Anxiety Drug & Medication Info
If you found this page hoping that some kind of pharmacological treatment might be available that would quickly dismiss your inner turmoil, we must urge you to reconsider your perspective.
As such, let’s begin this article by looking at the pros and cons of anxiety medications:
Potential disadvantages
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Potential advantages
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Too many people still think of pharmacotherapy as a quick fix for anxiety disorder… even though the majority of therapists clearly tell them otherwise. There are many cases where anxiety drugs can be used as part of a treatment, but they are never a therapy by itself.
Simply put, there are no magic drugs that will shut down your anxiety effortlessly. With that in mind, let’s review the main types of medications used in the pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders.
1– Antidepressants
Despite what the name suggests, not all anti-depressants were specifically conceived to treat depression. Many medications in this class were devised to influence your brain chemistry in a way that alleviates anxiety. Others were conceived to treat depression, and later, it was found they were also effective in treating anxiety, probably because the same neurotransmitters are involved in the development of both conditions.
The following drugs are normally prescribed as part of a pharmacological anxiety treatment. They are used to help manage the patient’s mood in order to facilitate the advancement of psychotherapy.
All of the following medications should be regarded as a means to and end, rather than an anxiety treatment in itself. All antidepressants have potentially negative side effects.
1.1 - Serotonin Selective Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Fluoxetine (Prozac), Sertraline (Zoloft), Paroxetine (Paxil), Citalopram (Celexa), Escitalopram (Lexapro), Fluvoxamine (Luvox).
Possible side effects include nausea and vomiting, decreased libido, sexual dysfunction, diarrhea, restlessness.
1.2 – Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) such as Venlafaxine (Effexor); Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq); Duloxetine (Cymbalta).
Possible side effects: possible anxiogenic effect (may actually increase anxiety in some patients), agitation, insomnia, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting.
1.3 – Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) such as Imipramine (Tofranil), Desipramine (Norpramin), Doxepin (Sinequan), Nortriptyline (Pamelor), Amitriptyline (Elavil), Clomipramine (Anafranil).
Possible side effects include dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, drowsiness, low blood pressure. Overdose can be fatal.
1.4 – Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) such as Tranylcypromine (Parnate), Phenelzine (Nardil), Isocarboxacid (Marplan).
Possible side effects include initial worsening of anxiety, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, edema, light-headedness and assorted neurological symptoms. Using these drugs may imply dietary restrictions and bears risk of toxicity. Overdose can be fatal.
1.5 - Atypical Antidepressants such as Bupropion (Wellbutrin) and Trazodone.
Possible side effects include drowsiness and weight gain. These drugs are normally reserved for treating milder forms of anxiety disorder.
2– Benzodiazepines
Include medications such as Alprazolam (Xanax), Clonazepam (Klonopin), Lorazepam (Ativan).
Compared to anti-depressants, Benzodiazepines or “benzos” have certain advantages as well as disadvantages. These psycho-active drugs can be highly effective as a quick and effective way to put a halt on anxiety. They are usually well tolerated by the patient’s body, and dose can be adjusted on a short timespan (unlike anti-depressants).
Benzodiazepines can be highly useful in treating specific forms of anxiety, but they have limited efficacy with other types. Also, these drugs are usually prescribed cautiously since their withdrawal reactions can be quite significant and bothersome.
Tolerance is also a common effect. This means that “benzos” can be quite effective on the short term but soon become ineffective, once the patient’s body has become accustomed to these chemicals.
Potential side effects include muscle relaxation, sedation, memory loss, interaction with alcohol.
Note: Given their contrasting nature and effects, anti-depressants and benzodiazepines are often prescribed together as part of a pharmacological anxiety treatment.
3 – Other Pharmacological Agents
Include medications such as Beta blockers and Anticonvulsants, and newer pharmacological remedies for anxiety.
These kinds of drugs are generally employed as adjunct treatment aimed at dismissing specific somatic symptoms of anxiety, as well as to decrease autonomic arousal and put a hold on panic attacks during the early stages of treatment.
The pharmaceuticals listed in this category are part of a newer generation of medications, whose effect is promising as a long-term complement to therapy. Research has suggested that they can actually be highly effective since they help readjust your brain chemistry in a way that will help overcome the imbalances that may be directly contributing to anxiety disorder.
Further reading on the benefits and dangers of anti-anxiety drugs
Over the years, many scientific studies have been developed to ascertain the effectiveness of pharmacological anxiety treatment contrasted with psychotherapy treatments. The results are quite clear, as demonstrated in the recent meta-study published by Gould et al. By cross-referencing data from other studies, the researchers concluded that
- Both modalities of treatment offer considerable effectiveness
- Effect size was slightly higher for psychotherapy but not statistically different in terms of anxiety severity (ES = 0.70 for CBT, 0.60 for pharmacotherapy)
- CBT was significantly more effective in reducing severity of comorbid depression
- Effectiveness of pharmacological treatment significantly drops after discontinuation
- Effectiveness of psychotherapy usually stays consistent after end of treatment
We have prepared other articles you may want to read, if you’re looking for details on the comorbidity of anxiety and depression or if you’d like to know more about common anxiety treatment options. There’s even a mini-plan to help you get started on your anxiety management program.
Source:
Gould, RA; Otto, MW, Pollack, MH; Yap, L. (2006) Cognitive behavioral and pharmacological treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary meta-analysis. Behavior Therapy Volume 28, Issue 2, 1997, Pages 285-305
