Anxiety Forum

deniseelaine · Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 9

I take xanac 0.25 twice a day for anxiety, but I still feel very depressed in the fact that I really have no interest in anything, dont want to go out, away, just basically feel like theres no real future for me, nothing to look forward too, get upset at the slightest thing get very irratated with people around me, the list goes on and on, does xanac help with depression or is it just a anxiety medication, I hate going back to the doctors I think he is fed up with seeing me. I moved to Ireland 4 years ago from the UK and feel like a fish out of water here, always looking for a way to go home to the UK which I cant do it is just not possible but it dosent stop the wanting.

juliana · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject:

Hi there. Xanax is a benzodiazepine and, unfortunately, most of those drugs seem to have the possibility of increasing depression as a side effect.

Are you taking it in conjunction with an SSRI, or are you just taking it for anxiety? Xanax is sometimes listed as an adjunctive treatment for depression, but that's only when it's used in combination with an anti-depressant to lessen the anxiety side effects that some anti-depressants have. By itself, it just treats anxiety and it can make you depressed. I've learned that the hard way.

I recently started taking Cipralex (an SSRI) because, after a couple of years on Clonazepam (closely related to Xanax), I started getting very depressed. So, the benzodiazepines help with the panic attacks, but I do believe using them contributed to my depression.

You should talk to your doctor about it and let him know how you're feeling. If he's fed up with you, so what? It's his job to treat you and you're entitled to get better. If you don't feel comfortable going back to him, can you go to someone else? A doctor might prescribe a different medication in place of the Xanax or give you an SSRI to balance out the depressive side effects of the Xanax.

Good luck and keep us posted.

P.S. Has your doc ever referred you for therapy or is he just giving you pills? Has he helped you try to find other ways of managing your anxiety? If he hasn't, maybe you could look into that -- find a therapy group or a book on CBT.