Medication Is Lose Lose...

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I've had a wide range of misdiagnosis, and been on many different meds. I'm extremely sensitive and end up with the rarest side effects. Last year I went on Buspar for anxiety, only 5 mg a day. It worked amazingly well. Once I went off for a week and the anxiety came back. It's a heavy feeling, anxious thoughts plague me, I feel annoyed all the time, easily irritated, and I engage in a bunch of odd behaviors to chill out. Buspar turned off those thoughts enough that I could better function, get things done, feel motivated, and not be snappy or overwhelmed. It reached a point though where I was too "on." Physically I did too much and didn't realize it until I was burnt out. Emotionally I felt plenty of great feelings, but negative seemed to get buried and spill over all at once. I was starting to rage and feel sooo angry, and this medicine isn't supposed to have side effects! In fact people complain that it doesn't work, and 5 mg is just the starting dose. I went off completely last month, and mentally I'm right back where I started. It's either be constantly anxious, or mentally numb and motivated with emotional crashes. I can't win.

What helps with your anxiety?

To me, meds tend to be "lose-lose" in lots of instances.

Meds are needed in some cases; but they are relied upon too much.

I have anxiety. My way of alleviating it is to try to divert it in some way; or encounter it head on.

Many times, I have feared something (I was a major coward as a kid)---but when I met it head on, the fear tended to disappear.

We do over rely on them because they are the easy way out or offer quick relief. Todays society expects instant fixes because our technologies have trained us that way.

Meditation is the only panacea I know for anxiety. This worries me, until I actually meditate.
Specific worries can sometimes yield to organization. I make check-off lists so I can stop trying to maintain them in short-term memory. These days, you can make a movie as you leave the house, showing the gas off and the locks on. Sometimes getting more information is the key.

When my anxiety starts going through the roof and start having panic attacks, I start chugging down chamomile tea. Works better than buspar, Xanax, or most medication grade benzodiazapine, since chamomile is loaded with natural benzodiazepine.

Whilst I have had my fair share of bad experiences with medications, I find that paroxetine (paxil) helps alleviate some of my anxiety. But unfortunately nothing I have tried thus far has improved​ my executive functioning, auditory retention (arguably untreatable) and made me more sociable. I believe my inability to relate well to others and my poor learning capacity are major stumbling blocks for me in terms of finding employment and making friends.

I assume that I am one of the more profoundly autistic members on this message board as I never remember anything I read, see or hear. My suspected auditory processing disorder and appalling memory are quite disheartening.

Core mindfulness and REBT (Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy) are extremely effective for reducing anxiety.

The first concept to become aware of is that you can't completely eliminate anxiety from your life. It's an ever-present part of the human experience. However, you can accept it, become mindful of it and learn to live with it.

I don't use medication to treat my anxiety. I use it to improve my memory, attention, clarity, and executive functioning.

The only surefire cure for anxiety that I have found are puppies.