There are many types of anti anxiety medicaltion since drugs are usually the first to use when suffering from an intense and unexpected panic attack. However, tranquilizers don’t offer a cure for the health problem and they also have the disadvantage of causing all sorts of side effects. Here are some of the unpleasant and sometimes paradoxical adverse reactions related with the administration of anti-anxiety medication in general. While the main benefit from their use is the state of calm and relaxation, sometimes drugs can relax you to the extent that you feel drowsy all the time.
Slow reflexes, poor coordination and fatigue are the anti-anxiety medication side effects resulting from the drugs blocking some specific chemical secretion in the brain. Some people also complain about impaired thinking, confusion, dizziness and disorientation, not to mention the impossibility to drive or operate machines. The extensive use of anti-anxiety medication is also associated with the appearance of depression with or without suicidal feelings. The problem is that such drugs not only eliminate anxiety but also make it impossible for one to feel pleasure or even pain, which can often go hand in hand with depression.
Some reactions to anti-anxiety medication are truly paradoxical. For instance, the use of tranquilizers aims at inducing relaxation and calm, but in certain cases drugs can increase the agitation and the irritability level. Plus, rage, hostility and mania have been noticed in some cases. The severest forms of side effects include hallucinations and aggressive behaviors, which, although rare, remain very dangerous. The majority of peculiar reactions to anti-anxiety medications has been reported with children or the elderly, as well as with patients with developmental disabilities.
Therefore, the choice of the treatment to stop anxiety attacks requires utmost care and it usually involves the use of a complementary therapy rather than the administration of drugs. Anti-anxiety medication only eliminates or alleviates symptoms without bringing an improvement to the health condition in any way. The factor or the problem that generates the panic attacks remains lurking at the back of the mind, somehow kept under control, and once you cease taking the medication, anxiety will be back all over again. Therefore, the therapeutic efforts should be directed towards attacking anxiety and depression by identifying and eliminating the cause and not merely treating the unpleasant symptoms of anxiety.
