Non-Medicine based treatment VS. Medicine based treatment

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I should probably clarify the title a little more; Do you believe that Medicine based treatment for things like anxiety, stress, etc. is preferable to non- medicine based treatment such as exercise, therapy, and diet. I ask because I'm going though this kind of choice now. I take Zoloft everyday, at night, and I have for about a year now. This year has been the best of my life, and my mother and psychiatrist attribute this to the Zoloft. But I feel like I'm forming a dependency on it. Just a few weeks ago, I forgot to take it for a couple of days while I was on vacation, and I had a meltdown when I heard a radio article. Now to be fair, it was on article on a mind-reading MRI program that was originally developed to diagnose Autism (Which is a major fear of mine.) but I still flipped out more than I should have. Dr.Sanders says that I could try therapy and exercise instead of Zoloft, but that the effects probably wouldn't be the same, and that he wasn't sure if the Zoloft would work if I tried to get back on it. I also have to wonder if it's morally right to use medicine. I don't know about anyone else, but I for one am a religious person. I believe in Jesus Christ. Sometimes I think that, if the Lord hand-made me for his plans, to better serve his goals, then who am I to say that the flaws he placed in me should be treated with a man-made solution. But anyways, I would appreciate any opinions that you may have, and I would appreciate some guidance in this decision.

I think the combo of both is best as one alone only attacks half the problem.
For me I could not imagine going back to the way it was without meds the difference
is night/day. I have bipolar possibly ADD and I feel so much better on my medicine.
As to your moral question medicine will never completely fix your condition only make it more bearable.
If you don't look at it as a curse but a possible blessing I think Jesus would smile at that.

I can't give advice on religious matters, but withdrawal from Zoloft can be very unpleasant. When I stopped taking it I had four weeks of horrible nightmares, anxiety, insomnia, tremors and weird "electric shock" sensations in my head.
One thing to bear in mind is that if you take something like Zoloft for a while and recover from depression, you might find you can eventually stop taking it without losing the improvement (once you get through the withdrawal process). But I wouldn't stop taking it unless you have some reason to do so. I was sick of the side effects.

What a coincidence. I was just recommended this video on Facebook. Its long but I highly suggest it for fleshing out this topic.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kkocTdn0iY[/youtube]

I have always struggled with taking medication for my mental health. I'm currently on quite a cocktail of medications to help with my stress & anxiety (a mood stabiliser, an antipsychotic and a sedating antihistimine) and want to stop taking them but my doctors are advising against it because I'm still waiting for other support and treatment to be put in place. There is no doubt the medication has made a difference even though I'm still struggling at times. I raised my concern about being stuck on medication long term with my psychiatrist. She said she sees it as a sticking plaster to hold things together until other things start helping.

So .... medication to make you feel better enough so that you can engage with other non-medication based treatment or strategies effectively (therapy, exercise, mentoring, ukulele playing ... whatever), and thereafter withdraw slowly from the medication while continuing with the non-medication based things.

Thanks for the advice. I have anxiety disorder, and that's what I take the meds for.

No. Even if medicine helps, you are the one who caused it and if you won't deal with it on your own it may return sooner or later.

You are quite lax with your medication if you forgot it for several days in a row; very irresponsible!
That meltdown is all on you and has nothing to do with Zoloft itself.
Clearly it is helping you tons, as this has been a great year for you!! !

But! Taking medication is not actually treating anything.
Of course therapy/training is way better, and meds should ALWAYS COMPLEMENT real treatment in the form of therapy and training (social skills etc)

Just giving you medication is merely stalling negative things, instead of solving them.
I'm on Seroquel for anxiety and I was on agomelatine too, but I've stopped using it a few months ago, as therapy made me able to cope with some of the anxiety I experienced before.
So now my anxiety is less, and I will stop taking the Seroquel once I feel I can do without it, thanks to my wonderful therapists and the changes they suggested I make to my life/surroundings!! !! !! !!

On a sidenote, this has NOTHING to do with religion at all.

EDIT: Like everyone else said: Just taking meds is just half of the solution. You need therapy most of all, but meds to make you feel less crappy are often vital in the beginning, and you should get used to taking them for quite a while.
I've used the brand new antidepressant Agomelatine for two years and am still on 150 mg of Seroquel, which is marketed as an antipsychotic, but really is just an anxyolitc (anti angst drug)... They made life bearable and if your God didn't want you taking them, why would he/she have allowed it to be invented in the first place?!