The saddest thing about anxiety, to me, is the fact that those who do not suffer from excessive anxiety or have never had a panic attack can not relate, and talking to someone about your anxiety often involves them telling you to "man the fuk up you wuss". Thats like telling a person with a broken leg to heal themselves through willpower. Only, with anxiety, its your neurochemistry thats broken.

As for using medications, for some it is truly the only way to live a normal life. Of course if you can avoid benzodiazepines (like Xanax, ativan etc....) then that is definitely a good thing. If you are having straight up panic attacks though, then they are a must, honestly... even if just on an as needed basis (which is the best way to use these kind of drugs). As for antidepressants, like prozac, paxil zoloft etc... you should strongly consider them if these issues become chronic. Its not the greatest feeling in the world knowing you need to take them, but they can certainly help you through tough times. They can also be very beneficial for the overall health of your brain, repairing some (if not a lot) of damage you may have done to it with alcohol, drugs, or poor diet.

If you do get your hands on some benzos, make sure to not abuse them though, that can seriously fuk shiet up for you if you go to far. But anyways, good luck with all this, remember you're not alone and that there are a lot of things you can do to get through it.