Depression with anxiety: can Spravato help?
Spravato isn't approved to treat anxiety on its own. But if you have treatment-resistant depression and anxiety comes with it, as it does for so many people, the depression is what qualifies you, and we can help. Anxiety alongside depression is common, and it doesn't stand in the way of treatment.
Does Spravato help with anxiety?
Spravato is approved for treatment-resistant depression, meaning depression that hasn't responded to at least two antidepressants, and many people with that kind of depression also live with anxiety. Spravato is used to treat the depression. What qualifies you is the depression and the antidepressants you've already tried, whether or not anxiety is part of the picture.
Anxiety on its own isn't what Spravato treats. Treatment-resistant depression with anxiety is exactly who we help.
If anxiety is your main concern without treatment-resistant depression, we'll tell you plainly and point you toward care that fits better.
The antidepressants that didn't work aren't a prediction. They're the qualification.
Spravato works on glutamate signalling, a different system from the serotonin and norepinephrine most antidepressants act on. That's why it can help people whose history suggests nothing will.
What if anxiety makes the first session harder?
If you're anxious, the first session can feel like more, so we plan for it. Your Sherpa walks you through what to expect beforehand, stays with you if you'd like company, and has eye masks and noise-cancelling headphones on hand. Calm, lyric-free music helps many anxious patients. After the first few treatments, most people hardly notice the session effects at all. Music for your session.
Effects that stay in the office.
Spravato's side effects, including any anxious or floaty feeling, are temporary and stay inside the two hours you rest with us. That's different from a daily medicine whose side effects can come home with you every day.
Is depression with anxiety harder to treat?
Often, yes, with standard antidepressants. In STAR*D, the largest real-world study of antidepressant treatment, people whose depression came with marked anxiety were less likely to reach remission with the usual medicines than people without it (Fava et al., American Journal of Psychiatry, 2008). If that sounds like your history, it's another sign you're not the problem: the usual tools were a poor fit, and Spravato works on a different system.
What will we ask about your anxiety?
- Which came first, and which weighs on you most day to day.
- Every antidepressant and anxiety medicine you've tried, and what happened.
- What you take now, especially benzodiazepines, so we can plan treatment-day timing.
- What helps you settle when anxiety spikes, so we can build it into your sessions.
Check if you qualify in two minutes.
Answer a few questions about your depression and the treatments you've tried. We'll tell you whether Spravato is likely to fit.
Name, date of birth and insurer. We check your plan and call you back. No commitment.
Check my coverageRegister once, and our team starts your insurance check and reaches out to schedule your evaluation.
Request an evaluationWhat people ask about Spravato and anxiety.
Is Spravato approved for anxiety?
No. Spravato is approved for treatment-resistant depression. People with TRD who also have anxiety can still be treated, because the depression is what qualifies them.
Can Spravato make anxiety worse?
Some people feel anxious during a session, especially the first ones. It's temporary, stays within the two hours you rest with us, and usually eases as sessions become familiar.
Can Spravato help with panic attacks or PTSD?
Spravato isn't approved for panic disorder or PTSD on their own. If you also have treatment-resistant depression, the depression qualifies you. Spravato and PTSD.
Will I feel anxious during a Spravato session?
Some people do, mostly in the first sessions. A Sherpa explains what to expect beforehand and stays close, and the feeling passes within the two hours you rest with us.
Can I keep taking my anxiety medication with Spravato?
Often yes, with care. Some anxiety medicines, like benzodiazepines, add to sedation, so we plan timing with you. Spravato and other medications.