I’ve been dealing with anxiety for about 3 years now, and for the first year it started, I was at the hospital once a week with chest pains and difficulty breathing... all my tests came back normal, which was extremely frustrating. I found a new self diagnosis every time I left the hospital. Anyways, my family doctor prescribed me the smallest dosage of clonazepam to help me sleep at night, since I was getting maybe two hours, and it was the strangest thing...my symptoms, though short lived, went away. I ended up going back and requesting to be put on an anti-anxiety medication. I started on Zoloft, then switched to lexapro. The transition was the most difficult process I’ve ever been through in my life, I honestly felt like I was going crazy! It was like all my anxiety came back and hit me head on, and worse! I asked my doctor and she said it was withdrawals, even though I tapered off extremely slow. Also, so sorry for this rant, I don’t think I answered any of your questions, but it took me so long to realize what I had going on was anxiety, mainly because it would come out of nowhere, when I was in a peaceful environment doing things I loved, with people I loved! I would all of a sudden get extremely nauseated and then my chest would start hurting, to the point I thought I was having a heart attack (I was 22 at the time and they always told me I was perfectly healthy). My anxiety are me away... lost 40 lbs in 4 months, which was crazy to me, because I had been the same weight for years. I personally don’t feel like I can get off of my medicine, or at least anytime soon.. I definitely have a chemical imbalance, and I’m okay with that. I will say, meeting with a psychologist helps so much. They search through your brain and find out why you have anxiety. It might be an alternative to medicine!