Tag: Anxiety Medications

Depression Anxiety Treatment Options

Most doctors will prescribe antidepressant medications to help treat depression and anxiety. They are not a cure though. These medications can treat some of the symptoms of depression and anxiety; however they have no effect on the underlying stressors contributing to your depression and anxiety. Therapy is necessary when lifestyle changes are in order.

There is research that proves that therapy can be just as effective at treating anxiety and depression as some medications. In fact, therapy can often help where medication cannot. Antidepressants only work as long as you are taking them. Once you have weaned yourself off of them, if no changes have been made to your lifestyle, then the stressors and other contributors remain.

This can actually cause a relapse. Therapy offers coping mechanisms, emotional insights, and the skills required to change your lifestyle and get rid of the contributing stressors. Sometimes medication is necessary in severe cases of depression and anxiety. This will help boost your mood so you can gain the energy to seek out and focus on effective therapy.

Therapy and medications are not the only forms of treatment available. Other effective routes include support groups, meditation, exercise, stress management, techniques for relaxation, and taking steps towards self-help. These types of treatment involve more effort than others, but their advantages usually outweigh any of the negatives. They can boost mood and energy levels just as effectively as medications in milder cases of depression and anxiety.

Recovery from depression and anxiety starts with making positive choices in your daily lives. Eating healthy and exercising can have a huge effect. Research indicates that exercise helps people feel more in control, increases self-esteem, offers a distraction, improves overall health, helps cope with stress, and decreases the chance of sleeplessness. It is hard to get motivated to start exercising when you are depressed or anxious. However that is exactly what you need to do. Exercise can offer a more immediate relief to how you feel than any antidepressant medication.

Depression often makes you feel like you have no energy to even get out of bed, let alone do exercise. By taking easy steps it is possible to add activity to your daily routine. Remember to keep it simple. Set your first goal of the day to get out of bed, get outside, and walk around the block. You would be surprised what a little sunshine can do for your mood. Then add a little more each day. Also, take it easy. Your body may not be used to physical activity and the last thing you want to do is overexert yourself and cause injury.

Feel good about what you have accomplished, no matter how little. The best way to add some activity is by doing what you enjoy. If you like to do yoga, then do yoga. Do not force yourself to go to the gym if that is not enjoyable. This would defeat the whole purpose of exercising to feel better. Sometimes, exercising with a friend makes it easier. Just make sure it is someone who is supportive and encouraging, and someone whom you can talk to.

The best treatment is found by working in conjunction with your doctor. S/he will be able to help you monitor your depression and anxiety and make necessary recommendations. They can also help you to work out the positive lifestyle changes needed to regain control over these illnesses.

Understanding Anti Anxiety Medications

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Anti anxiety medications might offer particular quick solution to your anxiety problems. These types of drugs include traditional anti – anxiety drugs ( benzodiazepines ), since well as newer options like antidepressants and beta – blockers. They can help reduce your anxiety while you undergo therapy to get to the cause of the problem. However, it’s important that you understand that these types of drugs don’t cure anxiety and they do come obscure side effects. Long – term reliance on these medications is not recommended.

Benzodiazepines can reduce anxiety quickly – – usually within an hour – – whence they are a good option if you are having a panic or anxiety attack. Alprazolam ( brand patronymic Xanax ), clonazepam ( brand name Klonopin ), diazepam ( brand name Valium ), and lorazepam ( brand name Ativan ) are in this category of anti anxiety drugs. Side effects of benzodiazepines include sleepiness, ” fogginess “, and / or a feeling of being uncoordinated, all of which can cause problems if you need to be functional and rollicking. Benzodiazepines take a long time to get metabolized. For this reason, they can build up in your body if used for a sustained time. It you suffer from this build up, the side effects worsen and you may develop slurred speech, confusion, depression, dizziness, inability to think clearly and reason, memory loss and nausea, the inability to ” feel ” anything. Benzodiazepines decrease your anxiety but they also absence feelings of pleasure and hurt.

The advantage of antidepressants versus traditional anti anxiety medications is that the risk for dependency and abuse is less. However, the downside of antidepressants is that they can take from 4 to 6 weeks to give you relief from your anxiety – – thereupon, they are of no use to you if you are having a panic attack, for example.

Most commonly prescribed antidepressants are SSRIs ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ) like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, and Celexa and they are not without side effects: nausea, nervoursness, headaches, sleepiness, sexual dysfunction, dizziness, nausea, and weight improvement.

Buspirone ( brand name BuSpar ) works solitary for generalized anxiety disorders ( GAD ). It relieves anxiety by increasing serotonin in the brain ( like SSRIs ) and decreasing dopamine. Buspirone takes about two weeks to kick into effect but it has its advantages: it’s not as sedating, doesn’t negatively affect memory and coordination and it’s minimally addictive. It and has less serious side effects: nasuea, headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, constipation, diarrhea and barrenness mouth.

Beta blockers are generally used to treat high blood pressure and passion problems. But they can work for anxiety too by blocking the effects of norepinephrine, a stress hormone involved in the fight – or – flight response. Beta blockers control the physical symptoms of anxiety like rapid heart rate, sweating, dizziness, and fear voice and hands but not the emotional lot of anxiety.

The above information about anti anxiety medications does not substitute medical advice given by a health professional.

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