Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Posted by Isabella Turner | July 8th, 2010 in Anxiety, Treatments of Anxiety | No Comments »

treatment of anxiety disorderTreatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder include the use of medication and specific forms of psychotherapy, the most effective treatment for GAD often combines psychotherapy and medication.

The drugs are very effective to relieve symptoms of anxiety. Anti-anxiety medications may be used with antidepressants or anxiolytic effect (not all antidepressants have it).

The benzodiazepine anxiolytics should not be used for longer than one month and that over time tend to produce habituation and a need to increase the dose.

TAG Being a long-term disorder as recommended for psychopharmacological management of symptoms of anxiety is the use of anxiolytic effect associated with antidepressants.

The following antidepressants are approved by the FDA for the treatment of GAD: Escitalopram, Venlafaxine XR / LP, duloxetine and paroxetine. Antidepressants, Anxiolytics unlike benzodiazepines, does not produce habituation (tolerance), therefore there is no risk of generating a drug addiction.

Hence, it is preferable to use in long-term treatment of anxiety. On the other hand the quality of sleep caused by sedative antidepressants is much higher than that of benzodiazepine anxiolytics, as they generate a deep and restful sleep.

There are now increasingly available drugs for the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. So that if a drug does not give the expected result, there are usually others that can be used. Moreover, they are discovering new drugs for the treatment of anxiety symptoms, as is the case of pregabalin.

Research has also shown that behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy are effective for the treatment of GAD. Also useful are Relaxation Techniques and Bio-Feedback (Biofeedback) to control the mental and muscular tension.


Tags: , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply