“What is the best mood stabilizer for anxiety?”

Mood stabilizers are not used for anxiety. They are primarily for bipolar disorder. Medications for anxiety include SSRIs and benzodiazepines. Other techniques are very useful against anxiety, such as deep-breathing, CBT, visualization and relaxation training.

The initial treatment of choice for anxiety is almost always an SSRI (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor). No mood stabilizers or antipsychotics have been shown to be effective for either GAD or panic disorder. Many medications are inappropriately used off label for anxiety. Antipsychotics, in particular, can cause something called akathisia, the feeling of restlessness, so actually INCREASE anxiety or perceived anxiety. Not sure why so many psychiatrists do not know how medications actually work or what they are approved for.

Vivian Shnaidman M.D.

If you consider that antidepressants could be considered mood stabilizers, then the best ones for anxiety are the SSRIs (Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors).
The other mood stabilizers such as Depakote, Lithium, Trileptal, etc. are not indicated for anxiety unless there is an anxiety with a comorbid mood instability.