Treatment for Anxiety
Disorders
Panic
Anxiety Education
Management Services
Medication
The main form of treatment most people receive is medication.
While we are not anti-medication - we needed it and used it during
our own Disorders- we do not advocate medication as the one and only
long-term option. Unfortunately, around the world, this is the major
treatment option. Irrespective of the latest research detailing
effective Cognitive Behavioral Treatments for Anxiety Disorders,
many people are not being given a choice in therapies.
The most common drugs being prescribed are the minor
tranquillisers and antidepressants. While there is a time and place
for medication, people can become caught in an ongoing cycle of
trying different drugs which may have little or no effect, or which
may actually contribute to the original problem.
Again, based upon thousands of 'stories' and anecdotal reports,
we now advise people:
- NOT TO STOP TAKING YOUR MEDICATION. If you wish to stop
taking your medication, you need to speak to your therapist and
withdraw slowly under medical supervision;
- To know and understand the pros and cons of the drug/s you are
taking. In the past, it was difficult to obtain this
information, but the resources are now available from many
different sources, your therapist, the drug companies, HealthyPlace.com,
your local pharmacist, drug and alcohol units, libraries.
- If you are prescribed medication, ask how long it takes for
the medication to work and ask about possible side-effects. If
you are told the medication you are being prescribed doesn't
have side -effects, then you will need to check this information
out for yourself. Speak to your pharmacist, local Anxiety
Disorder organizations, drug and alcohol units or contact the
relevant drug company.
- If you have just commenced taking medication, and you feel as
if you are experiencing side effect/s, but you are told it is
not your medication but your Disorder creating the new problem,
seek a second opinion and/or speak to your pharmacist, local
drug and alcohol units or the relevant drug company.
- If you have been on medication for over six weeks, and there
is no marked change in your symptoms, ask to have your
medication changed. If you are refused, change therapists.
- If you are prescribed minor tranquillizers for over four
weeks, ask why, and ask for supervision in coming off them. In
Australia, the guidelines for prescribing tranquillizer are set
out by the NHMRC, which recommends that people use these drugs
for 2 - 4 weeks only. (1)
- If you only see your therapist for ten minutes every few weeks
or so for a new prescription, ask for a referral to a CBT
therapist. If you are refused, change therapists.
- If your primary presenting problem is an Anxiety Disorder and
you are told you will be on medication for the rest of your
life, ask about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. If you receive a
negative response, change therapists.
- If your primary presenting problem is an Anxiety Disorder and
you are told you will need to be on medication for at least two
years before you can even begin to consider CBT, ask why.
Depending on the answer given, you may need to change
therapists.
- Don't simply sign forms related to your treatment program.
Read them thoroughly first. We have had a few anecdotal reports
of people signing forms without reading them and finding later
they have consented to take part in trials for new drugs.
| Many of us are told our Disorder is
biological in nature. Even though this may be the case, we can
learn to manage the attacks and ensuing fear and anxiety with CBT.
Although the argument has been used in Australia that people
with diabetes need to use medication and similarly we need to
use medication for our Disorder, the counter argument can also
be used that some people can control their diabetes without
medication and so can we providing we receive appropriate
treatment which teaches us the essential management skills.
We are now seeing increasing numbers of people who are
being prescribed medication although they have only just
experienced their first panic attack. If you have just
experienced your first attack and you have been prescribed
medication, ask your therapist to assist you in investigating
other options.
The big 'sleeper' in relation to various treatment options
is some people only need a basic education program about panic
attacks/anxiety and basic cognitive
skills for them to prevent any deterioration into a
Disorder. Almost all of our clients who have not received a
diagnosis and/or appropriate treatment have said to us:
"If only I knew/ was told exactly what was happening to
me at the beginning, none of this, Agoraphobia, drug/alcohol
abuse, depression, would have happened. |
RELATED TOPICS
RESEARCH
|
For more on Prescribed Medication as a treatment option: see
Research: Panic & Anxiety Disorder Treatment Needs Research
Project: Prescribed
Minor Tranquillizers, Prescribed
Antidepressants, Multiple
Medication used, Treatment
options effectiveness, conclusions.
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