I could be very long winded here, but others have made the point very clearly and ethically: Nandm, Mattcake, and Historyteach, as well as others.
Puddy, I suggest that you know nothing about brain chemistry or changes in actual structure. That's not an insult, I have been there, both as loved one and now, victim. I was ignorant. My ex and daughter, and now me.
With the former, I was of your opinion. Boy was I wrong.
When it hit me, I was 55. "Macho." Hell, I had 70 employees, 550 students, and countless parents I was responsible to. I was principal, and had been for a long time.
I am an alcoholic. My ex and daughter do not drink. Their lives have been saved by meds.
While I have had anxiety/depression all my life (I discovered via therapy and long self reflection that is still ongoing). I just "stuffed" it. For decades. A man (or woman) only has so much resilience. Research shows, definitively, that long term stress changes the actual structure and function of the brain.
Wanna book? Try "The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression." by Andrew Solomon, an award winning novelist (so it reads beautifully). This book won The National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. I don't recommend books easily. Especially to the masses. And while I don't discount the value of holistic and naturopathic remedies, I do demand some kind of peer reviewed evidence.
As an alcoholic with long term abstinence, but currently active (but never drunk) due to 12 months of multiple personal traumas, it is my meds (Zoloft and Xanax) that keep me sane enough to keep "control." I will get better.
I recently upped my Zoloft, very reluctantly, from 50 to 150 mg/day. I was told that 50 mg was less than a therapeutic dose. I was stunned. As for Xanax, it has saved my butt countless times. I NEVER take more than .5mg at a time. On rare occasion, I will take another .5 12 hours later. And I am an alcoholic. I get 1mg pills and break them in half. I took 1 mg once and it put me on my butt. No thanks.
Brain chemistry is an incredibly complex thing. While psychopharmacology is in it's infancy, we are a long way from "The Valley of the Dolls." (you probably don't understand that reference, Puddy). In the past 20 years, I would dare to say that the rate of progress in treating depression/anxiety has exceeded that of most areas of medicine. Remember, I came to this conclusion kicking and screaming. In 20 years, I'm sure we will laugh at what we are doing today.
I experience no physical or emotional effects from the meds I take other than relief from bone crushing anxiety. It is saving me from medicating with alcohol to my spiritual and perhaps physical death. It will allow me to regain my complete abstinence soon. I am getting better every day.
But, I would NEVER recommend what I am doing to anyone else. We must know when we are ignorant. Which has nothing to do with being stupid. There is a difference between deductive and inductive reasoning.
My ex and my daughter have found their own med path. Very different. I have mine. I know tons of very functional people who have theirs. We are alive, functional, achieving. My meds have nothing to do with my addiction except to keep it within "bounds." Aside from my Mother's impending death, my personal issues have gone from crescendo to diminuendo. I will be back to rock solid sobriety very soon. I will never give up or give in. As painful as it can be, and I've been through more than a book can hold, I love life.
Would I recommend my "recipe" to anyone else? NEVER. I wouldn't try to work on the fuel injection system in my car, either. I may be ignorant, but I'm not stupid. When we talk about anxiety/depression, we are talking about life and death. Relationships, families, income, futures.
I am so happy that you have found "The Cure." It is certainly worth an attempt by others. But, generalize and you are playing with people's lives. Do you have a license? There is a reason that physicians, psychiatrists, and therapists have millions in malpractice insurance.
I thought I was going to be brief. I apologize, but this hit home.