Feel Better Fast
If you are suffering from stress and symptoms of anxiety, you might be wondering if a stint of medication might not help you feel better fast. The fact is that medication can relieve some of the symptoms of anxiety but it can’t cure the thing that made you feel that way in the first place. That means that medication may work as a stop gap measure to get you past the initial hump, but in the long-term, therapy will probably be necessary to help you get back some semblance of normalcy in your day to day life.
No Long-term Solution
Other than the fact that anxiety medications are not long-term solutions for your symptoms, there are other concerns, including the risk of addiction and side effects. Knowing which medication may be helpful requires a careful weighing of the pros and cons of each treatment. Before you consider medication, you may want to first consider other therapies and lifestyle changes that may help. At any rate, study up on the various medications, so you can at least make an informed decision before beginning treatment.
There is a vast array of medications to treat anxiety disorders. Some of these are the old standard anti-anxiety drugs like benzodiazepine, but there are also newer options like antidepressants and beta-blockers. While these medications can be really effective against anxiety symptoms, they cannot be classed as cures. They do give you some temporary relief but you still have to get to the root cause of your anxiety disorder. If you neglect this important step, and you were to stop taking your medication, your symptoms would return full force.
One aspect of your self-education course on anti-anxiety medication includes learning about the risks of these medicines. Some of the side effects are very unpleasant, and sometimes even dangerous. Quite a number of these medications are habit-forming and can cause a physical addiction, making it hard to wean yourself off of them. Someone who has had a prior experience with drug addiction or other addictive behaviors would be better off not taking these medications. Medications, no matter how effective they may be, are not the answer for every person.
A therapy that may be helpful in the long run against anxiety symptoms includes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is recognized as the most effective therapy for this type of disorder. The bottom line is that in order to lick the problem, you need to be prepared to make big changes in your life. This would include getting enough sleep, eating healthful foods, and including regular exercise in your schedule. These are all known lifestyle changes that can have a positive effect on anxiety levels. There are other effective treatments for anxiety, which include biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnosis, meditation, talk therapy, and hypnosis.
All of the above non-medicinal treatments for anxiety are wonderful because the changes they effect are long-term answers to your symptoms. On the other hand, if your symptoms are so severe that therapy can’t make a dent, try some medication as a short-term answer so you can address the underlying problems with more effectiveness. Once your anxiety calms down a bit with the help of medication, you should be able to work through your anxiety issues with a different method, and then cut down on your medication until you’re off of it, full stop.
