Best Anxiety Medication

Anxiety is one of the normal parts of our lives. Having a feeling of butterflies fluttering in your stomach just before an important exam, shaking your legs while sitting, prior to an important interview, and the like, are also signs of anxiety. They all occur from time to time. However, if your anxiety levels are so charged up that they start interfering with your day-to-day functioning, then you may suspect yourself being affected with what is known as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This condition is not age-specific, and may affect children, young adults, and the elderly.

Anxiety Causes and Symptoms

Regarding the causes, as it is with other types of mental health disorders, even this condition is idiopathic. Doctors have assumed that changes in the behavior of neurotransmitters might have something to do with the development of anxiety.

Anxiety symptoms are many and easily noticeable. The common ones may include:

• The person may have a constant worry about minute or major things.
• Concentration is affected, and presence of mind is impaired.
• Being restless at all times.
• Physiological symptoms include fatigue, muscle aches, muscle twitches, and insomnia. These may be accompanied by rapid heartbeat, difficulty in breathing, perspiration, nausea and diarrhea.

Treatment

It is important to know medicines cannot cure anxiety, and is not a long-term solution. It is to be known that to get the best anxiety medication, the benefits of the drug must be weighed against its drawbacks, and it also depends upon your condition.

• Antidepressants - A common class of medication that is used for treating many kinds of anxiety disorders is of antidepressants or also known as depression medications. As it has been mentioned, doctors assume that neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) might have an important role to play in causing anxiety symptoms. So what does this medication do is that it affects the activity of these very chemicals thus, improving the symptoms. The standard anxiety medication list as prescribed by the doctors include:
  • Fluoxetine (Prozac)
  • Paroxetine (Paxil)
  • Escitalopram (Lexapro)
  • Sertaline (Zoloft)
  • Venlafaxine (Effexor)
  • Imipramine (Tofranil)
• Benzodiazepines - These are sedatives that help in proving short-term relieve to the symptoms. It is important to know that, these drugs are only used for acute cases of anxiety. Common names under this group are:
  • Clonazepam (Klonopin)
  • Lorazepam (Ativan)
  • Diazepam (Valium)
  • Chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
  • Alprazolam (Xanax)
• Azapirones - Under this class, there is only one drug available, and that is, Buspirone (BuSpar). The effect of this drug may take several weeks to come up. Its use is basically for an ongoing process of treatment.

Speaking of medicines for social anxiety, the first line of treatment include the use of SSRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors). These are labeled as the safest and most effective for dealing with the symptoms of social anxiety disorder. The best ones under this group include:

• Paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil CR)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)
• Fluvoxamine (Luvox, Luvox CR)
• Fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, others)

Other than these, other medication options may also be provided. They may include antidepressants, and beta-blockers (these work to block the effect of adrenaline).

Even some of the best of anxiety drugs raises concerns about weight gain in some people. So for them, there are drugs, which not only aid in the treatment of the disorder, but also help in weight loss. The popular ones include Bupropion, Sertraline, Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Venlafaxine, and Alprazolam.