How severe should anxiety be to take medication?

Currently, I'm suffering night time anxiety and Pure-O thoughts / anticipatory anxiety in the morning. It happens every day.

There was brief period (a week or 2) when I couldn't function but was able to go back to being functional without medication. When I say functional, maybe I'm 70% okay. I can do my day to day tasks, have some motivation, and can genuinely feel happy moments within the day.

The thing is, because of the nature of intrusive thoughts, every time I would feel happy, the intrusive thought would come and would bring my mood down. It happens every day and it greatly affects my quality of life. My intrusive thought is irrational but due to OCD, it won't shut up.

It's like whenever I'm happy, my brain would tell me, "Nope, you're not happy. Remember you have this problem? Solve that first. Then, you could say you're happy." However, the problem is unsolvable because it's irrational in the first place.

Of course, I'd prefer this rather than the hellish week of terror and panic. But I'm still not back to my old self. Living life, like I have a major concern every day is not a good way to live (for me). It's tiring. Is this enough reason to take medication, if it would help?

I'm seeing a pdoc soon but I just like to get your opinion on what level of anxiety requires medication? Do you take medication (most likely SSRIs rather than anti-anx) to help with chronic anxiety like this? Or only when your anxiety is really high?

Caturday,
Hello. I think you are heading in the right direction with your PDoc. The amount of meds is subjective, depends on the drug, quantity, how you feel, etc. Talk to your doc about the bad side effects and allow him to give you a different cocktail. It might take a little bit, but you will be happy in the end run.
Good luck!

I take antidepressants for anxiety as well as depression. Mine got so bad I was taken into hospital but you don't have to wait for it to get that bad!

Its really up to you, but I would suggest therapy to help you deal with the thoughts.

I get intrusive and irrational thoughts quite a lot and yes its horrible to live everyday like there is something horrible just around the corner.

I could have written your post! I see my pdoc this afternoon and am sitting on the fence about the medication. I am thinking, do I really want to go there? Some days I think I can handle it and other days I wish I had something to relieve the anxiety when it's at its peak. All of the side effects of those meds are unpleasant and that's another thing that has me in doubt.

When you are afraid to leave your house, can not get the mail, answer the phone... happened here

I think it's when therapy and other alternatives are not helping or helping so little that your still left with anxiety that prevents you from going forward with you life in a healthy way.

I can only tell you how I was. I would noticeably shake, I would sweat uncontrollably, I developed some ocd issues cos I took ten showers a day and it became a ritual. I started shoplifting cos I cudnt bear to wait in a queue or speak to anyone. I would stutter if I tried to speak and so preferred to remain mute. so I started taking propranolol beta blockers, but for some reason most people on here seem to be given anti depressants rather than beta blockers. they have hardly any side effects, and no mental ones.

When I was first diagnosed and was told I was going to need to take medications I didn't want to. But what I have learned is that the medications will help you get to a point that you can work on what is causing your panic and withholding medications is just causing more suffering.