I’m only on dose three of 12.5 Zoloft, so I can’t speak to side effects or anything like that- but I had to switch from Lexapro for the same reasons.

Thank you! And no problem. Exercise is already pretty huge. Running, sprinting, lifting weights. Anything that gets the blood pumping is pretty good at burning cortisol. We are built to move. Therapy is also good. You learn many tools that may help you. At least i did. Diet does a lot. Many precursors for brain chemistry is produced in the gut. You are what you eat is more true than one might think. I would also try going for walks. Maybe like 30 mins or so. Either alone or with someone. But no music or podcasts. If you walk with silence negative emotions will bubble up. But they’ll pass. At some point, your mind should calm a bit. Our ancestors walked for miles to hunt and gather, we are still running that hardware sadly. Maybe try meditation or progressive muscle relaxation too. The latter helps with tense muscles. My jaw clenches a lot when im anxious and causes headaches. That helped me a lot. Meditation is not for everyone, but it helps me very well. As for if you should go on medication or not, i can’t tell you. That is something you have to decide. I myself don’t use them. I used a benzo once and immediately started to hallucinate birds flying around. So, no meds like that for me. But that doesn’t mean they are bad or not. They are a tool to be used when necessary.