There are good reasons someone suffering panic attacks would take medication for anxiety attacks. But there are side effects that need to be considered before making the decision to take these particular medications. And, anxiety attack medication should only be taken under the supervision of a psychiatrist that specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and is up to date on all the current research on anti-anxiety medications and therapies.
Anxiety attack medication should be taken in conjunction with therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy. While the drugs can control the symptoms of anxiety they do not treat the underlying problem, that is what the therapy and discussions with your psychiatrist will accomplish.
How Will The Medication Affect You?
Anxiety attack medication affects everyone a little differently so the proper dosage will be determined by your psychiatrist through a trial and error process. You will need to work closely with your doctor by discussing how the medication affects your symptoms and what, if any, the side effects are so that the effectiveness of the drugs can be evaluated.
Some anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines work as quickly as 30 minutes to an hour so they are very effective when taken during an anxiety attack. However, the concern with anti-anxiety medications is that while they work quickly to relieve symptoms they can lead to physical dependence.
It is important to be aware of the possibility of not only physical dependence on the drug but also the possibility of becoming psychologically dependent. If you have been taking anxiety attack medication and have come to rely on it to maintain your control over your anxiety attacks you may come to believe that you can only survive with the medication instead of relying on the therapy to treat the real, underlying problem.
Withdrawal Symptoms
If you have been taking anti-anxiety medication for a few months and feel that you have become too dependent on it you should decrease the dosage gradually under the direction of your therapist.
Once you have cut off your intake of an anxiety attack medication you will find that you will start to experience extremely stressful withdrawal symptoms such as increased anxiety, confusion, pounding heart, sweating, shaking and insomnia. And, worse still, your anxiety attacks will return to bother you once more which will then force you into resuming your intake of anxiety attack medications.
An anxiety disorder can be handled more effectively provided you are able to identify the exact causes of your distress; this is where therapy with a caring, licensed therapist or psychiatrist comes in. You also need to avoid becoming embarrassed by such disorders and instead must be ready and willing to take corrective action because such disorders can be treated and managed effectively as long as you know the causes.