Anxiety attacks cause serious physical damages and hence a person may sometimes need to take medication to calm himself down, besides attending counseling sessions and doing breathing exercises. These medications must only be taken after proper consultation with a doctor and one should never self-medicate because instead of helping you, they can cause health issues and even death due to an overdose.
Anxiety is a form of psychological disorder and hence these medicines help you get control over your mental faculties but a wrong dosage can cause you to hallucinate or get even more depressed. There are different types of medication for anxiety and panic attacks and here are few facts one should know about them:
- The most common types of medications used for anxiety and panic attacks are antidepressants, anti-anxiety pills and beta blockers.
- These pills are used to treat anxiety caused due to posttraumatic stress, social phobia, panic or anxiety attacks or any general stress disorder.
- Some anti-anxiety pills like Buspirone take time, up to two weeks, take effect, whereas some like Clonazepam, Lorazepam, Alprazolam etc., take effect almost immediately.
- One can take a combination of these medicines as advised by the doctor but there are some pills which must be strictly taken without any combination or there can be serious side effects.
- The beta blockers are very helpful when one has social anxiety disorder which results in sweating, trembling, slurred speech etc., and these beta blockers like Propranolol which are usually used to treat heart disease can help immensely in this case too.
- There are some medicines which people may have to take throughout their lives to keep things in control. However, some medicines must not be taken for a very long time otherwise they can be harmful to the body.
- Any pills can cause side effects and so can these medications. The most common form of side effects one can face is weight gain or weight loss, upset stomach and indigestion, nightmares and trouble sleeping, skin problems, women face issues in their menstrual cycle, nausea, dizziness, headaches and disorientation, blurred vision, fatigue or tiredness, cold hands and so on.
- Some of these medicines can also lead to changes in one’s psychological state; people may become excited easily and sometimes can become too depressed.
- Medicines for anxiety and panic attacks thus have to be taken under strict supervision so that one does not become addicted to them and it does not cause any harm to the body.