There are a lot of drugs for anxiety attacks available these days.  These medications definitely help many people.  If you suffer from anxiety attacks, you may find them helpful.

Before I tell you a bit more about medications for anxiety problems  I want to be up-front about a bias of mine.  I believe these medications are best used for a limited time to help while other treatments have a chance to take effect.

Fortunately with proper therapy, almost everyone can free themselves from the terror of anxiety attacks.

These days, a therapist will usually prescribe a drug for these issues that is likely to be one of two classes: sedatives or antidepressants.

Most of the sedatives prescribed are derived from Valium.  The various drugs vary mostl in how quickly they start to work and how long their effects last.

Different drugs work best for different people.  Everyone reacts differently to a given medication.  A therapy that works great for one person may not work at all for someone else.

sedatives work quickly, so they can help if a person is going into a situation that they have had a panic attack before or if they feel one coming on.

The other type of drug used is an antidepressant.  The most common antidepressants are serotonin uptake inhibitors.  

Serotonin is a chemical that is released in the brain as part of the way nerve cells communicate with each other.  

Decreased serotonin levels are associated with depression and anxiety.  Serotonin uptake inhibitors raise serotonin by slowing the resorption of the chemical after it has been released.

Most people have heard of Prozac.  It is a serotonin uptake inhibitor.  There are many others today.  Each has its own benefits and risks.

Sometimes finding the medication that's best for an individual is a matter of trial and error.

One thing serotonin uptake inhibitors have in common is that they don't work immediately.  Usually, it takes at least one or two weeks to see a benefit.

Obviously with that type of time framethese aren't medications to use only when you feel an attack coming on.

There are some other types of used, but they aren't used often.  These drugs either aren’t as effective as the ones already mentioned or have way too many side effects for most people to tolerate.

Even though the classes of drugs I talked about above usually don't cause problems, you still should find out about the side effects of antidepressants used to treat panic disorders.  That link takes you to a page with more information.

Again, I want to remind you that it is best practice to seek other ways of dealing with and anxiety disorder other than taking pills.   The medications definitely have their role, but they aren't the whole answer.

One issue that can come up is what amounts to a psychological dependence.  

As I've mentioned, a person will use other forms of psychotherapy as well as the medications.  As they get better, they may tend to attribute all of their progress to the medication and not the other treatment they have been using.

This can make them nervous about stopping the medication since they think it's the only reason they got better.

A skilled therapist helps work through this.  

Even before you start taking the medication, talk with your therapist about how long you'll be on it and how you'll come off it.

Use medications to treat anxiety attacks prudently and you can reap their benefits while avoiding their problems.

Of course it's highly desirable to eventually get to where you're fine medications.

There's a review of an extremely effective way to do just that at Panic Away Review.

Get more information about anxiety attacks in general and what you can do about them at Panic Attack Release.