I have been suffering with general anxiety disorder (GAD) for almost 20 years now. The worst thing that I have found is "doing nothing at all." One of the things that has really helped me has been physical exercise, namely running. If I am able to put in about 20 miles per week, that significantly reduces my anxiety. A relatively low dose of Clonazepam at bedtime has dramatically increased my ability to sleep. Although I have read many books on anxiety, and gone through the "Attacking Anxiety and Depression" series, the relatively new therapy called ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) is a very effective general approach to relieving some of my avoidance tendencies and not letting anxiety interfere with general life. Finally, deepening a spiritual walk of life through meditation and prayer has helped heal some of my past stressors. My experience with anxiety has been that there are both biochemical and environmental aspects to this problem, but it can be managed with some mindful awareness. People who have known me for years say that I am much more "laid back" than I have been in the past. It is "work," but the payoff in living a joyous, effective life has been worth the energy.

I have had anxiety since I was 17. I am now 30. I do pretty well at controlling it on my own, but at first, I thought I was dying. My doctor put me on Wellbutrin, and it works great. If I need medicine now for my anxiety, that's what I get.

I'm 20 years young and had my first anxiety attack a couple of years ago following graduation. For the longest time I did not know what it was. I thought I was dying and about to have a heart attack. I start trembling, getting chills all over and sometimes it feels as if I'm being choked and can't breathe. My doctor put me on Zoloft a year ago. I stopped taking it and the anxiety got worse. After my grandmother passed away and a lot that has happened this year in my life. I need to go back to the doctor!

I have had anxiety for years now and I'm only 26 go figure. The very first panic attack I actually realized was when I was at work. I almost past out. I went to the ER and they said I had anxiety. Apparently I've had it for quite sometime before someone realized that's what I had. I still have it bad. I just started taking Lorazepam and Klonopin a year ago and I try not to take it unless I really need it. I try to manage it myself which is really hard and took years of therapy to try and manage it without meds but still I end up having to take a pill at one point during the day. My anxiety is from being in the military. I thought I would have been fine but I guess not. It's hard having a lot of anxiety because I have to rearrange my life just to have a decent day. Before I used to be able to do anything and everything and not have any worry, but now I worry about everything. I can't even hardly drive cause I panic, let alone walk in a store by myself without feeling like I'm loosing my balance or going to pass out. I been to the doctor a million times swearing up and down something is wrong with me because I constantly lose my balance and feel like I'm going to faint, but its nothing but my anxiety.

I alternated back and forth with Xanax, Ativan and Klonopin for more than 20 years and was able to function. These drugs gave me a life. I now have no health insurance and am pretty much a miserable hermit. I tried the SSRI drugs, and they only made me mentally sluggish and confused.

I have tried every drug treatment available. So if have any advice – it is that Xanax works well for anxiety.