All About Anxiety Drugs

Anxiety drugs are used to eliminate the main symptoms of anxiety disorders, allowing the patient to cope with daily tasks as normally as possible. Medication does not solve the causes of the problem, they just represent a means for managing the condition. They should always be used in parallel with cognitive-behavioral therapy which is the one to lead to health improvement and full recovery. The main classes of anti anxiety drugs include benzodiazepines, azapirones and antidepressants.

BENZODIAZEPINES are also known as tranquilizers. They slow down the response of the central nervous system, and they thus reduce the intensity of the anxiety symptoms fast. Drugs like Xanax or Klonopin are prescribed to reduce phobic behavior and panic attacks, as well as to induce sleep in patients with insomnia. Although they are pretty safe, tranquilizers do have side effects such as confusion and memory problems. Clinicians are also concerned with the fact that for the long term use, patients develop tolerance to the drug. One half of patients also experience withdrawal symptoms when the medication is discontinued.

ANTIDEPRESSANTS represent the conventional type of anti anxiety drugs. They include categories like tricyclic antidepressants or TCA, MAOI medication and SSRI drugs. TCA drugs usually treat panic disorders effectively. They are administered once a day, and the dosage is increased progressively according to the clinician's recommendation. The side effects diminish if the drugs are taken before going to bed. TCA medication takes longer to show effects, which makes it inferior to benzodiazepines in terms of speed of action.

MAOI medication is widely used in the treatment of social phobia and panic disorders. These drugs have serious side effects, and they should never be taken lightly. There will be diet restrictions for people using MAOIs as well as some lifestyle changes at the doctor's recommendation.

SSRI antidepressants include anxiety drugs like Prozac, Zoloft or Paxil. Their side effects are less severe than those of TCA and MAOI drugs. SSRI are also more popular because they don't have as high a sedation rate as TCAs and they cause less weight gain.

With AZAPIRONES, there is just one medication available buspirone or BuSpar. As compared to other anxiety drugs, buspirnone seems highly efficient for generalized anxiety disorders. This medication acts more slowly in comparison with tranquilizers. Another major plus of buspirone is that it does not cause sedation, which makes it ideal for people who need to drive or who work with heavy machinery. Buspirone is also a good choice for people with a history of alcohol or substance abuse, who can't use benzodiazepines.

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Dealing With Panic Attacks Without Drugs - How to Deal With Panic Attacks Naturally

Dealing with panic attacks without drugs is the preferred approach to stopping panic attacks. It's always better to do things naturally rather than using drugs wherever possible isn't it? And these kind of attacks are no exception...

When dealing with panic attacks without medication, the first thing is to understand what they are all about, so that you get to know that they are harmless. Even this knowledge can help you to deal with them much more easily.

There is no doubt that an attack is hugely frightening and worrying. And to those who don't know the background to them they can seem as though you are about to have a heart attack or even worse.

One of the reasons for this is that they come on for no apparent reason, so that you can't link the symptoms to anything you've done or encountered. As far as you're concerned, the symptoms came in a rush 'out of the blue.'

But if you really know what causes them and why, then you're half way to beating them...

You've probably heard of the body's 'fight or flight' response? All this is, is nature's built-in mechanism to protect you in any dangerous situation. When your body 'senses' danger of any kind, it sets itself up (meaning you) to give you the best chance of survival.

Unfortunately, it can 'sense' what it perceives as danger when your anxiety levels rise high enough. It's your body going into fight or flight mode that actually triggers the chemical changes in your body that results in the symptoms we call an anxiety or panic attack.

So you can perhaps appreciate now that an actual panic attack cannot harm you. It's only your body mistaking your high anxiety and stress as a danger signal and so it does what it is programmed to do, and fires off chemical changes all around your body; thus a panic attack.

And now that you know you aren't in any danger, dealing with panic attacks without drugs becomes much simpler...

At the first signs of an attack, you need to remind yourself that you understand what this is all about and that you aren't in any danger. And remember too that it won't last forever and will be over shortly.

Now you are in a better position to try to calm yourself down and relax. Start to breathe more slowly and regularly. Breathing into and out of a paper bag can help to regularize your breathing. Don't think about the symptoms anymore, just get your head up and concentrate on what is going on around you.

Don't be embarrassed to telephone a family member or friend to let them know you're having an attack. By openly telephoning one of them and discussing the attack, you're actually re-positioning yourself into a more positive frame of mind, which in itself will help you in dealing with the attack.

The bottom line is that when dealing with panic attacks without drugs, a positive attitude, that recognises what an attack is and so why it cannot harm you, is vital. The rest is all about techniques (like above) to help shorten it and reduce the severity of its symptoms.

But, of course, dealing with panic attacks without medication is one thing, preventing them from happening in the first place is another, more important, issue. And this can be done naturally too...

So to get the facts on dealing with panic attacks naturally as well as how to prevent them occurring in the first place, you might want to visit: http://www.thepanicattacksite.info/.

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