The Anxiety of Anti-Anxiety Medications

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Recommended: Biological theories of anxiety

The Anxiety of Anti-Anxiety Medications

19 million Americans (approximately one in eight) aged 18-54 suffer from anxiety disorders. (1) When I heard this statistic, I realized how important the discussion of such disorders was to the sciences. 1/8th of the most productive portion of the US population suffers from an anxiety disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the Institutes of Health for the Federal Government, is committed to research causes and treatment of such disorders. (2) Progress has been made, comparing studies of animals to studies of humans, in pinpointing the specific areas of the brain. Anxiety is associated with fear- fear of a specific object or situation, generalized fear and worry, recurring fearful memories, etc. The NIMH has found that a specific portion of the brain, the amygdala, controls the body's automatic response to fear. When the brain is confronted with fear, the brain takes two course of action. One, the brain transmits information to the cerebral cortex (the thinking part of the brain) to inform it of what specifically is endangering the individual. Second, the brain transmits to the amygdala the same information, so that the body might prepare for action.

Beyond this information, not much is known regarding the causes or mechanics of anxiety. Granted, understanding which portions of the brain are affected by or control anxiety is an important step. However, not much conclusive evidence or useful conclusions have been reached regarding anxiety.

With this information in mind, I began thinking of my personal experiences with anxiety. On one occasion I went to the emergency room, expressing the inability to breathe and dizziness. It was concluded that I ...

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... the brain, assuming the medications directly treat anxiety. It is a process of elimination of sorts- it is one step in the scientific process of discovery. Thus, perhaps the prescribing of such medications will facilitate researchers. However, I think the scientific community ought to bear in mind the potential dangers of this method before applicating its results directly to patients.

References

1) National Institute of Mental Health

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/anxresfact.cfm

2) National Institute of Mental Health

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/anxresfact.cfm

3) Neuropsychology and medical psychology medical resources

http://www.driesen.com/index.html

4) Neuropsychology and medical psychology medical resources

http://www.driesen.com/ssris.htm

5) PDR Health

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/rxdrugprofiles/drugs/ata1035.shtml

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