Anxiety Disorder Treatments

There are two treatment options available for sufferers of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the methods involve either medicine alone or a combination of medicine and therapy. The treatments used are applied relaxation therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Applied relaxation therapy is centered on your ability to imagine yourself in calm situation. Your therapist will work with you to help you relax in this method.

In cognitive-behavioral therapy, you will learn how to think positive thoughts and apply these thoughts to your everyday life. It will center on your ability to project good ideas into your life when you feel stressed or worried.

There are a variety of medicines that can be used to treat a Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Many patients may have some original hesitation about using medicine to treat their anxiety, but it is proven that after the correct combination of therapy and medicine are applied, symptoms decrease significantly.

Prozac and Zoloft are two popular medicines for sufferers of Generalized Anxiety Disorders. The clinical names are fluoxetine (Prozac) and sertraline (Zoloft.) These medications are knows as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs.) Sertraline in particular is used in children and adolescents for treatment.

People who have an additional issue, such as a panic disorder or depression are commonly prescribed a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRIs) like venlafaxine (Effexor.)

One of the most common types of medicine is benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax.) However, there are some drawbacks to both of these medicines. First, it is entirely possible for a patient’s body to become used to this medicine; therefore, a doctor may have to increase the strength of a prescription. Next, there is the possibility that this sort of medicine can give withdrawal symptoms when stopped and a person could feel anxious or nervous. There is also the possibility for addiction when this medicine is used and only the person that holds the prescription should take this drug.

In addition, some other drugs used to treat Generalized Anxiety Disorder fall into the category of anti-depressants like amitriptyline and nortiptyline (Pamelor). Buspirone is also a popular drug and is traditionally recommended for use if a patient’s anxiety is mild. This drug holds no addictive properties.

Some of the drugs related to SNRI’s and SSRI’s come with side effects related to sleeplessness and generally these side effects will disappear as the medicine works its way into the system of the patient. The medicines, of course, can all have different effects based upon the unique make up of each patient; therefore, it is important that you have an open conversation with your doctor about symptoms and the way you feel. The length of time for treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder will vary patient by patient.