When Anxiety Medications Fail

Many anxiety sufferers turn to medication in an attempt to control stress and alleviate anxiety and panic attacks, but unfortunately, anxiety medications are not always a panacea to restore emotional balance and calm. In fact, anxiety medications do not “cure” anxiety at all — they merely attempt to lessen the symptoms by suppressing the emotional range of the sufferer.

Major depressive disorder: Treatment

A patient’s doctor may have to change the antidepressant taken, adjust the dosages of medications, or try different combinations of antidepressants before finding the most effective option for the patient; response rates to the first agent administered may be as low as 50 percent.[36] It may take anywhere from three to eight weeks after the start of medication before its therapeutic effects can be fully discovered. Patients are generally advised not to stop taking an antidepressant suddenly and to continue its use for at least four months to prevent the chance of recurrence. For patients that have chronic depression, medication may need to be continued for the remainder of their life.

Anxiety: Symptoms

Although anxiety attacks are not experienced by every anxiety sufferer, they are a common symptom. Anxiety attacks usually come without warning, and although the fear is generally irrational, the perceived danger is very real. A person experiencing an anxiety attack will often feel as if they are about to die or pass out.