I've had gad and panic disorder for as long as I can remember. I was diagnosed about 12 years ago and put on anafranil along with celexa and depakote a couple years later. They helped alot and life went back to pretty much normal, but the sexual side effects from celexa and depakote led me to quit taking them. So I've just been on anafranil for about a year now and my anxiety is coming back. The last month I've had full blown panic attacks almost everyday. So now I'm at a loss of what to do. I don't really want to go back to the other meds so I'm wondering how helpful therapy might be for anxiety. Thanks for any help.

I think therapy is helpful. For me, I don't have any friends or know of anyone that has an anxiety disorder, so I have no one to really talk to about this who understands. Sometimes when I am running on "high anxiety" all it takes is a visit to the therapist, and I'm calmed down again for several weeks. I'm not sure why this works for me, but it does.

you might ask about upping the anafranil dose
therapy sometimes helps, especially if the therapist knows how to help anxiety sufferers, some dont
the therapists who just sit and listen but offer no advice are a waste of money, IMO

a big thing about therapy is finding a therapist that suits you personally.

take care
trg247

Therapy does help, at least it helps for me, of course you can't depend on the therapist to solve your problems but they help you see things in ways you might not have thought of. As for the medicine I had the same side effects with Zoloft so I switched to Lexapro, but I still think I'm not back to my total self sexually, but you'll get through it. My biggest issue besides worrying about everything and getting anxious all the time is feeling like no one understands and how anxiety affects my appetite so I've lost weight, so much that my family wants me to go to a nutritionist. Aside from that, I think therapy does help. My psychiatrist even allows my boyfriend to go with me every other time so that he gives his opinion and I give mine, this way there is someone who is specialized in anxiety to tell both of us what anxiety is so that my boyfriend also understands it. It's hard for someone who doesn't suffer from anxiety to fully understand, they just tell you not to think or move on, forget it, you're doing this to yourself...easier said than done, that's why I think therapy is helpful, and like one of the people said as well as my psychiatrist,,,you have to feel comfortable with the Dr. or else it's just a waist of time,,,you both have to feel ok with each other and you have to be able to be open with that person, that alone is a big help.

Thank you very much for all the responses. I think I will look into then. My current psychiatrist is great with meds, but doesn't offer very much therapy so maybe I will try to get to a therapist. Thanks again.

personally i think therapy sucks i am on zoloft for anxiety and it works wonders! its all mind over matter so to say, when you feel anxious over something silly just say to yourself its nothing to be upset about repeat and do something to calm you down or take your mind off of it. i also have ocd and when i feel like i need to touch something again i think no you cant you have to resist and then i walk away, im anxious fo rlike 2 mins but then i forget about it

Therapy can make you worse or better depending on the competence and character of the therapist. Some of the best therapies are Emotion Focused, Behavior and Cognitive. But just because the therapist says he does that therapy does not mean he knows what he is doing. Think of it like somebody who cuts hair. We've all had bad hair cuts. The same can happen in a therapists office - consider this as bad - showing up late, treating you as if you annoy them with your problems, not answering your questions, being critical and judgemental, and not using therapeutic procedures to help you get over your ordeal in timely manner.