IANAD but I have to back up **featherlou ** here: Anxiety can cured. Not just treated, but cured. I’m citing Martin Seligman, I believe it was in What You Can Change…And What You Can’t. However, and this is important, it takes a *lot * of work. A lot of people (I’m speaking generally here) don’t want to do the work. They want to simulaneously keep living their lives exactly the same way they’ve always done *and * get well. It doesn’t work that way. You have to change, and be willing to make the change. I’m speaking strictly for anxiety, not depression, mania, schizophrenia, etc, but I’ve seen even those conditions improve when people were willing to change and accept and work with their condition.
I’m coming up on the 25th anniversary of my first suicide attempt, when I was 8 years old. Two years ago, I was finally done. I didn’t deserve to live and I decided to finally rectify this error. I had been in and out of treatment since high school: hospitals, in patient, out patient, group therapy, 12 step groups, EMDR, hypnosis, every med you’ve ever heard of, you name it, I’d done it. I was tired of it all, and I gave up. I ended up in the hospital (again) for a week. They put me on Cymbalta and Risperdal, since my mind was pretty far from reality at that point and I was dissociating all the time. 2004 and 2005 were, and remain, in a haze. I have very few memories from then; those years are gone forever. I was existing, if you want to call it that.
After I got out of the hospital, I spent 6 weeks in an intensive out patient program, which included CBT, DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy), anger management, relapse prevention, and a host of other things. After that, I spent another 9 months going to group therapy and invidual appointments. I had up to 4 appointments a week.
I went off the Risperdal in January 2006, since I was no longer dissociating. In September 2006, my regular doctor took me off Cymbalta because it was affecting my liver. That scared the hell out of me. I was sure I had to be on Cymbalta forever. I’ve been off all medications since then. I’ve had ups and downs, but overall, I’m fine. I don’t wonder what would happen if I drove my car off the bridge, I’m not tempted to jump when I’m at the top of a tall building, I remember what I did last week, and I know what day it is today. I’ve had one mild panic attack since then, and it only lasted about 30 seconds, because I stopped it before it really got started.
I didn’t actually start getting better until I had an epiphany driving in to the out patient group one day. I had the sudden thought that I was going to die if I didn’t change. My father committed suicide when he was 47. I didn’t want to die anymore. I absolutely could not have done it without the meds. I needed them to get my mind clear so that I could do the work. This is my story, and YM *will * V.
I must say though that you are either very sensitive to the med or have a very low body mass, because 5mg is an exceedingly low dosage. I take 40mg and that’s considered moderate. As for missing doses, SSRI works by building up in the bloodstream, so at least for me personally I only start feeling wonky if I forget for more than 2-3 days in a row.