Benzodiazepine abuse is more common than you may think. Left untreated, abusing these drugs can negatively impact your relationships, career, and your physical and emotional health. Benzodiazepines are a type of medication known as tranquilizers. Familiar names include Valium and Xanax.
Ativan (Lorazepam) Ativan is considered one of the best anti anxiety medication because it's the most potent of all benzodiazepines. As effective as it is for what it's prescribed for, it's also the most dangerous of all the benzo's.
Panic disorder
Panic attacks are intense, overwhelming and often uncontrollable feelings of anxiety. Physical symptoms can include trouble breathing, chest pain, dizziness and sweating. If someone has repeated panic attacks they may have a panic disorder.
Panic disorder involves repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks). You may have feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a rapid, fluttering or pounding heart (heart palpitations).
SSRIs are among the most frequently sold drugs in Australia. Sertraline (sold under the brand name Zoloft) and escitalopram (Cipralex and Lexapro) are both among Australia's 10 most commonly prescribed medications.
SSRI's are anti-depressants and are currently the most popular anti-depression / anti-anxiety drugs as they have fewer side effects than MAOI's. SSRI's include drugs such as Prozac, Luvox and Aropax. SSRI's must be taken on a daily basis for at least a few weeks before they are effective.
Alprazolam – indications for use
The approved indications for alprazolam, as listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, are: anxiety – short-term symptomatic treatment of anxiety, including treatment of anxious patients with some symptoms of depression.
From 1 February 2014 alprazolam will become a Schedule 8 (S8) medicine in all Australian States and Territories. This step has been taken due to the growing level of misuse of alprazolam and concerns for the safety and wellbeing of those who take it.
Common benzos include Xanax (alprazolam), Valium (diazepam), and Klonopin (clonazepam ), to name a few.
For this reason, Xanax is often taken to treat sudden onset symptoms or short-term anxiety. Other commonly prescribed drugs of this class include diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), clonazepam (Klonopin), temazepam (Restoril), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), and midazolam (Versed).
FDA-approved medications to treat anxiety include SSRIs, SNRIs, buspirone, benzodiazepines, and hydroxyzine. Your doctor may prescribe another medication off-label if they think it is the best option to treat your condition.
The two classes of antidepressants most commonly used to treat anxiety disorders are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
SSRIs and SNRIs are often the first-line treatment for anxiety. Common SSRI brands are Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Paxil, and Zoloft.
While there is no one best anxiety medication for weight loss, there are a few antidepressants that are not associated with weight gain. These include: Bupropion (Wellbutrin; see Important Safety Information) Fluoxetine (Prozac; see Important Safety Information)
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
This class includes sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine, fluoxetine and fluvoxamine. SSRIs are: the most commonly prescribed antidepressants in Australia.
Buspirone. This anti-anxiety medication may treat short- or long-term anxiety symptoms. Buspirone (BuSpar) works much more slowly than benzodiazepines and may not treat all types of anxiety disorder, but it causes fewer side effects and has a lower risk of dependency.
Withdrawal is less common with medications that take longer for the body to clear, such as fluoxetine (Prozac) or vortioxetine (Trintellix). However, longer-acting antidepressants can still sometimes cause discontinuation symptoms.
Many people can limit or overcome their anxiety symptoms without medication. If you're experiencing stress, worry, fear, anxiety, racing thoughts, or difficulty sleeping, it can be difficult to cope. A few common ways of handling anxiety without medication are exercise, mindfulness, deep breathing, and therapy.
Do you often find yourself worrying about everyday issues for no obvious reason? Are you always waiting for disaster to strike or excessively worried about things such as health, money, family, work, or school? If so, you may have a type of anxiety disorder called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
The two main treatments for anxiety disorders are psychotherapy and medications. You may benefit most from a combination of the two. It may take some trial and error to discover which treatments work best for you.
No, overthinking isn't a recognized mental health condition, but it can be a symptom of depression or anxiety. Overthinking is commonly associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Duke. GAD is characterized by the tendency to worry excessively about several things.
A trial that directly compared Valium with Xanax for the treatment of anxiety reported Valium to be slightly more beneficial than Xanax at relieving anxiety, particularly if the anxiety was also accompanied by depression, but the differences were unlikely to be clinically meaningful.
Alprazolam (Oral Route)