Do those with panic disorder need medication?
21 May 2010
4 Comments
ellagirl asked:
Is it necessary for someone with panic disorder and agoraphobia to be medicated like those who have bipolar or schizophrenia, or can it be helped via other methods? Is it even better not to medicate someone with anxiety? Thoughts?
Is it necessary for someone with panic disorder and agoraphobia to be medicated like those who have bipolar or schizophrenia, or can it be helped via other methods? Is it even better not to medicate someone with anxiety? Thoughts?
It is not necessary for someone with anxiety to use medication though it can help. CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) is quite often used with agoraphobia and other anxiety disorders.
I have agoraphobia and panic disorder and I take medication and use CBT and it has helped me a lot.
Hope this helps.
I can only speak for myself as I had panic/anxiety for years and I did lots of things to try and get over it, first stop was the library, it really helped seeing the disorder in black and white as a condition that did exist, self-help groups, therapy (psychologist/psychiatrist), medication and cognitive behavioural therapy, all helpful but I did get addicted to Xanax (anti-anxiety drug) in the end which wasn’t good. I didn’t have agoraphobia but I did have social phobia and ‘what if’ syndrome which stopped me from doing a lot of things. Mine was also coupled with depression and I had a couple of spells in hospital as well. 10 years on and my life is so different, I work, go to concerts on my own, have travelled to the UK several times on my own, not on any medication at all and I have learned not to react to any thoughts or feelings like fast heart rate, missed beats, all sorts of things like that would have sent me into a complete panic and it is only with hindsight that I have learned that I was the one who kept the anxiety going. All depends how much the disorder is affecting your life, if you know what set it off (mine was post natal depression), learn to ‘go’ with the unpleasant feelings and let them pass, easy to say, not easy to do! Medication was a godsend for me during the worst of it but it won’t cure the disorder and needs to be carefully monitored by a GP or other mental health practitioner.
I am suppose to take many mg.’s a day (on the rise from the addiction factor) of klonopin.. but I hate medication… and always will take my own health in my own hands.. I smoke weed on the regular.. really and function a very normal life..
With agoraphobia that is your call .. it’s really w/e makes you feel right.. my good friend has agoraphobia and only leaves the house late at night after he has had many drinks.. not good for his health but it helps and NO MEDS..
with shizophrenia you really should be careful .. it runs in my family .. quite a few people have it .. and unfortunately two have taken their lives.. and others have did some pretty outrageous things..
Recovery began to progress more rapidly for me with medication, positive thinking, behavior therapy and psychotherapy..
I didn’t use benzodiazepines or other narcotics. Recovery is ongoing and is a long process. It may never end completely. But I come and go freely and without fear these days.
Medication alone did not work. Psychotherapy alone did not work. It took a combination of recovery tools; mental, physical and spiritual to recover sanity.
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