Anxiety Meds Surge: SSRIs, Trends & Controversies | News Medical

After a challenging battle with breast cancer involving chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, Sadia Zapp, a 40-year-old communications director from New York, found herself grappling with a new concern: anxiety. It wasn’t the everyday worry she was accustomed to, but a deeper, more pervasive feeling. “Every little ache, like my knee hurts,” she explained, triggered fears that “this is the end of the road for me.”

Zapp turned to Lexapro, a serotonin-boosting medication, and found it remarkably helpful. “I love it. It’s been great,” she said. “It’s really helped me manage.”

Zapp’s experience reflects a broader trend. The proportion of American adults taking anxiety medications rose from 2019 to 2024, increasing from 11.7% to 14.3%, an increase of roughly 8 million people, bringing the total to approximately 38 million. This rise has been particularly pronounced among young adults, individuals with a college degree, and those who identify as LGBTQ+, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While psychiatric medications are becoming more accepted and accessible, particularly through telehealth, the increasing use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) – a class of antidepressants including Prozac, Zoloft, and Lexapro – has drawn criticism. Some argue these medications are harmful, despite evidence supporting their safety and efficacy for many anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has voiced concerns about SSRI use, stating he knows individuals, including family members, who found it more difficult to discontinue SSRIs than to quit heroin. He has also announced a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) study to investigate a potential link between SSRI and other psychiatric medication use and violent behavior, such as school shootings.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary has also raised concerns, suggesting that SSRI use during pregnancy could lead to adverse birth outcomes.

Common side effects of SSRIs include upset stomach, brain fog, and fatigue. Some individuals may also experience reduced libido or other sexual side effects. However, for many, these side effects are mild and tolerable, and the benefits of treating chronic anxiety outweigh the drawbacks, according to Patrick Kelly, president of the Southern California Psychiatric Society. “The statements about SSRIs were just not grounded in any sort of evidence or fact,” Kelly said.

A recent study demonstrated that over half of individuals with generalized anxiety disorder experienced at least a 50% reduction in their anxiety symptoms while taking an SSRI. Approximately one in twelve discontinued SSRI use due to side effects.

Emily Wood, a psychiatrist practicing in Los Angeles, emphasized the importance of appropriate therapy alongside medication. “When it’s being done right and when you’re also using appropriate therapy techniques, SSRIs can be really, really helpful,” she said.

Alternative Perspectives on Anxiety and Treatment

Supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement attribute the rise in anxiety, along with other mental health disorders, to factors such as poor dietary choices and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. They advocate for measures like reducing consumption of ultraprocessed foods – which studies have linked to depression and anxiety – and increasing physical activity.

Psychiatrists often recommend a healthy diet and regular exercise as complementary therapies for anxiety and depression. Wood noted that individuals who can manage anxiety without medication should also consider talk therapy, which has become more accessible with the growth of teletherapy. “Anxiety disorders are amongst our psychiatric disorders that really respond well to cognitive behavioral therapy,” she said.

However, medication can be crucial. Studies indicate that the risks associated with SSRI use during pregnancy are low for both mother and child. Conversely, “depression increases your risk for every complication for a mother and a baby,” Wood said, adding that recent statements by government officials regarding SSRI use during pregnancy are “potentially leading to real harm for these women.”

While some individuals may experience temporary symptoms like nausea or insomnia when discontinuing antidepressant medication, particularly if stopped abruptly, “the concept of addiction simply does not apply to these chemicals,” Kelly stated, a claim supported by research.

Addiction is a greater concern with benzodiazepines like Xanax, which are sometimes used as a second-line treatment for anxiety. These controlled substances can also increase the risk of opioid overdose when taken concurrently. Kennedy also criticized benzodiazepine overuse during congressional hearings last year.

Benzodiazepines can be effective for short-term use but require careful monitoring. Wood explained, “Those are really great meds for acute anxiety and not great as long-term anxiety medications, because they are habit-forming over time. If you’re taking them on a daily basis, you’ll need more and more to get the same effect, and then you have to come down from them in a tapered way.”

An increasing number of people are also occasionally using beta-blockers, such as propranolol, for anxiety. Some use these medications to manage physical symptoms like a racing heart before public speaking, despite not being FDA-approved for anxiety treatment and being prescribed “off-label.” Beta-blockers can cause dizziness and fatigue but are considered “nonaddictive, really helpful for bringing down the autonomic nervous system, going from fight or flight to something more neutral, and really safe,” Wood said.

Social Factors and Increased Access

Several theories attempt to explain the increased prevalence of anxiety medication use, including increased social media use, greater social isolation, and heightened economic uncertainty.

Access to these medications has also become easier. Many individuals obtain SSRI and benzodiazepine prescriptions from their primary care physicians, while others receive them after brief teletherapy appointments.

The increased openness surrounding mental health, particularly among young people, fueled by social media influencers sharing their struggles, may also contribute to the trend. Approximately one-third of teens in a recent study reported obtaining mental health information through social media.

However, increased access can be problematic when combined with self-diagnosis based on social media trends. A Google search for “buy Xanax online” reveals sponsored advertisements promising same-day treatment, although disclaimers clarify that a prescription is not guaranteed.

“I think increased access is good, but that’s not the same thing as, you know, ordering Xanax online,” Kelly said.

Young adults are driving much of the increase in anxiety medication use. The proportion of Americans aged 18 to 34 taking anxiety medication rose from 8.8% in 2019 to 14.6% in 2024. The rate remained relatively stable among adults aged 65 and older.

The pandemic and associated lockdowns significantly increased stress levels among many Americans, particularly young adults.

Data also shows that women are more likely than men to take anxiety medication. Jason Schnittker, a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests this is because women are more likely to experience anxiety and to report their symptoms, and doctors may be more inclined to recognize anxiety in female patients.

Broader societal trends may also be at play. Schnittker noted that studies have shown a growing prevalence of anxiety across generations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. He suggests that increasing income inequality, social isolation, and a growing distrust of others may contribute to this trend.

For Zapp, the cancer survivor, it took several months of taking Lexapro to experience noticeable improvements. When the medication began to work, she described a reduction in mental “noise,” making it easier to focus. Combined with talk therapy, her chronic anxiety is now well-managed with medication alone.

“It definitely helped me get back to my day-to-day in a way that was productive and not just riddled with my anxieties throughout the day,” she said.