Looking for medication for anxiety attack,… drugs is definitely not the answer

Everybody, at some point of time or the other, goes through very tense and difficult situations in life. Some people can remain calm and not panic even in adversity, but many people are not able to take the tension and tend to get a nervous break down. Such people are advised to stop anxiety attacks. The question is, how does one do so and is it that easy? What medication should one take for such disorders?

When people get anxiety attacks, they are very tense and restless, they fear the worst and are very irritable. As a result their work gets adversely affected because they are not able to concentrate. They also feel that their mind has gone blank. The cause for anxiety can be many. The most common one is an extremely demanding schedule. The other causes may be lack of exercise, irregular eating habits, pressure at home or work place, not getting enough sleep, pressure due to lack of finances or it could even be some individual who is the stress factor. Whatever the cause for anxiety, we must get help for anxiety attacks.

When overloaded with work, we must ask for help. Sharing the work will reduce the burden. Of course, the better thing to do would be not to accept commitment for doing more than our capacity to do. When we are already hard pressed for time we must ensure that our focus is not diverted by anything or anyone. We must look after our own body and give it the rest and relaxation it needs. One very effective help for anxiety attacks would be just telling about our worries to a trusted friend. Merely telling it makes the worry lighter and people come up with solutions to our problems.

Before seeking help for anxiety attacks from others, there are many things we ourselves can do. In the first place we should change our attitude of the thought process. Some people believe that worrying helps in preventing  problems , prepares us for the worst or leads to solutions. One could call this a positive side of worry. The negative side of worry is worrying about worry. This is bad because it will increase the worry and anxiety. But the so-called positive side of worry is worse. If we think that worry helps, then we can never get rid of worry. Worry can never give solutions because worry itself is a problem. Besides, it will not allow us to enjoy even the little good time that we are having.

There are people who cannot stand uncertainty. Apprehensions about the worst possible scenario may make one feel safer but everything cannot be predicted. It is a good thing to plan everything before-hand but one should also be prepared for uncertainties in life. This attitude will give a relief from anxiety. The risk element in life must be taken as a challenge instead of viewing it as a grave problem. The strong belief that things will get sorted out, itself makes the problem lighter.

If anxiety levels are very high, one has to resort to medication for anxiety attacks. The doctor has to be visited. He generally gives  anti depressants to improve sleep. The dosage is about 50% lower than what is given to those suffering from depression. This is effective in cases where the patient suffers from physical pain in addition to anxiety. However, it is better to avoid medicines as they have strong side-effects. Medication for anxiety attacks could include several drugs which are basically muscle relaxants, tranquillizers or sleeping pills. These have dangerous side effects. They reduce brain activity and make people drowsy which can affect their day to day work, activity at school or work place or, worse, when they are driving.
More severe side-effects are:

•    Mania

•    Hostility and rage

•    Aggressive or impulsive behaviour

•    Hallucination

The worst is when people become addicted to the drugs. If the drugs are taken along with pain killers or alcohol the toxic effects of the drugs increase  and the result could even be death.

So the best medication for anxiety attack is not to take any drugs and rely only on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy( adopt a positive attitude), Exposure Therapy( exposing the patient to the anxiety causing situation to make him get a better control of it), try acupressure, yoga, regular exercise ,music or art therapy or any other  alternative therapy which does not have any side-effects.