Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress, which in some situations can help and warn us to pay attention to danger. Anxiety disorders are slightly different from those normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness and involve unrestrained fear or anxiety. Anxiety disorder is the most common mental disorder. About 30% of adults suffer from its symptoms. Anxiety disorders symptoms can cause people to avoid stressful and hard situations that can trigger or worsen their symptoms. That can affect their daily life, productivity and the ability to function normally – an ability to study, effectively perform at work and personal relationships.

Medication for Anxiety Disorders

Effective treatment of anxiety disorders helps most people to live a normal life. Alprazolam is the anti-anxiety medication and is known as one of the most prescribed medications in the world. It is important to understand that anti-anxiety medications should only be taken as prescribed.

Types of anxiety disorders

There are several types of anxiety disorders, including general anxiety, social anxieties and phobias and anxiety or panic with depression.

  • General Anxiety

For patients with general anxiety, medications help to reduce some of the anxiety symptoms. Commonly prescribed drugs in this situation are BuSpar, trazodone, venlafaxine and some of the benzodiazepine class drugs, like diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), oxazepam (Serax) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium).

·         Social Anxieties and Phobias

For people with social anxieties and phobias, medications can help to reduce the tensions which appear if the person is entering the stressful and fearful situation. The medication will help to bring a racing heart and sweaty palms under control. The most commonly used medications are beta blockers. Benzodiazepine class drugs, such as Alprazolam (1.5 to 6 mg per day) and Clonazepam (1-4 mg per day) are also effective. Sometimes a combination of a beta blocker and low dosages of clonazepam or alprazolam could be the best solution. Doctors recommend to start medication only as needed, for example, if a person with for social fears is anxious only about specific events and their performance or the judgment of others, and if they experience primarily physical symptoms such as sweating or racing heart, then about one hour before the event, they can take medication. Benefits of these drugs should last about four hours.

·         Anxiety or Panic with Depression

For people suffering from a combination of depression and anxiety or panic, medications can help to reduce the symptoms of depression and at the time help to control their panic attacks. In this situation, tricyclic antidepressants with sedating effects can be prescribed, such as imipramine or one of the MAOI’s drugs. That is also possible to take a tricyclic antidepressant in combination with Alprazolam or Buspirone, which both are used to treat anxiety and depression.

If you are suffering from anxiety disorders, you should talk to your doctor to be aware of all possible risks before starting the medication. Usually, the best results achieved when using both: anti-anxiety medication in conjunction with therapy.