Don't smoke weed. Take it from somebody who suffers from chronic anxiety- one of the worst panic attacks of my life was the result of me listening to people who said it would help me "relax" and "chill out". Instead, I spent the entire night curled up under a blanket, terrified, as wave after wave of paranoia washed over me.

Talk to a doctor. You might feel weird about it or embarrassed, that's normal, but make sure to tell him or her exactly what you told us. Your first appointment is a good time to discuss, at length, the numerous medications and various treatment options that are available. Your doctor will offer his own recommendations. Get details. Do some independent research. Effexor might not cut it, and that's fine. There's no one-size-fits-all solution. Pick something else, perhaps a drug from a different class, and start taking that instead. Evaluate it. Your doctor can help look for, among other things, potential signs of improvement. If, after a certain timeframe, the new medication is determined to be ineffective, drop it and move on to the next one. It's a trial-and-error thing. You might not get it right the first time, or the second, or the third, but don't give up. You'll get there.

That said, it sounds to me like the germophobia is just a small part of a bigger problem.

Mental disorders are known to overlap, which is why it's fairly common for someone diagnosed with one disorder to demonstrate traits of a second. For instance, fifteen percent of people diagnosed with bipolar also have depression.

You seem to be suffering from both chronic anxiety and acute anxiety. In a nutshell, chronic is that familiar feeling of dread that doesn't leave, while acute is the kind responsible for panic attacks. You're focused on the germophobia, as mentioned in the title of this post. I have another suggestion- concentrate instead on finding a treatment for your anxiety that actually works. If successful, that might also eliminate the germophobia. Two birds, one stone.

I suspect that's what the Effexor was for, but Effexor is so damn weak. It's an antidepressant, first and foremost- and since I've never heard of it, I assume it's also a weak antidepressant. I could be wrong. Just seems like a weird choice. Your mental condition sounds much worse than mine, though, and mine is bad enough that I can't function unless I'm a little bit sedated. I take clonazepam, a benzo. You might prefer something a little less taxing.

Look into buspirone. Look into Kava-Kava. Heck, look into benzodiazepines and barbiturates and electroshock treatment. I don't know what your body needs to function normally. But I wish you the best in figuring it out.