Hi all, long time no post!

I'm seeking advice for my boyfriend, who has been struggling with depression and sleep issues for quite some time. He's on Wellbutrin now, and will be seeing a psychiatrist specializing in sleep disorders in a couple of weeks.

We suspect that he has an undiagnosed anxiety component to his depression which is probably if not THE root, at least one of the root causes of his sleep issues as well.

I know that SSRI's are often prescribed to alleviate anxiety disorders (I took Paxil for some time and it was a godsend). However, he tried several SSRIs before hitting on Wellbutrin and the side effects he had were horrendous - for instance, Zoloft caused him to shoot straight into this paranoid dysphoric state where he was angry and suspicious to the point of being scary, and Lexapro scared him to death when he kept feeling paralyzed during the night. Unsurprisingly, he's not really keen to go anywhere near anymore SSRIs.

So here's the question: Is there anyone out there who has reacted badly to SSRIs in the past but found one they tolerated? And does anyone with any medical background know of anything that can be prescribed to relieve anxiety long-term (not the benzo's like Xanax) that isn't an SSRI?

Note: I'm not one for diagnosing someone since I don't have the training to do so (yet! working on that now). Also, I know that there's a wealth of stuff available in the psychiatric world, and that this new psychiatrist may see something totally different than what we do, but I just want to help my boyfriend have hope that something will be successful in treating these long-term issues. He's just so tired and worn out and losing hope.

Thanks all....any thoughts are much appreciated!

Anna