Anxiety Disorders and Medication – The Controversy

Treating anxiety disorders with medication is a practice that has a long history. Yet, nowadays, this type of treatment has become very controversial because of the numerous side effects which anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs may have. Another reason which has limited the prescription of these drugs is the fact that tolerance to them can be easily developed.

In spite of this reluctance to antidepressants they can be useful if taken according to the doctor prescription. They are usually prescribed for most anxiety disorders.

Panic attacks, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders and generalized anxiety are the conditions which can be treated with anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs. However, it is necessary to note that they are not used for curing the condition, but rather to alleviate some of its symptoms.

 The main types of anti-anxiety medication

The best known type of anti-anxiety medication and probably the most used one is that with benzodiazepines. The benzodiazepines are commonly known under the name of tranquillizers because they prevent the nerve impulses to reach the central nervous system at the normal speed, which limit the anxiety symptoms.

The class of benzodiazepines contains more tranquillizing substances, such as alprazolam (which is to be found in Xanax), clonazepam (a substance which is found in pharmacies under the name of Klonopin), diazepam (which can be found in Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan is one of the drugs which contains this substance).

How anti-anxiety medication functions?

As previously mentioned, the anti-anxiety drugs slow down the nervous impulses. This leads to calming of the brain and consequently to the reduction of the anxiety symptoms. In addition to this, they may induce a pleasant feeling, which may make life more enjoyable to the anxiety sufferer.

Side Effects

There are some cases in which the positive results for which the anti-anxiety drugs are prescribed are overstepped by the numerous side effects. People taking this type of drugs may experience dizziness, drowsiness, memory problems and confusion. Also the patients may become addictive to those substances or may experience depressive states.

Benzodiazepines may even produce the side effects similar to those conditions for which they have been prescribed in the first place. This means that a patient suffering from anxiety can fall deeper in this condition because of the medication that was supposed to cure him. The elder people are more prone to this type of side effects.

Because of the side effects and of the high risk of interfering with other drugs, anti-anxiety and antidepressants should be taken only under the doctor’s supervision. There have been cases in which people who took this type of drugs have taken additional medication without the doctor’s advice and died because of the toxic combination. Also, elderly people and pregnant women are strongly advised not to take antidepressants.