What in the world can sufferers of unrelenting panic attacks, generalized anxiety attacks, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder do to restore sanity to their lives! If you are one of the 40 million or so Americans who fit any one of those categories, stay with us to find some answers. Even in this very first paragraph we are offering you hope, information, and direction.

Let me warn you, these tongue-twisting names may floor you, but just remember, it’s what they do for you, not their difficulty in pronouncing that counts. Our purpose is not to impress you with our medical knowledge, but to help you make important decisions about your health aided by information from the ADAA. We begin with these cautionary reminders: anxiety medications do not cure, they reduce symptoms basically so that other therapies may be administered; they should be used only with your doctor’s permission and care; and it is not for you to abruptly decide to stop any of the medications for anxiety, you do that at the direction of your doctor.

We’ll begin our descriptions of the medications for anxiety by reminding you of beta blockers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety drugs. Then we’ll zoom in on the newest line of antidepressants which you already know: these three SSRIs are Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft. They are prescribed to treat generalized anxiety and social anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. How do they do it? They act by altering the serotonin level in the brain, which lowers the level of anxiety.

Tricyclics (TCA) are also antidepressants and these medications for anxiety are Sinequan (Doxeprin), Anafranil, and Vivactil, which, like the SSRIs, alter serotonin but also norepinepherine. Social anxiety is missing from the list of disorders treated by TCAs. Of all these classifications, SSRIs are the only ones federally approved; but generic equivalents are available for each of them.

Finally, the MAOI which are the first or the oldest of the antidepressants are Marplan, Nardil and Parnate, and are classified as inhibitors, because they work by blocking or inhibiting the influence of an important brain enzyme. The MAOI are generally prescribed by doctors in the treatment of panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety disorder.

Medications may be part of the therapy process either at the beginning or introduced later if other therapy is not doing the job. And it may be a good option for you, but it’s important to understand that medications are effective only if taken according to your doctor’s instructions. Please don’t neglect to make a list of questions for your doctor, including both long term and short term side effects.

As with all of us under medication of any sort, a common fear is one of being over-medicated to the extent of becoming addicted. Although this fear could certainly be realized due to careless oversight of what is happening with your anxiety medications, it doesn’t have to be. Both you and your doctor are responsible for seeing that side effects of the medications used are properly monitored and that the correct medications have been prescribed.

Hopefully this insight into medications for anxiety has been helpful and perhaps has given you a brighter perspective by knowing that anxiety disorders are definitely treatable by all the newest anxiety interventions now available to all who need them. May you be renewed in your quest for good health, physically and spiritually, and may you find it.

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