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Anti Anxiety Medications
Anti Anxiety Medications
There are many people who suffer from anxiety disorders and there are a number of ways to cope with them. There are methods of self help, there are professionals that offer therapy and there are also different anti anxiety medications that a person can try. The medication should be the last resort to helping depending on the individual but there are different ones to choose from that are prescribed based on the problem and there are also different side effects that one should know about first.
There are medications known as SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, minor tranquilizers, and neuroleptic groups that can be used to treat various types of anxiety disorders. The SSRIs, which include Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft, are used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder while Paxil is also used to treat social phobia and panic disorders along with other types of anxiety disorders. Zoloft can be used to treat panic disorders and post traumatic stress disorder. The list goes on from there. Doctors take a number of things into consideration before prescribing these medications including the type of medical conditions that person has aside from the anxiety disorder, other medications they are on, past medical history of the patient and their family, and so on.
As with most medications, there are side effects to anti anxiety drugs. Some may have a hypnotic effect of a sedative effect because they influence the central nervous system. There are other side effects such as nausea, headaches, weight gain, memory loss, irritability and so on, but these depend on the individual and the interaction with other medications and on how long they are taking the anti anxiety medication. It is always advised that individuals be wary of their use of these medications because some cause dependence on the drugs and the dosage has to steady grow due to the body getting used to the drug and becoming somewhat immune to its effects.
Signs of Anxiety
Signs of Anxiety
There are many people with various forms of an anxiety disorder but upon looking at these different types there are quite a lot of symptoms that are similar with each. The number and severity of them are different with everyone and there also might be different things that trigger the symptoms but knowing what to look for is important in getting it treated whether through self help or through professional help.
There are two main forms of symptoms for an anxiety disorder – the emotional symptoms and the physical symptoms. The emotional symptoms range greatly with each individual depending on the disorder but they include irritability, restlessness, feeling jumpy or tense, having trouble concentrating, expecting the worst, watching for signs that something might be wrong, feelings or dread, and feeling like the mind has gone blank or losing the moment of thought process. These symptoms are usually secondary to irrational or excessive worry and fear.
While it might seem that an anxiety disorder is mostly about the feelings, there are many physical symptoms that accompany these disorders as well. This is because the body responds to fear and it produces a variety of responses which may differ according to the individual. The most common symptoms include a pounding heart, tremors, muscle tension, sweating, headaches, insomnia, fatigue, frequency in urination or diarrhea, upset stomach, dizziness, and a shortness of breath.
The physical symptoms can accompany a number of medical conditions and it usually takes a few trips to the doctor or hospital to have it diagnosed if it is indeed an anxiety disorder that the person is suffering from. It is important that the individual is correctly diagnosed so that they can start the appropriate treatment. These treatments vary according to the severity of the condition and they may take some time to work, but it is important to have it started as soon as possible.
