Just to let you know that when I first thought something was wrong I went to my doctor and told her I felt like screaming at everybody, that my nerves were shot. She told me it was depression. I didnt feel depressed, but have since learned that depression and anxiety do go hand in hand. I take Lexapro, but I have to take it at bedtime because when I first started taking it, it made me a little light headed. I have no problems with taking it a bedtime. The only thing the sample will tell you is if you have a reaction to the medication. It usually takes 4-6 weeks to know if Lexapro is right for you.
I'll confess I'm somewhat nervous about a physician handing out sample packs to sort of see what happens. Now, if the sample was to tide you over while a prescription was being filled, that's different. But that's not your story. You can get the full story on the drug itself at their website (just Google the drug).
And now, a word about depression. While it often includes an emotional component such as sadness and is often found riding shotgun with its friend, anxiety. Unquestionably, treating the anxiety (successfully) often results in a lifting of the depression.
But, we must learn to think of anxiety not just as a kind of sadness, but rather, more literally. Consider it also in the sense of being "held back, held down," in the way you would depress a button to work the TV remote.
Let me give you an example from my own experience. After my psychiatrist and I had the panic and anxiety "on the run," he began to treat me for depression. My reaction was similar to yours -that I could deal with it. I'm sure we are possessed of the mental muscle to do so -its just that we don't always know where or how to apply it. What happens is, that the condition of being "held back, held down," which is often a protective reaction to anxiety, becomes sort of "normal." It doesn't manifest with anxiety or "feelings," necessarily, so there's no glaring evidence you are depressed -no sense of a "problem," as such.
Nonetheless, the treatment (Zoloft, in my case -your mileage may vary) was successful, because I began to react to and process information -mainly in the form of interactions with other people- differently. As I told the shrink, "I took the pill -and everyone ELSE got better."
So, maybe you don't want to write off the depression angle completely. At least, investigate it, and talk about it a bit more. Keep an open mind.
Now, I've got to tell you, I think my psychiatrist's treatment -the meds, the talk therapy, the diagnosing -was some damn fine doctoring in a medical field which is terribly inexact -more an art than a science, sometimes. And this gets me back to my uneasiness about being handed a sample pack and maybe instructions to "see what happens" or some such. Of course, of course, any medication, whether by sample or a case of it is something which is tried. All I know is that in my case, the prescribing seemed a great deal more thought out than what you described.
That's just "my take," and doctors orders always take precedence. I hope you'll keep us in the loop on developments.