M.L.
Hi, D.. Klonopin works well for some people, but it is addictive and can make you sleepy. It's often used as a sleep training aid for people who have insomnia for that reason. It can also cause very vivid dreaming. This is a drug you will need to wean off of when you're ready because stopping cold turkey can cause seizures.
That said, I think it is important that psychiatric medication be prescribed by a psychiatrist in conjunction with counseling. There are several types of anxiety and different coping mechanisms for dealing with each type. A good therapist does not need to be a psychologist, they can be a social worker and each provider offers different styles of therapy, like cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavioral, etc.
Lifestyle management is very important. If you are eating poorly, not getting exercise, and not getting enough sleep, then the symptoms of anxiety you are experiencing can and will remain or worsen. For me, some of it was simply not realizing i was breathing very shallowly and taking some martial arts mixed with yoga helped me learn to breathe more deeply, which severely curtailed some of the physical symptoms of anxiety I had been experiencing.
If you are anxious because you do not feel in control, then you may need to make changes in your life that will help you to feel in control of your life. For me, that means that I need a lot of structure. I follow a schedule, I have procedures for doing certain tasks that I find can be overwhelming. If I know I have a good plan for getting things done, I feel more in control and have less anxiety.
Finally, It does sometimes take a while for your body to adjust to medication, but if you cannot function, then it may be time to call your doctor to adjust your dosage. Are you taking 1/2 of a 1mg pill? In my experience, for me, that's a lot. To help me sleep without a hangover, I would take 1/4 of a 1mg pill. You could ask your doctor if it's ok to cut back to 1/4 of a pill twice a day to see if that helps and then if you need the extra help, ramp back up to 1/2. I do strongly recommend that you seek the advice of a psychiatrist for medication management, however.