Medications constitute a very important part of treatments of anxiety disorders.
However, for most patients of post traumatic stress, generalized anxiety disorder or similar mental disorders, other streams of treatment like cognitive therapy and psychotherapy are mainly used, with medications resorted to only sparingly.
Anxiety medications have severe long term effects and hence the physicians prefer to use them only during acute distress phases of the patients as stop-gap treatments to effect immediate relief from distressing symptoms.
The importance of medications While it is very essential to look out for long term effects these anxiety medications have, their use is justified in patients undergoing severe phases of anxiety disorders and they are the only means of controlling the patients' symptoms quickly.
Acute anxiety immediately responds to drugs like Valium and Xanax.
For example, patients undergoing severe episodes of anxiety will get relief from the symptoms within maximum two hours.
These medications essentially control the acute episode symptoms and help the patient to resort to other streams of treatment to cope up with their anxiety disorder.
That is the reason they are invariably indispensable in lessening the symptoms enabling the patient to carry on his daily routine.
Long term effects The anxiety medications are essentially depressants capable of causing addiction.
That is the reason why the physicians discourage prolonged use of these anxiety medications.
Most physicians prescribe potent anxiety drugs like Ativan and Librium only for temporary use.
Anxiety medications also have other serious long term effects relating to loss of memory.
Even in the short duration, these anxiety medications display unpleasant side effects like dizziness, fatigue and drowsiness.
Other milder side reactions may be stomach upsets, sexual problems and headaches.
How to avoid side effects of Anxiety Medicines The right course of treatment for patients suffering from various anxiety disorders is a combination of short term medications to relieve the symptoms and other streams of treatment like psychotherapy and cognitive therapy.
Importance of learning to cope with other techniques which do not use drug therapy is emphasized to the patients.
These other techniques are given to the patients in therapy sessions.
The patients are taught the various techniques of medication, and many other self-help techniques like relaxation.
It is really tragic that people who have to suffer from various anxiety disorders go through a very disturbed and an extremely difficult life.
Anxiety medications definitely help in controlling their distressful symptoms but it is best not to rely on them totally for long durations.
These people who undergo traumatic experiences due to anxiety disorders must resort to other collateral forms of therapy like cognitive therapy and psychotherapy to stay away from the harmful effects of long term use of these anxiety medications.