Anxious.
The term anxious can mean different things to different people. It is important to clarify what it means for you so that the symptom may be addressed properly. Some people describe themselves as anxious when they are having primarily psychological manifestations, such as worry, excessive rumination, or obsessive thoughts. For other people, anxious means they are having primarily physical manifestations, such as shaking, nausea, or tunnel vision. Many people experience a combination of both. Some anxious people are tense and tend to not speak much. Others speak excessively when they are anxious. For some anxiety can stem from a need to have control. For others, anxiety can stem from a feeling of being judged or a need to be liked.
There are many medications that can be used for management of anxiety: sedatives, antidepressants, antihistamines, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, and antipsychotics—almost every category of psychotropic medication. There are a myriad of medication choices available. A person who experiences mostly physical manifestations of anxiety may feel relief from symptoms within minutes to hours by taking a sedative, antihistamine, or antihypertensive medication. A person who is experiencing more psychological anxiety on a consistent basis generally will need a medication that modulates neuronal receptors over time, such as an antidepressant, or if the anxiety is more severe and associated with other concerning symptoms, an antipsychotic. Severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety presenting with other symptoms may require the use of multiple medications from different medication classes in combination. Treatment of anxiety, as any other psychiatric symptom, requires a customized approach. It can be helpful to your provider if you track your symptoms and any potential triggers and share that information during appointments.
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