Should medication be used as first treatment for anxiety? if not what things should be tried first?

No, medication : Would not be the 1st treatment of choice for anxiety. Psychotherapy would be the 1st treatment i would recommend. If this does not help enough it is always possible to try medication.

Would only move: directly to medication if anxiety is so debilitating that it is preventing the person from being able to participate in talking therapies in a meaningful way. I am much faster to move toward medications if the patients' anxiety is of a severity that it is impacting everyday function. When these situations are not in play, I generally prefer that the patient try non-pharmacological options first. >