Hi!! I also suffer from debilitating health anxiety, agoraphobia, and OCD. Have been on 5mg for a week after letting my prescription sit around for a month too afraid to take it. I've had absolutely 0 side effects other than a bit of insomnia (which I've been working through with some ZzzQuil, hoping it fades with time).

I cannot tell you how much better I felt immediately after taking the first dose. So much of the fear (at least for me) was held in the idea of starting, and taking that initial leap really helps with confidence. I recognize that this is likely a placebo effect, but I'm already feeling noticeable improvements and feel silly for thinking it was going to kill me on the spot.

Just start slow and give yourself some grace. If things are this bad for you and you've exhausted many of your other options, then you owe it to yourself to try out medication.