Anyone who's ever experienced an anxiety attack before knows just how terrifying they can be.  People who suffer from an anxiety or panic attacks also understand just how debilitating the condition can become. It affects not only the anxiety sufferer but family, friends, and everyone around them.  Anxiety disorders can result in a disruption of daily life that can literally tear a family apart.

Modern medicine has created many different drugs to control anxiety and panic disorders. These drugs fall into several categories including MAOI's (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors) and SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors). SSRI's such as Celexa, Zoloft, Prozac, Luvox, and Paxil are the most commonly prescribed. While effective for anxiety in many people, antidepressant drugs usually come with a high cost.

Antidepressants are powerful psychiatric drugs that commonly produce negative side effects such as nausea, headaches, diarrhea, weight gain, sedation, and sexual dysfunction.  Antidepressants are frequently addictive making them difficult to quit once these side effects occur.  They have even been linked in rare cases to suicide in young patients prompting the FDA to require a ‘black box’ warning label be placed on these drugs.  Prolonged usage of antidepressants can result in a higher drug tolerance in users leading to increased dosages to receive the same desired effect.

Fortunately, there are several good natural remedies for anxiety available that are a safer alternative to antidepressants.  These drug-free anxiety remedies generally fall into two categories - cognitive behavioral treatment and herbal dietary supplements.

Cognitive behavioral treatment can involve the help of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist who have one on one sessions with the patient.  This is called cognitive behavioral therapy.This approach targets changing the patient's thinking patterns and developing coping mechanisms such as visualization and slow breathing techniques.  Patients learn how to detect faulty fight-or-flight response mechanisms within the body that are triggered during anxiety & panic attacks.

Other cognitive treatments are anxiety self-help techniques without the help of an anxiety counseling professional.  Many people suffering extreme anxiety symptoms prefer this treatment method to avoid the fear of an appointment somewhere. These techniques involve relaxation exercises that calm both the body and the mind - such as breathing exercises and yoga. These techniques can be quite effective to ease anxiety attack symptoms.

The second category of natural panic attack treatments are dietary supplements. Natural dietary supplements offer effective treatment for anxiety disorders without the risk of adverse side effects or possible addiction.  Natural herbal remedies have been used for centuries around the globe in many cultures to treat anxiety symptoms.

Most anxiety professionals agree that the best anxiety treatments involves both anxiety medication and cognitive techniques.  Because of the growing awareness of the potential dangers of antidepressant drugs there is now a growing trend towards more natural medicine alternatives.  Natural remedies for anxiety such as select herbs and vitamins can not only offer anxiety relief, but can boost one's overall immune and nervous system creating more resistance to stress which is what can lead to long-term anxiety & panic disorders.