dksea

Many people are hesitant about medication, so your concern is understandable. Often our knowledge of medication is limited, and not being doctors and/or scientists it can all seem a bit mysterious. Fortunately we live in a country where there are strict requirements on medications and a lot of scientific study to back them up. SSRI's while not without side effects are very safe. Speaking from my own experience alone I can tell you Celexa has been hugely beneficial to me in treating my OCD, I've been on it for over 10 years now (about 10 years on Prozac, another SSRI before that). Millions of people take these drugs and if they really were likely to cause psychosis I'm fairly sure it would have been noticed by now.


Your most likely side effect from taking Celexa is some drowsiness and (ironically) trouble sleeping. While some SSRI's can paradoxically cause increased anxiety the doctor would more than likely switch you to something different if you experience those symptoms.

I encourage you to trust your doctor, he or she isn't going to just give you a medication like that if they believe its bad for you. You might also want to look into therapy. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety and depression and some people find that with that alone they don't need medication, although for many of us the combination of CBT AND medication works even better.

One of the best ways to deal with a phobia is to confront it head on. Think of this as an opportunity to show that you, not your fear is in charge!