Watch as I explain why I do what I do and why I feel so comfortable sharing all of my panic and anxiety-related sorrows, triumphs, dilemmas, and baby steps with the world.

The cost of Paxil CR multiplied. And I don’t mean by 2x, by 5x, or even by 10x. The cost multiplied by 12x. The cost of a year’s worth of Paxil CR suddenly became the cost of a single month’s worth of pills.

I was a junior in college, panic was making a daily appearance, and I was relying on Xanax for each attack. So, when my doctor prescribed Paxil, I accepted it with open arms. But in the long run, all I got was a big hug from Big Pharma.

Nearly 80 percent of all prescriptions for antidepressants are written by non-psychiatrist providers. Like my general practitioner, circa 2005, who appeared to be watching an invisible coin toss in the ceiling when deciding which antidepressant to prescribe for my panic attacks.

Nobody told me that it would take eight long months to slowly taper off of it. Any quicker and the withdrawal effects would seize my sloppy brain to a halt. My entire spine would shiver. And my neck movement would cue up an orchestra of electric zapping noises. And a hazy curtain of fog would envelope my brain.