What medicine is good for anxiety disorder?

What medications are available for anxiety disorders?

Due to large individual differences, there is no absolute best, fastest or most effective medication. Except for commonly used over-the-counter drugs, the most appropriate medication should be fully combined with personal circumstances under the guidance of a doctor.

Patients can use the following drugs for treatment under the guidance of a doctor.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines have a strong anti-anxiety effect, have a rapid onset of action, can improve sleep, have minimal adverse reactions, and generally require a short treatment time. For more than 2 to 3 weeks, patients with mild symptoms can use it intermittently.

If used in large quantities for a long time, it is easy to develop drug dependence and withdrawal symptoms when the drug is suddenly withdrawn. In addition, benzodiazepines have muscle relaxing effects, which may cause elderly patients to fall and fracture easily.

Non-benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs

Non-benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs (such as buspirone

etc.) are suitable for In outpatient treatment, it will gradually become a substitute for benzodiazepines. This type of drug has no obvious side effects of sedation, drowsiness and weight gain, but its effect is weak and its onset of action is slow.

Antidepressant drugs

At present, antidepressant drugs are the main choice for clinical treatment of anxiety. Among them, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are used because of their safety and effectiveness. It has become the drug of choice for treating anxiety disorders.

In addition, serotonin norepinephrine

Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) and tricyclic drugs also have good efficacy in treating anxiety disorders, but tricyclic drugs Such drugs have limited clinical application due to their toxic and side effects on the heart.

The most frequently asked questions by patients

Ask

The best way to treat anxiety disorders

Answer

Since different patients have different symptoms and severity of illness, and the treatment methods adopted for different individuals are different, it is impossible to clearly say which method is best and best for everyone.

Generally speaking, patients with anxiety disorders are often accompanied by significant functional impairment and reduced quality of life. Clinically, they mainly use psychological treatment (including cognitive behavioral therapy

and supportive psychotherapy etc.) and drug treatment (such as benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, etc.) to relieve symptoms, or a combination of the two is more effective, but both require repeated trials by doctors. Find the most appropriate treatment.

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Reference materials

[1]

Li Lingjiang, Lu Lin. Psychiatry Eight-Year Course 3rd Edition [M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House. 2015.

[2]

Hao Wei, Yu Xin. Psychiatry 7th Edition [M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House. 2013.

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The above content was edited and reviewed by Chief Physician Wang Xiangqun. It is only for the popularization of medical knowledge and cannot replace professional diagnosis and treatment opinions. Please follow your doctor's advice for specific decisions

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