Sorry you're experiencing such anxiety and an unsafe situation at home, HB.

When you go off the Paxil, you're going to have to do that very slowly and lower the dosage gradually over a period of weeks. If you suddenly stop it instead of slowly weaning yourself off it, you will have terrible symptoms/side effects. Even with slow lowering of the dose, it likely won't be pleasant.

As far as the question about the other drug (I'm trying to be circumspect about its name because we're really not supposed to talk directly about other drugs). Here it's probably OK since you're talking about something you want to be medically prescribed. But for other responders, be very careful so we don't have to delete your posts.

OK, as far as that other drug--the one in the benzodiazapene family that starts with a V--most physicians are very wary of prescribing it because it's such an easy drug to get addicted to. If they do prescribe it or something similar, they'll usually only write a script for 15 or 20 pills so you won't get enough that you could begin to abuse them or get hooked. They do the same thing with xanax, clonopin and other tranquilizers. The types of doctors who'll sometimes prescribe a few more are generally psychiatrists, and that's only after they've evaluated you and discovered that you are indeed in the throes of a lot of anxiety.

The best way NOT to get the drug would be to go in and tell a doctor "I need valium" because that'll be a signal that you want it, and the doc will be suspicious that you want it for a reason other than anxiety. Since they're the ones with medical and pharmacological knowledge, they're the ones who have to evaluate you and make the decision about need. Your business is to clearly convey that you're having a lot of anxiety. It might be helpful to tell the doctor that you took a valium given to you by a friend and found it helpful. The tendency for people to abuse or get easily hooked on valium, however, is precisely why they prefer to prescribe the SSRI antidepressants like Paxil or Effexor or others. They're not nearly as easy to get physically addicted to (although they do produce some side effects when people are raising or lowering the dosages). So brace yourself in case you doctor tells you she prefers you stay on the Paxil or switch to another drug like it.

Good luck, HB!