Gabapentin may be effective for treating depression and anxiety, among other things.

Gabapentin was once only used to treat seizures, but because it calms the neurons in the brain, it is now occasionally used to treat depression and bipolar disorder and may also be effective for anxiety. Clinical studies have even suggested that gabapentin might be an effective benzodiazepine substitute for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. People who only partially respond to other mood stabilizers may benefit most from gabapentin.

Another study found that gabapentin is effective as an adjunctive therapy in people with partial seizures whose seizures are not adequately controlled by traditional AED dosing. Furthermore, gabapentin is frequently used as an analgesic in people with chronic pain caused by kidney disease. Although gabapentin is well known for its favorable pharmacokinetics, it is only excreted through the kidneys, putting people with chronic kidney disease at risk for toxicity.