Best Anti-anxiety Medications for Depression Treatment
Anxiety disorders affect 18.1% of U.S. adults each year, while depression affects 6.7%. Anti-anxiety Medications can play a critical role in helping these people improve their mental health. Benzodiazepines, like Xanax, are the gold standard for treating anxiety disorders, whereas SSRI antidepressants, like Celexa, are the most effective in the fight against depression.
Anti-Anxiety Drugs That Really Work
Anxiety is a normal human emotion, and everyone will feel it at some point. Some people may find that their feelings naturally fade away, or that they are able to keep their feelings in check through the pursuit of hobbies. However, if you suffer from anxiety, your doctor may recommend anti-anxiety medication.
Different medication classes serve different goals in the treatment of anxiety. A few examples of these kinds of groups are:
- Benzodiazepines
- Anxiolytics
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Antidepressants
However, anxiety problems are often where benzodiazepines shine. Lists of individual Anti-anxiety Medications that fall under these headings follow below.
Best Benzodiazepine is Alprazolam (Xanax)
Because of its rapid onset of action and ability to alleviate the physical manifestations of anxiety, such as muscular tension, perspiration, and panic episodes, benzodiazepines are widely used to treat anxiety disorders. The average duration of Xanax’s symptom-relieving effects is 11 hours, with most users reporting relief within 1 to 2 hours.
As a result of its rapid onset of action, Xanax is not often prescribed for ongoing usage. However, because of their sedative effects and abuse potential, benzodiazepines like Xanax are only ever used as a short-term measure in the treatment of anxiety. Therefore, it is imperative that you adhere to your doctor’s prescribed course of action.
Anxiolytics don’t get better than buspirone
Buspirone is one of the very few Anti-anxiety Medications that can alleviate anxiety in the long term as well as the short. It lifts spirits by controlling the release of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Buspirone’s sole negative is that it may take many weeks before it begins to work.
Buspirone is usually taken twice or three times daily, although this can vary depending on your doctor’s instructions. Buspirone, in contrast to benzodiazepines, can be safely used for up to a year. This medicine can cause a host of unpleasant side effects, such as lightheadedness, nausea, and diarrhea.
The SSRI antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) is the most effective
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain that affects mood, sleep, and more, and SSRI antidepressants like Prozac operate by particularly raising serotonin. Prozac can be used effectively and safely over a prolonged period of time to lessen the physical manifestations of anxiety.
Unlike benzodiazepines, Prozac’s symptom-relieving effects will not kick in right away. Because SSRIs have to be gradually increased in the body, this is the case. Therefore, your doctor will likely recommend a low starting dose. Nausea and dizziness are common early adverse effects of Prozac treatment, but they should go away within 4 to 8 weeks. In the long term, Prozac is preferable to other Anti-anxiety Medications since it does not cause addiction.
Recommended Antidepressants
Depression is a serious and prevalent mental condition that can lead a person to have poor self-perceptions and behaviors. It can cause you to lose interest in life and impair your capacity to do daily tasks if not addressed. Several classes of antidepressants exist, which is good news for anyone in need of treatment for depression.
In order to locate the drug that best suits their needs, many people may have to test several. The following are examples of common classes of antidepressants:
SSRIs
Medications that block the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine (SNRIs) contain tricyclics. The most popular and effective antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Antidepressants come in many various forms, and some of the more effective ones are listed here.
The most effective SSRI antidepressant is citalopram (Celexa)
Like Prozac, the SSRI Celexa increases levels of the happy chemical serotonin in the brain. It’s one of the most often prescribed antidepressants out there. In most cases, doctors will recommend taking one pill once a day initially, with the possibility of increasing that amount later on.
Celexa has been shown to improve mood ranging from one week to four weeks after starting treatment, making it one of the safest SSRIs. Celexa has a low risk of causing serious side effects, although it can cause moderate ones including nausea, sexual dysfunction, and exhaustion.
The most effective SNRI antidepressant is desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
Pristiq belongs to a newer family of antidepressants called selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which work by preventing serotonin and norepinephrine from being taken back up by the nerve cells that generated them. Pristiq was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008; it is ten times more selective in blocking serotonin reuptake than norepinephrine.
The Tricyclic antidepressant Norpramin (Desipramine) is the most effective treatment currently available
Serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain are elevated by tricyclic antidepressants like Desipramine. The transporters for serotonin and norepinephrine are likewise inhibited. Desipramine has been authorized by the FDA, but it comes with a black box warning that it may worsen depression in some people.