Seems insanely far fetched to expect that similar techniques used to treat heart disease would work for the psychological, social, and biological factors that make up anxiety / depression. This type of reductionism isn't even that effective with the mechanics of the heart (as we see from the constant debate of what to eat to keep this "simple pump" healthy), yet these doctors expect to reduce the entirety of one's experience to something so simple? Modern psychiatry to me is beyond perplexing and truly at or below the level of doctors using leeches to clean blood. This type of reductionism and the heavy reliance on drugs that goes along with it truly is akin to those doctors using leeches. The irony is, those doctors probably spent more time talking to their patients and while they were obviously ineffective at treating heart disease, they were likely much more effective at treating psychological problems than modern psychiatrists because they were at least willing to converse with their patients.
Front line treatment for a range of anxiety disorders is a talking therapy from a therapeutic st or psychologist. It's only when that fails that doctors become involved with medication.
We should not trivialise anxiety disorders: they cause death and harm and they can lead to years of life lost to disability. They can be very debilitating.
