Fighting Anxiety Without Medication?

I am not sure if this is the right place to post my question. if it is not, pl adv where shd i post it. But i really need some expert/experienced advice ASAP.

My husband has been extremely upset due to some problems. When things got too hot to handle, he approached a Psychiatrist in India who prescribed the following medications-

Tab MDD – XR 50 mg (morning)
Lonazep MD-0.25mg (night)
Meltolan 2.5 mg

I understand Lonazep and Meltolan are for Schizophrenia. I did a detailed study of Schizophrenia on the net and am very sure that my husband does not suffer from Schizophrenia. Moreover, we were not very happy about the idea of taking Psychiatric Medication - we were hoping for counseling, or sort of behavior therapy.

The problem as I see it is that my husband is an extremely sensitive soul who was living in a Utopian world (and was horribly stuck in what he believed was his ‘perfect’ past life and refused to accept the present) all his adult life. Fortunately for him, at every difficult juncture of his life, there was a helping hand- hence he never really had to face a challenge alone. Unfortunately, last month, he finally came face to face with life’s harsh reality and realized that his family and past life were no where near perfect. Unfortunately, this time, he had no support system. Hence he crumbled (emotionally) like a pack of cards.

As we both are a bit vary of taking Psychiatric Medication, he then went to a highly reputed clinical psychologist in India. After hearing of his problems, he said that my husband suffers from 'something that his lesser than depression'. He then gave my husband a piece of paper and suggested that he write the following medication down-

Nexito 5mg
Espazine 1mg
Clonotril 0.25mg

He said that if my husband took this piece of paper to the chemist located outside his clinic, he will be given this medication.

Now I am highly concerned abt this - I was under the impression that clinical psychologists in India CANNOT prescribe medication. Moreover the manner in which it was done seems really sneaky. As this gentleman is reputed I am wondering if this is the 'normal' practice among clinical psychologists - perhaps to get the patient some sleep and relaxation before he starts the actual counseling?

Also, I am highly worried about the long term use of Nexito 5mg and Espazine 1mg. He told my husband that Clonotril 0.25mg shd not be used for more than 1 week as it is habit forming.

My husband and I do NOT want to use any Psychotic medications. He is an intellingent man who had no role model/guidening figure ever in his life. I strongly believe that if someone advices him properly, he will be fine. Has anyone fought off anxiety WITHOUT medications? If yes, how?

Hi Very Worried,

I'm going to duplicate your thread putting another copy in our anxiety forum (anxiety-nos/)

In regards to your question though, a standard psychotherapeutic intervention for anxiety and depression is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_ ... al_therapy). It has been show to reliably reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression if someone follows through with the treatment. Also, there are a number of work books that you can buy online. They typically explain different exercises that a person can do to make them feel better and provide worksheets for the person to fill out on a regular basis to practice the skills they are learning.

Hope that helps. Take care and best wishes.