Anxiety is a problematic medical illness that affects a number of people and this condition is marked by intense fear, worry, and apprehension that may be associated with some situations, objects or events. These feelings are accompanied by physical symptoms that may include trembling, palpitations, dizziness, nausea, dry mouth, and diarrhea. Anxiety medication as well therapy can help in dealing with this problem.
Anxiety disorders include different types like panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. Along with anxiety medication, psychotherapy and behavior medication can help patients to deal with these disorders and manage their symptoms effectively.
In pronounced cases of anxiety the patients may find themselves continuously and obsessively thinking about something, they may have sleeping problems, they may become restless, they may experience appetite problems, and they may feel dizzy, tense, jittery and sweaty. These symptoms may interfere with their normal functioning and affect their personal as well as professional lives. Anxiety medication can go a long way in treating these symptoms.
Anxiety medication is a part of the best treatment for anxiety disorders. However, before deciding on the line of treatment it is important to ensure that a correct evaluation of the condition is done. The treatment is also dependent on the form of disorder and the state of the individual patient. The symptoms, their duration, and severity are also taken into consideration.
Along with anxiety medication, cognitive behavioral therapy may also be used. In this, the patients are encouraged to confront the fear and its source. Traditional therapy like talking with a therapist can also be extremely beneficial in this condition. Cognitive therapy allows patients to identify faulty or distorted thinking patterns that may be contributing to anxiety.
Anxiety medication that is often used along with therapy in treating anxiety includes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These include such medicines as fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline, paroxetine, venlafaxine, and citalopram. Anxiety reducing drugs like alprazolam, buspirone may also be prescribed along with tricyclic antidepressants like clomipramine and imipramine. Beta blockers are newer forms of anxiety medicines.
While anxiety medication can provide relief from the symptoms of anxiety it cannot completely cure the underlying problem. The medicines used for the treatment of anxiety disorders also have side effects. These medicines can also be habit-forming. Along with medication patients have to make certain lifestyle changes that include adequate sleep, healthy diet, and regular exercise.
Among the anxiety, medication tranquilizers are known to slow down the nervous system and provide a calming or relaxing effect. Benzodiazepines bring relief in around thirty minutes to one hour and so are particularly effective if taken when the patient experiences a panic attack. However, anxiety medicines cause patients to feel extremely sleepy, uncoordinated and foggy and this can result in problems in everyday activities.
Benzodiazepines are also slowly metabolized within the body and tend to build up within the body when they are taken for long periods of time. This can, in turn, result in oversedation. Some common side effects of the tranquilizers include slurred speech, clumsiness, drowsiness, confusion and disorientation, impaired thinking as well as judgment, nausea, stomach upset, depression and blurred vision.
