Medicines commonly used to treat anxiety include antidepressants (for example selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, known as SSRIs) and benzodiazepines. Antidepressants correct an imbalance of chemicals in the brain that contributes to anxiety.
The most prominent of anti-anxiety drugs for the purpose of immediate relief are those known as benzodiazepines; among them are alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), diazepam (Valium), and lorazepam (Ativan).
SSRIs and SNRIs, the first-line medications for anxiety, are considered safer alternatives to non-controlled substances. Anxiety disorders are the most common group of psychiatric disorders in both adults and adolescents.
Anxiety happens when a part of the brain, the amygdala, senses trouble. When it senses threat, real or imagined, it surges the body with hormones (including cortisol, the stress hormone) and adrenaline to make the body strong, fast and powerful.
Common anxiety signs and symptoms include: Feeling nervous, restless or tense. Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom. Having an increased heart rate.
Anxiety refers to anticipation of a future concern and is more associated with muscle tension and avoidance behavior. Fear is an emotional response to an immediate threat and is more associated with a fight or flight reaction – either staying to fight or leaving to escape danger.
In most cases, the first medication you'll be offered will be a type of antidepressant called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). This type of medication works by increasing the level of a chemical called serotonin in your brain. Examples of SSRIs you may be prescribed include: sertraline.
The B-vitamins in bananas, like folate and vitamin B6, are key to the production of serotonin, which can help improve your mood and reduce anxiety. For an extra stress-busting boost, top bananas with almond, peanut, or cashew butter.
SSRIs. This group of drugs, including fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Cipralex) and sertraline (Zoloft), is usually the first choice for treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
Typical anxiety can last for days, or at least until you've dealt with whatever is making you anxious, but anxiety disorders can persist for months or years without relief. Often, the only way to control anxiety is through professional treatment.
Anxiety is not curable, but there are ways to keep it from being a big problem. Getting the right treatment for anxiety helps you lessen out-of-control worries so that you can get on with life.
Chronic stress and anxiety can lead to structural degeneration and decreased functionality of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. This can increase the risk for psychiatric disorders, including depression and dementia.
Symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders are thought to result in part from disruption in the balance of activity in the emotional centers of the brain rather than in the higher cognitive centers. The higher cognitive centers of the brain reside in the frontal lobe, the most phylogenetically recent brain region.
Vitamins B9 and B12 are both thought to treat symptoms of anxiety. Folic acid has many uses in the body, and B9 deficiency has been linked to higher levels of anxiety and depression.
