overcome depression and anxiety

My appetite has come back, to an extent. I think it might be the birth control I’m on, which is supposed to cause weight gain. I’m still not eating everything I used to, but I’m eating bigger portions of the things I do eat, and eating more often. It’s good. I am sick of losing weight all the time and being so neurotic about food.

I’ve been on Lexapro for a couple of months now, and while I do think it has lifted my mood, I still have a lot of problems with anxiety. My doctor suggested increasing my dose, and I decided to do that, but then I read a chapter in When Panic Attacks which says that most antidepressants aren’t actually that much more effective than a placebo, and most of the studies that claim to demonstrate their effectiveness are funded by the pharmaceutical companies that sell them.

So now I’m questioning whether I should be on Lexapro at all. What’s the point in going through all those nasty side effects if it’s really just the placebo effect that’s making me feel better? I don’t know if there’s any way to tell for sure.

I’m also about to start on birth control for menstrual issues, I’m still trying to get off xanax, and I’ve got IBS on top of all this. I hate drugs. I wish my body worked properly so I wouldn’t have to think about them.