Are There Other Anxiety Medications?

There are many anti-anxiety medications used in treatment. As discussed above, one of the main types is benzodiazepines, which work by enhancing the effects of a neurotransmitter called GABA in the brain to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety. Xanax, Ativan, and other types of benzodiazepine carry the potential for dependence, addiction, and withdrawal, especially with long-term use. They should be used with caution in the short term only and under strict medical supervision. When someone develops a physical dependence on benzodiazepines, it can raise someone’s anxiety baseline. That means when not taking benzos, someone will experience worse anxiety than before they started taking the medication. 

Here are some other types of anti-anxiety medications:

• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): SSRIs are a class of drugs commonly prescribed for depression and anxiety disorders. They work by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, which helps improve mood and reduce anxiety.
• Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): SNRIs are similar to SSRIs but also increase the levels of norepinephrine in the brain, offering an additional pathway for treating mood disorders. They are used for depression, anxiety, and sometimes chronic pain.
• Beta-Blockers: Beta-blockers are primarily used to manage cardiovascular conditions, such as high blood pressure and arrhythmias, but they can also be prescribed off-label to reduce physical symptoms of anxiety, like tremors and rapid heartbeat.
• Buspirone: Buspirone is an anxiolytic medication that is specifically used to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). It works differently from SSRIs and SNRIs by affecting serotonin receptors directly, and it typically has fewer side effects.

When choosing between Xanax vs Ativan or any other anti-anxiety drug, it’s important to consider your health history, the specific anxiety disorder you have, and the potential risks, including the risk of addiction. This is best done in consultation with a healthcare professional.

Are There Different Kinds of Anxiety?

There are two kinds of anxiety. The first is characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. These feelings are situational and usually pass with time. Everyone feels this kind of anxiety from time to time. It’s a normal human emotion with subconscious roots in helping keep us safe.

However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, and those levels don’t seem to abate, regardless of circumstance or time, that’s when it becomes a medical issue. This is what’s known as clinical anxiety.

The experience of clinical anxiety can vary greatly from person to person.

Common signs and symptoms of clinical anxiety include:

• Restlessness or feeling wound up or on edge
• Being easily fatigued
• Difficulty concentrating or having one’s mind go blank
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Difficulty controlling worry
• Sleep problems (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep)
• For someone with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can worsen over time. The feelings can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, schoolwork, and relationships.

Anyone can suffer from clinical anxiety, but things like genetics and family history can raise a person’s likelihood. Evidence suggests that experiencing trauma during childhood can raise someone’s risk of experiencing anxiety as an adult. Regardless of why someone feels more anxiety than other people, the best thing to do is find safe and effective treatment rather than turn to drugs or alcohol to self-medicate. This can actually make anxiety worse over time as your brain chemistry is affected by substance abuse.