Drugs for Anxiety Disorders

There are a lot of medications for anxiety attacks available these days.  These medications definitely help many people.  If you have panic attacks, you may find them helpful.

Before I tell you a bit more about medications for anxiety problems  I want to be up-front about my beliefs.  I believe these medications are only part of the answer to be used as a short term measure to help while other treatments have a chance to work.

Fortunately with proper therapy, almost everyone can free themselves from the terror of anxiety attacks.

These days, a therapist will recommend a drug to help these issues that falls into one of two classes: sedatives or antidepressants.

Most of the first class of drugs recommended are Valium-type drugs.  The different specific drugs vary mostl in how quickly they start to work and duration of action.

Different drugs work best for different people.  Everyone has a different response to a given medication.  A therapy that is extremely effective for one person may cause significant side effects for someone else.

sedatives have a rapid onset, so they can help if a person is going into a situation that they have had problems before.

The other type of drug used is an antidepressant.  The frequently used antidepressants are serotonin uptake inhibitors.  

Serotonin is a chemical that is released in the brain as part of the way nerve cells communicate with each other.  

Decreased serotonin levels are associated with depression and anxiety.  Serotonin uptake inhibitors raise the levels by slowing the resorption of the chemical after it has been released.

Most people have heard of Prozac.  It is a serotonin uptake inhibitor.  There are lots more.  They all have their own benefits and risks.

Often finding the medication that works the best is a matter of trial and error.

One thing Prozac-type medications have in common is that they all take a while to work.  Usually, it takes a few weeks to start to see a benefit.

It’s clearthese aren’t medications to use when you need quick action.

There are some other types of used, but they aren’t used often.  These drugs either aren’t as effective as the ones already mentioned or have way too many side effects for most people to tolerate.

Even though the classes of drugs I talked about above are generally well tolerated, you still should find out about the side effects of antidepressants used to treat panic disorders.Follow that link for more information.

Again, I want to remind you that it is a good idea to use medication as part of an over all treatment plan using other forms of therapy.   Drugs can be useful, but they aren’t the whole answer.

Some people taking these medications develop a psychological dependence.  

As I’ve mentioned, a person will use other forms of psychotherapy as well as the medications.  As the therapy starts to work, they might think their improvement is due only to the drugs.

This might make them resist stopping the medication since they think it’s the only reason they got better.

A skilled therapist helps work through this.  

Even before you start taking the medication, talk with your therapist about how long you’ll be on it and how you’ll come off it.

Use medications for panic episodes wisely and you can reap their benefits while avoiding their problems.

Naturally it’s best to eventually get to where you’re fine medications.

There’s a review of an extremely effective way to do just that at Panic Away Review.

Find out more about panic attacks in general and how you can deal with them at Panic Attack Release.