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Citalopram is generic Celexa. It's for both depression and anxiety, including social anxiety. I found it managed my anxiety symptoms wonderfully; I was on it for several years. I felt stronger on the medication.
A couple years ago I made up my mind to get off the medication. I know I will suffer from depression and anxiety for the rest of my life, but I didn't want to take a pill every day for the rest of my life just to deal with it. I figured out some things that work for me in order to control and manage it. It's always there, lurking around the corner, but I haven't had to go back to medication yet, which is nice.
I would recommend you try what I tried--go on the meds, see if they help you out, and if they do, stay on them a while. Use them as a stepping stone--while on the meds, pursue the therapeutic option, preferably with a therapist who specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy. In addition, start exercising if you don't already. Add yoga into the mix as well. Yoga enhances the mind-body connection, and as such, it's much easier to catch on to what makes you feel anxious. Yoga will also give you some tools to handle anxiety. The recommendation of seeking out spiritual guidance is a good one.
As others have suggested here, if and when you do decide to quit using medication, do it with your doctor's supervision, if at all possible. You will have to step down gradually to get off of citalopram; otherwise you end up with horrible dizzy spells. It's really no fun.
You can control your anxiety; I wish you luck in acquiring the tools to help you do so.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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