43yr male. Last yr, I began experiencing "non-circumstantial", general anxiety last yr. The feelings weren't entirely foreign to me, but the intensity & daily frequency were. I had a hard time identifying specific causal factors for my emotional discomfort. I also was experiencing daily panic attacks & occasional depression. While I was functional, I didn't feel at all like myself. I could recognize a concert of stressors (midlife, aging children, pandemic, work, etc). I began working on emotional education, counseling, meditation, & relaxation techniques. I examined aspects of my routine & physical health, too. I increased by h2o intake, began moderate daily exercise & taking a multivitamin as well as b12, methyl-folate, ... These non-medical interventions were important & are still a major factor in my recovery & good for continued physical & mental health. After 6 wks, w/ continued substantial discomfort on a frequent daily basis & panic attacks still occurring at times, I was coping better, but I felt I was not stable & I was still more uncomfortable. The evolution of a mental health crisis is complex & I was still very inexperienced & scared. I decided to make an appt w/ a psych. Initially, when prescribed, I was hesitant to take this. I have historically been reluctant to take drugs. The idea of taking this caused me some great anxiety for a few mo. I would dabble & experiment w/ it, taking .25mg, other times .5mg, during the day, or at night. I felt a lot of mixed feelings about using a medication: guilt, fear, ... I had side effects & felt that taking a med was weak & so unlike how I behaved before. Consequently, I felt the med was disruptive & not particularly helpful. My perspective changed a few mo ago. Throughout this experience, I recognized that poor sleep was a factor in my discomfort. I had been a good sleeper w/ few disruptions in the night. When the anxiety & panic began, last yr, I began uncontrollably waking midsleep. This was disturbing to me knowing how much of a factor quality sleep is for mental health. I worked hard to establish good sleep hygiene, but I could not stop the disruptive midsleep wakes. Clonazepam became an effective tool. Even though previously I had determined that it caused me to feel forgetful, tired, etc (especially after 4-5 days of use), I committed to taking it, nightly, the same dose (.5mg), the same time, just before putting my head on the pillow, to increase my chances of staying asleep & in bed for 6+ hrs. Previously, I would wake after 3-4 hrs, now I was still waking midsleep, though now it was more dependably after 5.5-6 hrs. I continued this for a mo. The side effects I’d noticed earlier, that gave me much consternation, wore off after continued nightly use. My fear around sleeping well decreased as my confidence that decent sleep would occur increased. Fast forward to now & I am feeling far more stable, mentally healthy, & confident that I can deal w/ emotional discomfort. I can't go back & unknow the scary & traumatic feelings that I experienced, but I am no longer hung up on notion. I am sleeping well & I am not experiencing any side effects. I have continued the nightly clonazepam as part of my routine. I reduced it about month ago to .375mg. Eventually, I will discontinue use, but I'm not in a big rush & will do slowly & carefully. IMHO, it has been an effective step, a nice crutch, to help me stabilize. I have continued work on non-medical interventions, too. I hope this helps someone who might be as hesitant as I was to accept some pharma help. Good luck! You can do this & you don't have to go it alone & do it “PURELY” to conquer your fears & get back the desired level of control & comfort you deserve.