How Anxiety Medications Can Turn Your Life Around

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines, often referred to simply as "benzos" by those who are familiar with them, constitute a large class of medications. Ativan, Valium, Klonopin, Librium, and Xanax are all benzos. Soon after their introduction, it became obvious that benzodiazepines offer a vast improvement over barbituates, which were a first-line treatment before benzos. 

While generally regarded as safe, medications from the benzodiazepine class aren't without risks. They impair judgement to some extent, can cause amnesia and aggression, can lead to drowsiness, and can in some cases cause addiction too. Furthermore, with time you may need a higher dose to achieve the same effect.

Research suggests that benzodiazepines are an effective and fast symptom-reducing anti-anxiety treatment in 70 to 80 percent of all cases. They can be taken as a one-off in cases of extreme anxiety, for a short period of time, and even for years. However, because benzos lead to addiction and tolerance, they should only ever be taken under the watchful care of a psychiatrist.

SSRI Antidepressants

SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are antidepressants that have also been shown to be very effective in the fight against anxiety. Non-addictive, SSRIs don't impact memory and have far fewer side effects than benzos. Their biggest disadvantage is that SSRIs are not fast-acting, for which reason they are sometimes combined with benzos in cases of acute anxiety. It will take between a month and six weeks for SSRIs to start working properly, and you can't just stop them suddenly either — once on SSRIs, tapering them off requires medical supervision. 

Overall, psychiatrists consider SSRIs to be effective long-term anxiety medications with a tolerable level of side effects. As such, they are now considered to be the first line of treatment for anxiety disorders. There is a notable exception. Lucile is a trauma survivor who was diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and her experience explains why trauma victims with anxiety may not be suitable candidates for SSRIs: like a significant portion of trauma survivors (and some anxiety sufferers who do not have a traumatic past), Lucile becomes suicidal when she's on SSRIs. "I've been to some really bad mental health facilities," Lucile said, "but I've also been treated at the very reputable Macleans clinic. Macleans always discharges me without an SSRI. They know what these antidepressants can do to trauma victims."

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Other Anxiety Fighters

Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors work similarly to SSRIs, and can also be used for anxiety. Cymbalta is a popular example. Buspar is another anti-anxiety drug that doesn't cause dependence and isn't associated with as many side effects as benzos. It may not be as effective for people who have taken benzos in the past. 

In Conclusion...

Anti-anxiety medications may play a key role in anxiety sufferers for whom talk therapy alone and other relaxation techniques for anxiety have proven ineffective, and they can also be lifesavers with near immediate effects for people facing acute episodes of anxiety. They should not be dismissed as an option, and many people with anxiety find that the side effects are very tolerable.