You're Perpetually Nervous and on Edge In that case, bring that up with your clinician or find one who can explain what is happening to you. If talk therapy isn't enough to help control your anxiety, your clinician may recommend prescription medications to treat it.
If you have severe anxiety that's interfering with your ability to function, medication may be helpful—especially as a short-term treatment. However, many people use anti-anxiety medication when therapy, exercise, or other self-help strategies would work just as well or better, minus the drawbacks.
Signs that you could benefit from anxiety help include: You avoid places or situations as a way to manage your anxiety. You feel like your worrying is interfering with your work, relationships or other parts of your life. You have trouble concentrating, relaxing or sleeping.
If you experience anxiety
If you have a form of anxiety or phobia, an antidepressant could help you feel calmer and more able to deal with other problems. It could also help you feel more able to benefit from other anxiety treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
The even better news: Many people respond well to anxiety treatment without medication. They find that their condition can often be managed entirely, or at least in part, with lifestyle changes and holistic therapies.
First, you may want to start with a simple deep breathing exercise called the 5-5-5 method. To do this, you breathe in for 5 seconds, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and then breathe out for 5 seconds. You can continue this process until your thoughts slow down or you notice some relief.
So, when should I take an antidepressant? If your depression or anxiety is mild to moderate, and if time and a talking treatment have not helped, and especially if things are getting worse, then you should consider taking an antidepressant.
The main use for antidepressants is treating clinical depression in adults. They're also used for other mental health conditions and treatment of long-term pain. In most cases, adults with moderate to severe depression are given antidepressants as a first form of treatment.
These help treat symptoms like panic attacks, fear, or worrying. They're effective treatment options and quick to work. But they should only be used for a short period of time to lower the risk of side effects.
If you have anxiety, medication can help because the medications used for anxiety alter the chemicals in your body and brain, reducing symptoms, and often helping you calm down and focus on other things.
Side effects that you may experience with anxiety medication include: Fatigue, tiredness, or drowsiness. Restlessness or agitation. Insomnia or difficulty sleeping.
An anxiety attack may feel like a sudden feeling of fear without any threat. Panic attacks are a more intense feeling of dread, fear, or discomfort. People may feel a loss of control or that their life is in danger. Panic attacks can also feel like a sudden feeling of fear when no threat is present.
Potential side effects of anxiety medications include nausea, restlessness, nervousness, decreased libido, insomnia, drowsiness, weight fluctuations, dry mouth, headache, dizziness, blurred vision, confusion and even worsened anxiety. Side effects depend on the type of anxiety medication your doctor prescribes.
If the symptoms develop later or gradually, they may constitute a relapse of the depression. Ultimately, these withdrawal symptoms will improve with time, but they can be unpleasant for days and possibly even weeks. In time, the brain readjusts and people should experience a return to their normal state.
The people we spoke to initially experienced insomnia, feeling lethargic and sleepy, dizziness, headaches, vivid dreams, dry mouth or bad taste in the mouth, sickness or nausea, hallucinations, loss of appetite, sweating, memory problems.
In other words, antidepressants improved symptoms in about an extra 20 out of 100 people. Antidepressants can also relieve long-term symptoms of chronic depressive disorder (dysthymia) and chronic depression, and help make them go away completely. An antidepressant can already have an effect within one or two weeks.
Take your time.
You may be tempted to stop taking antidepressants as soon as your symptoms ease, but depression can return if you quit too soon. Clinicians generally recommend staying on the medication for six to nine months before considering going off it.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
These antidepressants generally cause fewer bothersome side effects and are less likely to cause problems at higher therapeutic doses than other types of antidepressants.
The four levels of anxiety are mild anxiety, moderate anxiety, severe anxiety, and panic level anxiety, each of which is classified by the level of distress and impairment they cause.
Conclusions. CBT is an effective, gold-standard treatment for anxiety and stress-related disorders. CBT uses specific techniques to target unhelpful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors shown to generate and maintain anxiety.