This might be controversial... just wondered if anyone else had thought about the placebo effect of medications prescribed for anxiety or depression, and whether it matters, as long as it works? I was prescribed Ativan for my anxiety. My doctor said that even just carrying it around with me could help stop PAs. She was right. I keep it my little bottle in my handbag and take it with me everywhere. On several occasions I've been on the verge of an attack and my thoughts have gone to my Ativan - I can always take one if it gets any worse and it will make me better. On most occasions, that thought has been enough to calm me down.
The placebo effect can be very powerful - I've even heard (http://www.bbc.co.uk//radio4/science/placebo.shtml) of heart patients given a placebo actually have a reduction in the thickening of their heart muscle. They weren't actually being given any medication at all, but thought that they were. The change in their heart stemmed from the reduction in their stress levels, because they thought that they were being medicated.
It makes me wonder how much of the effectiveness of medication for anxiety and depression is not the result of the medication itself, but of the thought in the minds of patients that it is making them better. They think it works, so it does. What do anxers think about this? Does it matter, as long as it works?