saying 'what works for one does not always work for another'
Although in theory, humans have the same basic physiology and biology, we can also bear similarities to one person, but major differences to another. This explains why you may be allergic to cats, whereas your friend is not, or why your neighbour can't eat wheat, but you can. This is true for everything, ranging from diets, hobbies that we enjoy, beliefs, allergies, and of course medications and recovery methods.

So when we ask questions like 'does medication help anxiety, we have to look at both sides of the coin.

I have always described my own experience with medication as "being the hoist that lifted me up and off the cliff that I was dangling from, and lifted me up just enough so that I could help myself" 

And that is exactly what it did! Medication helped me so much!

My anxiety disorder experience was sheer hell.
It got so bad that I was incapable of functioning normally, I couldn't do the simplest of tasks. I couldn't drive, I couldn't even feed my dogs, and after a while, I began to experience dissociation as well.

When all is said and done, I was basically a lifeless entity living inside a glove, just floating around the earth like vapour. It felt like I was viewing the world from inside a bubble, and the world I was viewing was foreign to me.

Long story short, I was put onto the correct medication, and slowly but surely, each of my 45 symptoms started to disappear, making the world less foreign to me, and making my life a bit easier to cope with.

Once I was rid of the dissociation and many of my symptoms had reduced, my brain fog lifted, and this enabled me to help myself further, perhaps without the use of long term medication, and as I began to explore other methods and treatments aimed at anxiety disorder recovery, I began to slowly withdraw from most of my medication.

However, that is MY story.
Another person may have a similar story of medication helping them, but maybe their medication is different from mine. Then there are people who felt no different taking medication and say it didn't help at all, and then you get people who say the side effects of the medication made them feel ten times worse!

And this is the problem.
There is no one correct answer because there are many different ways to approach anxiety disorder recovery and many different medications available.

So, does anxiety medication work?
Well, yes it can, and no, it can't, because it all depends on the individual.

All is all?
I believe that medication can do wonders for short term relief, because for me, medication saved my life!  

How anxiety medication works

If you decide to go the conventional medication route, you have to go to a doctor.
This can vary as well. Sometimes people just go to their regular GP who prescribe some kind of anti depressant and/or refer them to a therapist. Sometimes the doctor will just refer the patient to a psychiatrist. 
Psychologists are therapists who can teach and help you deal with your emotions in a more healthy way, but they cannot prescribe medication.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in the mind, and therefore can prescribe medication.

Which anxiety medication is the best for me?

Firstly, a qualified doctor is the ONLY one who can decide what might be the best medication for you. 
They will typically need a full medical history, and will need to know any allergies or current medication that you are taking in order to prescribe something that may help you.
Anti-depressants are serious drugs and their dosages are not to be played around with unless under the guidance of a doctor.

Unfortunately, it's not just as easy as asking 'which medication is best' because there are hundreds of different medications on the market, and finding the right medication may be a bit of trial and error. This is no fault of the doctors or yours, but the simple thing of that we're all different and react to things differently.

Remember that anti-depressants are designed to have a direct effect on certain hormones and this can either agree with a person or disagree with a person, which can result in side effects.

If a medication does not agree with you, you must go back to the doctor and keep trying until you find the correct one that works for you!

There are four main types of medication that a doctor could prescribe:

1. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): These are drugs that help to prevent re-absorption of serotonin by the brain.
Well known examples of SSRIs include Prozac and Zoloft.

2. Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): These help to not only prevent re-absorption of serotonin, but another hormone known as Norepinephrine.
These are the most common type of Anti-depressants that are prescribed.

3. Benzodiazepines: These are more commonly known as Tranquilizers, and help to slow the nervous system down. The tend to work fairly quickly.
Xanax and Valium are two well known Benzodiazepines.

4. Tricyclic Anti-Depressants: Like SSRIs and SNRIs, Tricyclic Anti-depressants help prevent the re-absorption of serotonin, but additionally they help to keep other cell receptors from reabsorbing as well.


What are the side effects of anti-depressants?

I hate this question, because unfortunately, side effects are limitless.
Every one knows that all medications come with an insert which has a list of different side effects that a person might experience. It doesn't necessarily mean that you will experience them, or if you'll even experience any for that matter.

However, you may experience something that has not been listed in the insert, or you may find that they make you feel worse that what you felt before, or that there is no change at all.
A medication that is right for you, is one that helps to reduce your symptoms AND one that gives you no or very little side effects that don't disrupt your life.

Do anti-depressants make you gain or loose weight?

Anti-depressants have long had a reputation for making people gain weight, but again this is unique to every single individual.
This was true for me personally with one of the anti-depressants I was prescribed back when I was much younger.
However, some anti-depressants are more likely to cause weight gain than others, and about 25% of people complain about weight gain after taking antidepressants for more than 6 months.

Some worth mentioning are:

Some Tricyclic Anti-depressants such as Doxepin and Amitriptyline were listed as being big offenders, but some SSRIs like Paroxetine, Zoloft and Prozac were the worst for weight gain!
There is also a type of anti depressant called Mirtazapine that doesn't really fit into any of the above mentioned categories, but it has shown time and time again to cause weight gain and increased appetite. However it's side effects are not as bad as other anti-depressants.

Experts say they don't really know the link between weight gain and anti-depressants. There are some theories that perhaps once the brains chemistry is more balanced and happier, the person feels more likely to eat as they associate food with pleasure.
Another theory is that a person who has lost weight due to severe depression may start eating more once their mood lifts.

Personally, I feel it's fairly obvious why weight gain happens. 
If you know anything about hormones, you will know that they are what make up the endocrine system, which is a system of glands that produce hormones which are responsible for controlling many things such as weight, metabolism, sleep cycles and moods.
When one hormone is not working properly, the entire endocrine system is out of balance.
Anti-depressants are chemically altering the systems in our bodies, which first and foremost affect the hormones - serotonin being the most common one!

So is it really that shocking?

According to an article in WebMD, experts say that switching drugs may help if you have an issue with major weight gain.
The problem however comes in when the drugs are actually working well with regards to lifting your anxiety or depression, but they are causing the weight gain.
Switching drugs because of weight gain may help, but you may not get the level of effect with the new drugs as well as the old ones.

So it really is just about trial and error.
You as the individual also need to decide if you are willing to have a bit of extra weight while you are recovering from mental illness, and tackle the weight issue once you are of more stable mind.

Registered dietitian, Samantha Heller says " The best thing you could do would be to head off the weight gain before it starts by switching to a more nutritious diet and increasing your daily exercise as soon as you start taking the anti-depressant. Even if you don't lose the weight immediately, you can begin controlling the gain and help your body to stabilize for a while"

Heller also goes on to say that " The bottom line here is that not only can healthy eating and exercise help control your weight gain, they can also improve your depression, which in turn may help you cut down on your medication - and that in turn makes weight loss easier"

However, it is emphasized that for some people no amount of healthy eating or exercise is going to keep the weight off. If you are one of these people, it's important to keep your eye on the prize - recovery from mental illness!

Can I take anti-depressants when pregnant?  

In short - yes, you can take anti-depressants when you are pregnant, but this is a subject that needs very careful consideration.

It can be extremely tough on an expectant mother who is taking anti-depressants, to decide whether or not she will continue with them. 
Do you stop taking them to reduce risk to your baby, but to the detriment of your own mental health, or do you carry on taking them knowing the possible risks of the drugs on your unborn child?

Pregnancy is a highly emotional time for many women, with hormones contributing to a lot of body changes and emotions.
Anti-depressants have been successfully taken by many pregnant women in the past, and continue to be taken by pregnant women and post pregnancy women as well who experience post natal depression.

In a nutshell, the decision lies with you, and if this is a dilemma you are faced with, you need to firstly weigh up the pros and cons of taking anti-depressants while pregnant, and then secondly and most importantly - this is something that has to be discussed with your doctor! 

Regardless of whether you have been taking the medication for a long time, you have to inform your doctor that you are intending to become pregnant, so that they can suggest an alternative for you should it be that you cannot continue with your current medication.

In addition to your doctor or psychiatrist, it is also suggested that you speak with your OBGYN.

What are the risks of taking anti-depressants while pregnant?  

It's important to know that no medication is 100% safe, regardless of whether you are pregnant or not, but research on anti-depressants and pregnancy have been mixed and inconclusive.
Some of the more common risks to the baby include:

Birth defects
Heart defects
Miscarriage
Premature Birth
Irritability
Breathing problems
Low Blood Sugar
Drug residue in breast milk

All in all, the risks are still pretty low, with only a 3% risk of having a baby with some form of birth defect from anti-depressants.

However on the other side of the coin, expectant mothers who have depression, and leave it untreated while pregnant can run the risk of passing the symptoms onto the baby! Shocking as this may seem, according to a study published in Biological Psychiatry, exposure to depression within the womb has been linked to malformations, heart problems, and premature birth.
The symptoms can also carry on as the baby grows up, presenting themselves as irritable, less active and developmental and behaviour issues in early childhood.
However, the possibilities of this happening are low.

It is also important to note that taking anti-depressants while pregnant holds greater risk in the first trimester, and according to Dr Nancy Byatt, (a physician and associate professor of psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Massachusetts), pregnant women who take anti-depressants in the second and third trimester have a much lower risk of affecting their babies.

The final thoughts here would also be to emphasize to never just stop taking your medication if you are already on anti-depressants.

Rather instead, be smart and if you want to stop taking them, then discuss with your doctor about weaning yourself off the medication before you conceive.

If you have an unplanned pregnancy, you still need to speak to your doctor, and they can work with you to decide the best course of action.

How to relieve anxiety naturally

There are so many different kinds of natural and alternative remedies out there, and once again, it all comes down to what works for the individual.

When considering a natural or alternative treatment for anxiety, it is very important that you consult with a trained professional. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it is right for you, and if you are on other medication, this obviously has to be taken into account as well.

Lets first break it down a bit to understand the different types of treatment available:

Alternative Medicine: When methods that are non-mainstream like Acupuncture are used instead of conventional methods. This can include natural medicine as well.

Examples are: Acupuncture, Herbs, Aromatherapy, Reiki and Homeopathy.

Natural Medicine: A form of medicine that uses a natural approach.

Examples are Herbs and Aromatherapy.

Complementary Medicine: When both natural and conventional methods are used alongside each other. While it is important to get advice from a professional with any treatment, it is especially important with complementary medicine, as some conventional medication doesn't mix well with herbal remedies, and thus can cancel each other out, and lose any benefits they have.

Examples of this could be a form of conventional medication and Rescue Remedy or a Bach Flower Remedy, Herbal Teas and Aromatherapy.

Traditional Medicine: Uses knowledge and skills from a time before modern medicine. These are usually passed down through generations.

Examples are: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.

Holistic Medicine: Aims to treat the person as a whole, and treating the body, mind and spirit as one.

An example could be something such as treating a person with conventional medication, and suggesting counselling, a diet change, some form of exercise like yoga and meditation therapy.

As you can see, there are many routes that a person can try, and no one can really advise on the best treatment because it is all down to the individual.

One thing that needs to be made abundantly clear, is that, treatment is not just about what you put into your mouth in the form of pills - if you choose that route. Diet, lifestyle and therapy for changing thought patterns and habits are crucial. You can do this is the form of a reputable therapist, or else search on google for a course or method that you can purchase.

There are quite a few out there that are really good at helping to change negative and anxious mindsets. Just always remember, when shopping online, purchase wisely, and always research the reputability of someone first.  

My personal favourite natural remedies:

Here are a list of some natural remedies that I love.
Please remember to always consult your doctor before taking any kind of remedy or medication!
Also bear in mind that I do not use all of these at once!Rescue RemedyBach Flower RemediesSt Johns WortValerian TeaDr Bach Soothing Pastilles
​Disclaimer: Products that are highlighted in purple will take you directly to a link as to where you can buy them online. Please note that I do receive a small percentage of commission from these. 
I have personally used and continue to use these highlighted products and can recommend them!

Further Disclaimers: 
I am not a medical doctor, psychologist or pharmacist.
I do not endorse taking prescription drugs for long periods of time unless under the strict supervision of a doctor.
Please do not alter your dosage or stop your medication without a doctors knowledge.
Do not take over the counter medications without checking with a health professional.
Do not mix herbal tinctures with any sort of medication without a doctors approval, as some herbal remedies and medications can cancel each other out and won't work.

References:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/antidepressants-and-weight-gain/faq-20058127
​
https://www.healthline.com/health/antidepressants-that-cause-weight-gain

https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/antidepressants-weight-gain#4

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/antidepressants/antidepressants-in-pregnancy/#.W7Nn6-hKiUk

https://www.webmd.com/baby/pregnancy-and-antidepressants#3

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a8294114/antidepressants-during-pregnancy/