Somebody just told me that therapy is 90% work and 10% medication. If you simply must use medication, take as little as is humanly possible that still helps you to function, but avoid it altogether if you can. Medication is very confusing and complex, but the bottom line is that it only serves to reduce your symptoms. You will still act like an anxious person, but the symptoms won't be so bad. Further, medication can sometimes cause more anxiety, works different in every individual, and it can stop working altogether after a couple years. The best way to approach it is to take maybe a little and talk it over with friends or others on this forum who have been on the medication.
I would recommend seeing a counselor and not a therapist, as counselors have a much larger big-picture view of anxiety. They will help you to explore ideas like dieting, exercise, talking to others about anxiety, and other methods that do not involve medication. They will agree with medication when they feel its necessary though. You can find counselors by calling your county Department of Health and Human Services, looking in the yellow pages, and by asking other counseling organizations, who are usually more than happy to connect you with someone that can help you, even if that person is not from their organization.
Good luck and let us know how it goes so we can help!
