Medication, therapy, or just self-care?

[schrodingercat]

The age-old question, right?

Hello, friends! My last question prompted such lovely and supportive responses, so I thought I'd ask about something new that's reared its befuddling head.

In part due to the replies to my "Do I want to get better?" post, I've decided to take action to try to alleviate my anxiety-depression. I've reached a crossroads, however -- should I seek a prescription for medication, experiment with counselling or therapy, or simply try to implement better self-care practices?

As usual, the question is more complicated than that; some fellow anxiety-sufferers deeply recommend medication, while others who know me well disagree, suggesting that my issues aren't really ones that could be solved with chemicals. I've heard others talk about how much therapy helped them once they found the right therapist, but many close friends suffered horrifying experiences with therapy. And of course, the time and financial resources that medication or therapy would require are difficult to come by. Self-care is always a constructive mindset, but it only goes so far to heal mental illnesses.

In short, if you have an experience with one of these three that you'd like to share or if you've stood at this fork in the road before and learned from it, I'd be happy for any advice.

Thank you for reading and replying, and stay strong! ^^

[hypercat54]

How about all 3? It's not a case of either or. The more you tackle your illness the more effective the strategies it will be.

Counselling is the ultimate way to go though as it's only through this that issues can be dealt with though this can be painful and quite long term. x