i guess that i favor psychological interventions over chemical interventions for a number of reasons:

- side effects of medical interventions (for anxiety) include drowsyness, increased anxiety etc etc etc. there are also a number of other side effects (and possible side effects) that imho make medication a 'last resort' kind of strategy.
- withdrawal effects of medical interventions (for anxiety) include increased anxiety. sometimes even more anxiety than one experienced before taking the medication!

here are some psychological interventions.

- therapy. it might be that there is a particular trigger for your anxiety. it might be an increase in stress or a particular stimulus. if you can identify this then you might well have an 'advance warning' on your anxiety.
- systematic desensitisation / flooding can be very effective for treating anxiety that results from a specific stimulus.
- mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, visualisation exercises can be very effective for treating anxiety that is more generalised (in response to more distributed or general stressors)
- such things as adequate exercise and eating properly can help one sleep better, reduce general levels of stress, and help so that it is easier not to respond to particular triggers
- ability to 'lift the judgement / evaluations' can also help lessen anxiety.

none of the above psychological interventions have possible (likely?) side-effects of increased drowsyness and / or increased anxiety.

i'd really reccomend trying psychological interventions first because of the above.

an additional complication with chemical interventions for anxiety is the potention for tolerance and withdrawal (aka addiction). if your anxiety has been around for a while then it is likely that medication will mask it for a time and as soon as you stop taking the medication your symptoms will resume. possibly worse than they were before given the potential for tolerance and withdrawal.