@kathyoung: I was prescribed 5 mg and it helped with recurrent anxiety immediately; Dr increased it to 10mg in a couple months and I have taken this drug for a several years (since cancer diagnosis). My grandson has taken it off &on for many years - only when in very stressful situations and had no effects when he stopped each time. I researched many anti-depressants and Escitalopram was reported as being not physically addictive. My health situation hit me hard and I was feeling sad all the time - normal reaction. My PCP talked to me about this drug and its safe effectiveness. It has helped me stay positive during treatments and just everyday - my disease is terminal, but I have had good response with tumor shrinkage. Some days I forget to take it and I feel ok all day, so in my case I don’t believe it is physically addictive (but anything can be physiologically addictive).
However, upon awakening I have experienced some weird effects. Sometimes I see things that look real but after a few seconds disappear! Now that I am aware of this I just blink several times and the illusion fades away. Kathy, Everyone has different chemical make-up, so I can only report that this drug works for me with one side-effect that I am willing to handle. dbamos1945