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.

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.

References

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