I've been on anxiety meds since I was 17. The one I'm on is technically an antidepressant but antidepressants are often used in treatments of anxiety and ADHD because they increase the activity of serotonin in the brain (medications that do this are called SSRIs). This is the only type of medication I have any experience with. But yeah, basically, serotonin is a chemical in the brain that...it's complicated, most people associate it with happiness and love but it's generally a mood stabilizer that helps with sleep and boost your mood. That's a very generic explanation. Also, important note, after starting my meds I began to sleep much deeper and usually dream which was very uncommon before. But yeah, basically what an SSRI does is help your brain to access serotonin more easily. For depression ai think it's obvious that it's meant to chemically boost your mood. Wkth anxiety...I think it's supposed to do it generally put your body more at ease. I don't actually fully understand how it works as I'm not a doctor. They can also be pretty heavy duty, usually your anxiety will get worse before it gets better and withdrawal happens pretty fast if you miss a day. I forgot to take one one day and the next day I started shaking mid shift even though mentally I thought I was fine. That was shortly after starting it though. It's also really herd to know how it's helping you unless you stop taking it as with most mental health meds. Most people say you don't notice when it's working but you notice when it's not. So I can't really say for sure how it affects me but I feel like it overall just kind of...evens out my anxiety. Like...there is an anxiety "base line" that I can handle and then spiked over thag kine can be cause by triggers but that controlled base line is the meds...if...thag makes any sense. But they don't work for everyone and side affects can be a bitch, I got lucky with the deep sleeping being the only one for me but another of my meds (not for anxiety) makes me tired all the time which is annoying. I presonally don't think meds should be anyone's first choice but there is a difference between coping and thriving and sometimes you need meds to bridge that gap. It's a personal choice. You can't just rely on meds either, they won't magically fix everything. I still struggle with anxiety and I still go to therapy, the meds just help to make it a little more manageable.

I hated them they made my anxiety worse n they made me really physically sick n gave me brain fog n i always had really bad withdrawal symptoms when id stop them like psychosis n brain zaps n stuff , l tried like 6 er 7 different meds over a couple yrs n they all sucked, im not saying don’t, but theres a lot of stuff u can try before u try meds, like meditation, cbd, exercise, diet change (cut out fried n processed stuff)… Lots of stuff u can try first

I started anxiety meds about 18 months ago. I used to feel like I was living in Code Orange all the time. The smallest thing would send me into Code Red. I could never rest. Since being on meds, I'm mostly in Code Yellow. Sometimes things move me up a notch, but I rarely hit the zone I used to live in. Am I cool, calm and collected? Absolutely not. But I've learned to better manage how I feel.

Some will work and some will not. It is kind of trial and error in finding what works for your chemistry. Mainly if you start feeling worse dont be afraid to talk to your doctor and change to something else. I personally had a pretty bad experience with my first medication Zoloft but since then I’ve had much better luck. Also sometimes the medication will work for a few months or years and then stop, at least in my experience. Anyway it’s totally worth a try. Stay safe and good luck : )