One type of drug used to treat anxiety is the anti-anxiety medications (anxiolytics). These drugs provide relief from the symptoms of anxiety but do not really address the cause. The majority of these fall under the category of sedatives, fast acting drugs that tend to sedate people and make them less aware of their anxieties. They also tend to make people less aware of everything else as well and they are frequently habit-forming. As a result, these drugs are best used for short-term relief when symptoms are at their worst. The benzodiazepines include alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), clonazepam (Klonopin), and diazepam (Valium) among others. These medications often cause drowsiness and problems with balance and coordination so you should not drive or operate heavy machinery while taking them.

A newer anti-anxiety medication is buspirone (Buspar). This non-sedating medication takes several weeks to begin working but does not cause dependence and so it can be taken for long periods.

Another class of drugs used to treat anxiety is the anti-depressants. Although originally designed to treat symptoms of depression, some anti-depressant drugs can be helpful in treating anxiety symptoms as well. These medications affect the levels of certain brain neurotransmitters including serotonin and norepinephrine. Examples of antidepressants used to treat GAD include fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), imipramine (Tofranil), venlafaxine (Effexor), escitalopram (Lexapro), and duloxetine (Cymbalta). Interestingly, anti-depressant drugs that predominantly affect levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine (such as bupropion [Wellbutrin]) are not usually effective at treating anxiety. Like buspirone, these drugs may take several weeks to work.

Psychotherapy, also called “talk therapy” or counseling, can also help improve anxiety symptoms. Psychotherapy involves talking with a trained mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or counselor to discover what caused an anxiety disorder and how to deal with its symptoms. Unlike medication, it addresses the root causes of the anxiety and also may help provide coping mechanisms for how to deal with anxiety symptoms when they occur. One type of therapy shown to help with GAD is called cognitive behavior therapy or CBT. CBT helps you recognize when your thoughts and behaviors are unhealthy and provides methods for replacing them with healthy ones. A lot of the feelings of helplessness that accompany mental disorders such as GAD stem from a perceived loss of control. CBT can help you learn to change the way you think and feel even when situations occur that are beyond your control.