Information On The Drugs Used To Treat Anxiety

If you experience some form of social anxiety or are even treating severe anxiety, you may be wondering what type of medications you may be taking. Anxiety and other psychological disorders can be confusing and often times they leave the victim feeling helpless. You find yourself simply taking the drugs used to treat anxiety that your doctor prescribed without even understanding what it does or why you are taking it. Here is some information on the drugs used to treat anxiety. Compare these drugs with what your doctor is giving them to you for to see if you feel comfortable with the medication.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs for short, are very common in the treatment of psychological disorders. They are used to relieve anxiety in many cases. These SSRIs are usually the first medication that your doctor will prescribe as a drug to treat anxiety. However, SSRIs are usually used for generalized social anxiety disorder. They are not as effective on social anxiety disorder that is set off by a trigger.

Benzodiazepines

You may have heard of this drug used to treat anxiety as it is a very well known type of medication. These pills are used frequently to relieve anxiety such as social anxiety pought on by environmental triggers because they are very fast acting. However, there is a downside to this medication. This particular group of drugs can be habit forming. Because of this, they are usually not prescribed to those who already have substance abuse issues or who have experienced substance abuse problems in the past.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or MAOIs for short, are another type of drug used to treat anxiety that you may have heart of. These pills are used to minimize depression as well as anxiety. The reason you may have heart of MAOIs is because many commercials will specifically say “do not use if you are on MAOIs or other inhibitors,” as these pills can have potentially serious side effects when taken with certain foods like red wine or some cheeses.

Beta Blockers

Another common drug used to treat anxiety disorders is beta blockers. These work to relieve anxiety. However, unlike the other drugs used to treat anxiety, this drug works to reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety like rapid heart rate and tremors.

So before you talk to your doctor about your social anxiety disorder, be sure that you understand the drug options he or she will give you to treat your disorder.