Gp refusing to give any anti depressants for anxiety. He recommended talking therapies instead but I'm feeling pretty low and crb doesn't work for me :(

Hi, 

I'm having a bit of a rubbish day so would appreciate any advice. After a long wait to see a gp regarding my anxiety which is really affecting me I wasn't allowed a prescription for an antidepressant as the gp believes that a non medicated route is the best.

Normally I just take beta blockers but I'm struggling with low mood and anxiety more than usual. I explained that I am saving up for a private assessment for autism and told him that I believe that sensory overload and general fear of social interaction due to being crap at it is the main factor in my panic attacks. 

Has anyone found that medication has helped them or should I suck it up and resign myself to the fate of being permanently anxious for ever?

I've tried CBT on four separate occasions and it hasn't worked for me at all so I am a little pessimistic about talking therapies in general. 

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  • I don't know why you'd take Anti-depressants for Anxiety anyway - Benzodiazapines are usually best for doing that. Not that I'm recommending it, reliance on tablets, or medication. Isn't a great way to go, and should definitely be a LAST resort, as it can mess up the problem worse.
    Anxiety is hard, I struggle and have done for quite a while, but tablets I believe worsened my condition, and It didn't sort the underlying conditions, which was my ASD, and the stress it was causing me. 
    I found person centred counselling was very useful, and would recommend it, it helped me cope with some underlying problems, as well as finding different solutions and knowledge into NT people's mind. 


  • That question occurred to me, but I didn't ask it. Why 'anti depressants for anxiety', Moomin5? You do also mention low mood. (They also used to say that beta-blockers caused depression, but the evidence doesn't seem to be there any more.)

    As a historical side-note, the psychiatrist Dr David Healy said the reason the SSRIs were marketed as antidepressants rather than anxiolytics is because of the reputation of the benzodiazepines as 'addictive'. Where there wasn't a benzo dependency problem, like Japan, the SSRIs were actually sold as anti-anxiety medications. Nowadays, GPs may be more comfortable prescribing Z-drugs like zopiclone than benzodiazepines, despite them having similar effects (short-term as against the several weeks of lead time for SSRIs). At least I know the associated feeling of being dosed up with diazepam at the dentists, which I find similar to being drunk.

    Although as I say, I never found ADs helpful, I can think of one person who I think was autistic who found 'the light went on' after a couple of months on SSRIs (whether that was a coincidence is hard to say, as always with ADs). I also know a self-described depressive who found benzodiazepines very helpful, so long as they were only used short-term in response to specific anxiety. What's your regimen with the beta blockers; when do you take them? (I am not a doctor, as should be obvious.)

  • Nowadays, GPs may be more comfortable prescribing Z-drugs like zopiclone than benzodiazepines, despite them having similar effects (short-term as against the several weeks of lead time for SSRIs).

    I thought Zopiclone was a sleeping tablet.  Mind you, ADs used to make me feel sleepy.  In fact, just generally doped out. 

    I was also once prescribed beta-blockers for anxiety.  Again, though, they didn't seem to work.

    I'm going to see my GP tomorrow.  I know I'm in a bad time of year, with all the anniversaries, but I need something to shake off this prevailing sense of emptiness and lack of motivation.  I can't seem to focus on anything at all, and am having morbid preoccupations.  I just want to sleep.  I'm trying not to drink, which I know will snap me back in again - but only temporarily, and the cumulative effect will be worse.  I've no idea what my GP will prescribe, though, or suggest.  I really don't even know what to say or ask for.  I feel I'm like this for life now, whatever they say or do.

    If I go on ADs, I'll need to tell my employer, and it'll probably mean I'll have to curtail many activities there.  I ought be be sick, really.  I'm not well.  But I can't go through the whole DWP regime again.  It nearly sent me over the edge last time.

  • Thanks.  It is, really, because I work with vulnerable adults.  Lots of driving, too.

    We had a female support worker who was working with a client who spends most of the time in her room alone.  Also, this client is hyposensitive to temperature, so the room is always stifling.  The support worker dozed off - and was caught.  She was on ADs, as far as I understand.  Can't take those chances.

    This feeling is horrible.  Nothing worse, I don't think.  Simply nothing I want to do, but sleep to avoid drinking.

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  • Thanks.  It is, really, because I work with vulnerable adults.  Lots of driving, too.

    We had a female support worker who was working with a client who spends most of the time in her room alone.  Also, this client is hyposensitive to temperature, so the room is always stifling.  The support worker dozed off - and was caught.  She was on ADs, as far as I understand.  Can't take those chances.

    This feeling is horrible.  Nothing worse, I don't think.  Simply nothing I want to do, but sleep to avoid drinking.

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