Alternative Therapies for Anxiety Disorders

The mood-elevating properties of the first monoamine oxidase 

In 1965, the beta-blocker propranolol began to be used to treat some fear or anxiety symptoms. These drugs are particularly useful for treating panic symptoms associated with social anxiety disorder. 

Over the next 20 years, the benzodiazepines, TCAs, MAOIs, and beta-blockers were used to treat anxiety disorders. By the mid-1980s, up to 10% of all Americans were taking a benzodiazepine. In 1988, fluoxetine (Prozac) was introduced by Eli Lilly as the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. Its success led to the development of several other SSRI drugs. Today, these drugs are the first line of drug treatment for most anxiety disorders. 

One continuing theme in the treatment of anxiety disorders is that there is a large amount of individual variability in the effectiveness of different treatments. Basically, this means that different things work for different people, and part of the challenge 

Psychotherapy consists of talking to a trained mental health professional such as a psychiatrist, social worker, or clinical psychologist. In many cases, talking to a professional enables the patient to learn how to cope with anxiety. In fact, it has been shown that psychotherapy can be as effective as medication in alleviating the symptoms of most anxiety disorders. 

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Alternative Therapies for Anxiety Disorders 101 Table 6.1 (continued)... 

Generalized Sociai Anxiety Disorder, Treatment Resistance. A significant minority of patients will not experience a satisfactory treatment response to antidepressant therapy, even after a trial of adequate duration at full strength doses. For those with comorbid depression who are experiencing no benefit from SSRI treatment for either the anxiety or depression, then switching treatment is advisable. The options include switching to another SSRI, a SNRI (venlafaxine or perhaps dulox-etine), or, when other alternatives fail, phenelzine. 

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