anti-depressants or therapy?

[Gone2far]

Can anyone offer me their thoughts?
I live with anxiety. I don't think that I have a waking our where it isn't ticking over inside my brain. It's not about me personally. I'm fortunate enough to be solvent, healthy, and in a good relationship. But I worry all the time about what's happening in the world.
The local NHS offers group therapy, but I can't see that it would help - partly because my concerns would seem pathetic to so many people.
I've looked into private therapy, but it seems really expensive when perhaps anti-depressants could do the job. But then perhaps therapy would be a good investment in the long run.
BUT, I also think that my feelings, given the state of the world, are actually perfectly rational and it's silly to try and change my feelings.
I'm torn about this, and would like to know what others think.

Lots of people know the state of the world but they don't ALL get worried or upset about it.
A CBT course would help. You can self refer. They do Worry workshops (I'm going on one soon) look up Mental Health Matters for your local number if you are in the UK.

Perhaps therapy would be a good first start and you can see how you go, you can always add in anti-depressants if you feel like they become necessary. It is, unfortunately, always about us personally, no matter what we are having anxiety about. Good luck.

I've tried both and have found both to work for different reasons at different times to help with different symptoms.

Self referral for CBT is possible although the waiting list can be long in many areas.

The two drugs that helped me were Fluoxetine - it helped lift a long term depression caused by anxiety.

I also found Mirtazapine helped with panic attacks and very strong anxiety.

Talking therapy was very helpful for me, although this was private and whilst it didn't 'fix' anything, helped me put the pieces of the jigsaw in the correct place so I had a better understanding of me and what makes me tick and what had contributed to my anxious personality and tendencies.

Side effects of ADs vary from person to person so you if you go down this route, you will need to judge for yourself how your body reacts. Probably the most common side effect is sexual dysfunction which is not often mentioned by GPs - Mirtazapine is about the only one whioch seldom brings this particular side effects, although weight gain is common.

Best of luck.