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If you are suffering from generalised anxiety disorder and feel depressed all the time, then you should talk to your doctor about the possibility of taking anxiety medicine. There are many ways to treat and manage anxiety and the most popular ones are the use of anxiety medicine and the various therapies such as the Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT), the Exposure therapy, and the Psychoanalytic therapy. If you get a recommendation by a health professional, you should take part in such therapies since most of them are beneficial for the anxiety disorder sufferers. The main goal of such therapies is to replace your negative thoughts with realistic thoughts, lessen your worries and thus reduce your stress levels.

However, in some cases the effects can be relatively short-term and you might consider other options in order to manage your worries and fears. One such option is the anxiety medicine treatment. You should never take these medications on your own – always consult with a medical professional and once you both agreed on the use of medicaments, follow his instructions to the letter.

What kind of anxiety medications is available and how can they help you if you are a sufferer?

The medications can be divided into four major groups:

Tricyclic anti-depressants are mostly prescribed to people that suffer from panic disorder. You might be suffering from anxiety (panic) disorder if you experience frequent and intense panic attacks. These have symptoms, similar to a heart attack, and can be quite frightening. Once you have consulted with your physician and have been diagnosed with panic disorder, then you might talk to him about the possibility of managing your condition with tricyclic anti-depressants. Different types of this group of drugs are also used for treating depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, but even though they are some of the most often prescribed in some cases their side effects might outweigh their benefits.

Benzodiazepines (called “benzo” for short) is actually the most prescribed drugs to anxiety sufferers and are also given to people that suffer from seizures, insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, and other conditions. They in turn can be divided into short, medium and longer-acting and the latter are used for treating anxiety disorders. The effect of the drug is that they lower the GABA (Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid) levels and thus inhibit and thus reduces excitability.

Serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) is a class of medications, used for treating personality disorders, depressions, insomnia, as well as anxiety disorders since the 1980s. The different anxiety disorders that they are used to manage are the panic disorders, OCD, social anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others. They work by increasing the serotonin levels, which in turn heightens the sending of nerve impulses.

Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are mainly prescribed to patients that suffer from severe depression, mood disorders, and various other disorders like anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), OCD, and others. They work by increasing the norepinephrine and serotonin levels, which are two of the main neurotransmitters that influence the mood. The SNRIs are more widely used than the SSRIs, even though they have been introduced after them, and are believed to have stronger antidepressant effect.

When treating your anxiety you should always talk to a medical professional, you might want to try a few therapies first and learn a few ways to manage your anxiety levels on your own. However, if you determine that none of these measures is effective, then you should ask your doctor about the available medication and take them the prescribed way. As with almost all other medications, you must be aware that there are side effects that might harm your health – take that into consideration too.


The fear of an anxiety attack by itself can trigger an attack. This is true as reported by many anxiety disorder patients and after resolving the “meta” fear, most reported an immediate cessation of anxiety attacks.