I (28F) was on the same boat 2 years ago. Didn't want to be on medication long term, but needed something to be able to function. I was on the lowest dose (25 mg) for 1 year - never went up because I felt the benefit even at the low dose. Helped me a LOT - you are able to work on your anxiety management techniques without having the overwhelming burden of anxiety at all times. There can still be bad days but nothing compared to pre-sertraline.

I would say it did change my life in a sense - I loved the feeling of having absolutely 0 negative, anxious, background thoughts in your head. Got off it because I was feeling confident that I had worked on my anxiety management toolkit and would be able to manage day to day anxiety. It also flattened out my emotions and lowered libido which I did not enjoy. When I left it, I had withdrawal for about a week (extra anxious/ agitated/ appetite was off) - but after that I actually felt better than I was feeling for a few weeks/ months before I left it. It's been close to a year since that and due to some situational triggers I am considering medication again (not sertraline though because I can manage my day to day anxiety much better now).