There are two basic ways to treat anxiety.
The first way is through medication, while the second way is through counseling.
There are two types of medications used to treat anxiety; there are anti-anxiety medications and anti-depressants.
Your doctor may experiment with each to see what works best for you.
Each type of medication has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The one common thread through all medication treatment of anxiety is that medication only treats the symptoms of anxiety.
The root causes of the anxiety will still be there.
The only way to treat the root cause of your anxiety is through counseling with a trained professional.
The first of your two medication options, are anti-anxiety prescriptions.
These medications are designed to eliminate the symptoms associated with anxiety.
Examples of these prescriptions is Valium and Xanax.
They work quickly, which is always a benefit.
However, patients have been known to get addicted to these prescriptions, and go through physical withdrawal when attempting to stop use.
There have also been reports of decreased effectiveness in patients using these prescriptions for longer than six months.
The other option in prescription medications is anti-depressants.
Anti-depressants don't have as high of a risk of dependency, however, they can take up to six months to start working.
Anti-depressants also have a wide variety of side effects, which include: nausea, weight gain, decreased libido, headaches, and dizziness.
People on anti-depressants also have a higher risk of committing suicide than people not on anti-depressants.
The common thread between all forms of prescription treatment for anxiety is that prescriptions can only treat the symptoms of anxiety.
They do nothing to alleviate the causes of your anxiety.
To deal with what is causing your anxiety, you can go to counseling.
This can be with a trained professional counselor or with a trained religious counselor.
Either way, you are more likely to stop your anxiety than trying prescription medications.