Panic and Anxiety Attack Medication Is Not Enough
You are probably wishing that there were a nice, safe panic and anxiety attack medication so that you could just drop a pill one or three times a day and finally be free to carry on with your real life.
It is too bad that the promises of modern medicine have yet to materialize in this area.
There is no surefire panic attack drug that will solve the problem and set you free.
In fact, while prescription panic attack medication does exist, it is not specifically for anxiety panic disorder.
Two different groups of drugs are used.
Most commonly, the anti-depressant drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are used first for panic disorder.
Recent evidence though has pointed up side effects of long term use of SSRIs that most people find intolerable.
Now, this does not mean that everyone experiences all or even one of these effects but sexual dysfunctions, weight gain and severe sleep disturbances have been reported by 15 to 20% of the users.
And, of course they do not cure an anxiety panic disorder, just suppress the symptoms to various degrees.
Often, if SSRIs are working the second panic attack drug class used is one of the benzodiazepines.
These are what are usually called anti-anxiety drugs or tranquilizers and include aprolazam (Xanax) and similar drugs.
Again, these deal with symptoms and reduce anxiety levels - sometimes to the point where you get so limp and relaxed that you have a hard time actually functioning.
They are also linked to dependence - meaning you can get addicted to them.
Pretty clearly, these panic and anxiety attack medications are not complete solutions.
Yes, they can be used as a sort of stop-gap measure to gain you some breathing space to deal with the problem, but you can not rely on medication alone even if you were willing to put up with the side effects and toss down pills the rest of your life.
Most typically, a doctor will include psychotherapy as part of your treatment plan.
Not the old time 3 to 5 visits a week for 5 years analytic therapy, but what are called cognitive and behavioral methods.
There's very little credible evidence that any kind of verbal or "talk" therapy aimed at finding the root of a panic disorder will do anything except eat up your bank account.
However, techniques that involve desensitization, relaxation, meditative and cognitive and behavioral reshaping do work.
And you really don't need to pay a psychotherapist for months to learn these methods.
Ultimately it is up to you to actively practice and apply behavioral and cognitive techniques in your life.
If you do better with a therapist encouraging you (and you can afford it), that's great.
Go for it.
Thousands of people have done it, pretty much on their own with a lot less damage to the household accounts, so there is an alternative.
Rather than rely on some inadequate and ultimately futile panic and anxiety attack medication that can eventually cause you added problems, you do have the power to regain control over your own life through positive action.
It is too bad that the promises of modern medicine have yet to materialize in this area.
There is no surefire panic attack drug that will solve the problem and set you free.
In fact, while prescription panic attack medication does exist, it is not specifically for anxiety panic disorder.
Two different groups of drugs are used.
Most commonly, the anti-depressant drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are used first for panic disorder.
Recent evidence though has pointed up side effects of long term use of SSRIs that most people find intolerable.
Now, this does not mean that everyone experiences all or even one of these effects but sexual dysfunctions, weight gain and severe sleep disturbances have been reported by 15 to 20% of the users.
And, of course they do not cure an anxiety panic disorder, just suppress the symptoms to various degrees.
Often, if SSRIs are working the second panic attack drug class used is one of the benzodiazepines.
These are what are usually called anti-anxiety drugs or tranquilizers and include aprolazam (Xanax) and similar drugs.
Again, these deal with symptoms and reduce anxiety levels - sometimes to the point where you get so limp and relaxed that you have a hard time actually functioning.
They are also linked to dependence - meaning you can get addicted to them.
Pretty clearly, these panic and anxiety attack medications are not complete solutions.
Yes, they can be used as a sort of stop-gap measure to gain you some breathing space to deal with the problem, but you can not rely on medication alone even if you were willing to put up with the side effects and toss down pills the rest of your life.
Most typically, a doctor will include psychotherapy as part of your treatment plan.
Not the old time 3 to 5 visits a week for 5 years analytic therapy, but what are called cognitive and behavioral methods.
There's very little credible evidence that any kind of verbal or "talk" therapy aimed at finding the root of a panic disorder will do anything except eat up your bank account.
However, techniques that involve desensitization, relaxation, meditative and cognitive and behavioral reshaping do work.
And you really don't need to pay a psychotherapist for months to learn these methods.
Ultimately it is up to you to actively practice and apply behavioral and cognitive techniques in your life.
If you do better with a therapist encouraging you (and you can afford it), that's great.
Go for it.
Thousands of people have done it, pretty much on their own with a lot less damage to the household accounts, so there is an alternative.
Rather than rely on some inadequate and ultimately futile panic and anxiety attack medication that can eventually cause you added problems, you do have the power to regain control over your own life through positive action.
