Originally Posted by
nakur 
I wouldn't advise antidepressants as a good therapy for anxiety/panic. Antidepressants increase the level of serotonine in your brain but there never has been any proof that anxiety patients (without depression) have a lack of serotonin. Yes, these drugs often help because they make you feel so good you "forget" about your anxiety but they often come with a lot of negative side-effects.
There could be a lot of physical causes for anxiety/panic like hypothyroidism, hyperventilation and so on. I made a list here
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...c-attacks.html
In my case the anxiety is probably caused by hypothyroidism and a history of alcohol abuse. I am visiting the endocrinologist next friday but I will also start my CBT course this week.
One more link why antidepressant can cause damage to your brain
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/...oglycaemia.htm You're right that antidepressants aren't right for everyone. Having said that, I still believe anti-D can be wonderful for a lot of people. For some it can be life-saving. And studies have shown the most effective way to treat depression, anxiety and other common disorders is a combination of drugs and therapy. Yes, we still don't know what deleterious effects anti-D will have on people, or how they really work, but we do have the outcome studies and the overall results are they do much more good than harm. They save lives. Quality of life goes up too.