“Is it normal to be dependent on antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds?”

If the anti-anxiety med is a benzodiazepine, no its not a great idea to be on them for very long unless ones anxiety is just intractable. Benzos were never intended to be used for more than a couple of weeks at a time while other modalities/meds are having an effect. They are dependence producing. HOWEVER- they should NOT be stopped abruptly. They have a ferocious withdrawal syndrome that is dangerous, including a risk of seizures. Some antidepressants should also not be abruptly stopped because they also can have withdrawal sx= Paroxetine is one that withdrawals are most common with. I get that youre a bit skeptical about medications- if the prescriber is a competent psychiatrist, or a savvy PCP with experience with this, I would say that untreated depression is a lot unhealthier than taking the meds. I hope she is receiving good psychotherapy from a competent therapist in addition to her medication. CFL

Is it "normal?" Probably, yes. Many parents insist that their offspring not take ANY sort of psychiatric medication, believing the kids should just tough it out or something. But your ideology doesn't help your daughter. Sometimes parental rigidity has led to tragic outcomes in their children. That said, which anti-anxiety medication is she taking? Many physicians prescribe a benzodiazepine like Klonopin, Ativan, or Xanax. Those help in the short term but usually make things worse over time. In particular, Xanax can be highly addicting and is a popular drug on the street. The best solution may be to have a heart-to-heart discussion with your daughter. Start with listening to her WITHOUT INTERRUPTION for at least five minutes. How bad is her depression? Could you agree on a non-drug solution like cognitive behavioral therapy, which is proven to help anxiety and depression without drugs? This would require multiple sessions with a QUALIFIED CBT therapist. Such professionals are not always easy to find, especially since many psychotherapists insist they can do CBT, but don't really know how. Be sure to look into the specifics of their training and not just that they've been therapists for a long time.