Medication for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Your Options
People who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder tend to be unreasonably agitated and worrisome and can't seem to shake it no matter how hard they try. This disorder can range from being mild and vague to completely unsettling and so intense that it can even be immobilizing and totally dissuade and alter one's way of life.
Generalized anxiety disorder is most commonly associated with symptoms such as restlessness, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, irritability, impatience, muscle tension, trouble falling or staying asleep, shortness of breath, stomachache, diarrhea, and headache.
If you have generalized anxiety disorder, you may experience times where you feel as though your worries and troubles are completely consuming you and you may feel on edge about all aspects of your life.
Medication for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
There are a few different treatments available that have proven to be effective for the disorder, but medication for generalized anxiety disorder is one of the most often recommended of all. Several different types of medication for generalized anxiety disorder are used for relief, including anti-anxiety medications.
These are sedatives that have the advantage of being able to ease anxiety within as little as a half an hour, but they can be habit-forming if you take them for more than a few weeks. This is why anti-anxiety medications for generalized anxiety disorder are typically only prescribed for a few weeks, to help sufferers get through a particularly rough period.
Antidepressants are also often recommended as medications for generalized anxiety disorder, and these work by influencing the activity of certain neurotransmitters that are thought to play a major role in all anxiety disorders. A few of the most effective antidepressants are Paxil, Lexapro, Tofranil, and Cymbalta.
Anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants are both effective medications for generalized anxiety disorder and will help give your body time to heal while you try to deal with the root cause of your anxiety disorder and find an effective long-term solution. This means working with a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist in order to determine what your anxiety is being caused from and deal with the actual cause, so that you can be relieved of your anxiety and not have to depend on medication.
As with any pharmaceutical medicine or medication there are certain side effects that you may experience as a result of taking these medications for generalized anxiety disorder, including headaches, nausea, nervousness, insomnia, and lightheadedness.
