Stop Fighting Anxiety With Medication

What do I mean by this title? Do I mean that you should use medication and stop fighting anxiety or that you should stop using medication as a treatment of anxiety? Well, just like with anxiety, the answer isn’t simple and it isn’t black or white. Plenty has been written elsewhere about the different kinds of medication available for help in coping with panic and anxiety and if you’re reading this, then I’m sure you’ve done your research, so I’m not going to go into that here. What I want to talk about are some of the possible consequences of relying solely on medication as a response to any anxiety disorder.

The first thing to make clear is that medication does not provide a cure for either anxiety or panic attacks. What it does is provide relief of symptoms…..that’s all and once you stop the medication, the symptoms will return.
Here are some of the things to bear in mind when considering medication for anxiety and panic attacks are:

What are the possible side effects?

Addictive/habit forming
Memory loss
Impaired concentration with consequent risk of accident
Drowsiness or lethargy
Clumsiness or impaired motor control
Slow or slurred speech
Low mood or depression
Impaired thinking or judgement
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Dry mouth and/or blurred vision
Emotional blunting

Another aspect to consider when when discussing treatment of anxiety with your doctor are paradoxical effects. This is when the medication can cause changes in mood and affect that actually make the condition worse. The most usual paradoxical effects to look for are:

Increased anxiety
Irritability and short temper
Physical restlessness and psychological agitation
Vivid and unpleasant dreams

Less common but more serious effects can include:

Impulsive/dangerous behaviour
Aggressive/violent behaviour
Mania

I must emphasize that these reactions are possible but very rare, with the young and elderly age groups being the most at risk. Most of these possible effects are associated with benzodiazepine use. These include such names as, Valium, Ativan, Mogadon, Xanax and so on. The prescribing of anti-depressants in the treatment of anxiety generally have fewer psychological side effects and and are considered safer, though more subtly effective. They are also not associated with the risk of dependence, unlike the benodiazepines (more commonly known as tranquillizers).

What are the risks of dependence to tranquillizers?

If you misuse tranquillizers you will become dependant

Dependence on a substance can come in two forms, physical and psychological.

Physical dependence occurs when the body develops a tolerance to a substance and responds negatively to it’s withdrawal. This is caused when the body adapts to a substance and changes take place in the central nervous system and brain. Another aspect of this tolerance to a drug is that stronger and stronger doses are required to achieve the same result.

A simple way of understanding psychological dependence to a substance is that the person believes they need it in order to cope, that they would “fall over” mentally, without it. In other words, a crutch.

Unfortunately tranquillizers get you both ways. Depending on which form of benzodiazepine you are taking, physical dependence can begin in as short a time as 2 weeks, depending on dose, frequency of use and physiology. The longer the medication is used for, the harder it is to withdraw from. It is not uncommon for people to gradually increase their dose (against medical advice) because as they become more tolerant of the drug, so they need a higher dose to get the same effect. As physical dependency increases, so the person will start to experience withdrawal symptoms as the drug is broken down in the body.

Symptoms of tranquillizer withdrawal include:

agitation/irritability
insomnia
sweating/trembling
sensitivity to light/noise
poor concentration
preoccupation with symptoms
headache
palpitations

And there you have it, all symptoms associated with anxiety and impending panic attack caused by withdrawal from your medication. So the dependency cycle begins. As these withdrawal symptoms begin, the only way to stop them getting worse is to take more medication and that feeling of being out of control of your life gets deeper and you will feel more and more helpless. This is where psychological dependency begins and it is awful. As this is such an important part of anxiety management I am going to talk about it in a separate article, which I will be writing soon.

If you believe you have developed a physical dependency to tranquillizers and wish to come off them, you must seek medical advice and supervision. I cannot say this strongly enough, never try to detox on your own. It is very painful and dangerous and in extreme cases can lead to seizures/fitting or even death. Don’t do it!

I have tried to give a brief overview of this aspect of anxiety and medication. It is meant only as an information resource. If you are thinking of using medication for symptomatic relief of anxiety and/or panic attacks you should always discus this with your doctor and not take advice from friends or attempt to self medicate. I’m not sorry if this sounds preachy, I’ve spent 20 years helping people withdraw from drugs and it is never easy and never something to be attempted alone.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope you have found something of use to you here. If you would like to know more about fighting anxiety or about me, then please check out my website at http://fightinganxietynow.com or I can be reached on simon@fightinganxietynow.com

Thanks again

Simon Fox