Types of Anti Anxiety Drugs
Anti-anxiety drugs are known to relieve most of the symptoms of anxiety. They do not cure the underlying causes of the anxiety. Anti-anxiety drugs also come with a whole hodge-podge of side effects and concerns, including the very real risk of addiction.
You need to weigh all of the different aspects of these medications before you begin taking any one of them.
Make sure you have researched all of the other possible therapies and lifestyle changes that you can make before you start taking medication.
There is an entire arsenal of anti-anxiety drugs that can be used. They include benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhbitors, and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. These medications can all be extremely effective, but none of them are a cure. They only offer temporary relief.
Benzodiazepines induce sleep, relieve anxiety, and relax muscles. Because of these properties they are effective in the treatment of anxiety symptoms like insomnia, muscle spasms, and agitation. Some are used to calm patients before surgery. Some studies have found that they work by enhancing the neurotransmitter GABA. These medications are safe and effective for a short term only. They will cause addiction and patients will need increasing doses to realize the same relief from their symptoms. The most common drugs in this group are: Ativan, Valium, Xanax , Klonopin, and Restoril.
The tricyclic antidepressants are generally only used to treat anxiety that has not responded to other treatments. They deal with the serotonin and norepinephrine levels to improve the anxiety symptoms. These medications are not known to be addictive, but do cause low blood pressure, urinary retention, and constipation. All of which can lead to other health problems. Common drugs prescribed from this group are: Adapin, Elavil, Sinequan, and Tofranil.
Another class of anti-anxiety drugs is the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They usually only effect one neurotransmitter…serotonin. If your body is absorbing too little serotonin, you will have trouble calming after a anxious moment and dealing with stress. This is thought to alter anxiety levels to the point of a patient needing medication. An SSRI will block the reabsorption of excess serotonin. Since is is more readily available to its receptors, you are able to calm down and function better. The most common side effects from an SSRI are insomnia, sleepiness, and weight gain. These drugs are also addictive and you can suffer from withdrawal symptoms is they stopped suddenly. The common drugs in this group are: Celexa, Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, and Paxil.
The final group of anti-anxiety drugs is the serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. This group of drugs inhibits the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine from being reabsorbed. They can cause a chronic headache, nausea, insomnia, and high blood pressure. The most common SRNIs are Cymbalta, Effexor, Desyrel, and Remeron.
On occasion, if a patient does not respond to other anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotics may be prescribed. They are especially good for patients that worry constantly without reason. They cause muscle disorders and weight gain. Buspar has been found to be effective in mild to moderate anxiety, is not addictive, and has none of the weight gain and muscle side effects. On the down side it takes a large dose of the drug to work and it does not work on severe anxiety or panic.
Many of the anti-anxiety drugs have a plethora of side effects that can be pretty severe. You must weigh all of these factors and make lifestyle changes before you start taking any of these medications. None of them cure the underlying anxiety. That must be addressed before you will ever be able to stop taking these medications.
