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Do You Need a Stress Relief Drug?
By Elizabeth Penning

In a world where food is expected to arrive in three minutes or less, two-hour movies are considered too long to hold the public's attention, and even grief must be dealt with on the fly, it's no wonder that many people seek drug therapy for stress relief. And for people with certain conditions, drugs do play an important role in stress relief, but they are not always the most appropriate or the most helpful option. This article examines common stress relief drugs and the conditions they are used to treat.

What are Stress Relief Drugs?

Stress relief drugs come in many forms. The most common stress relief drugs are benzodiazepines which include Xanax, Ativan, and Valium. These drugs have a sedating and calming effect and work quickly. In higher doses, they may be used to induce sleep. Benzodiazepines are often used in crisis situations, but in general, long term use is discouraged because they are highly addictive.

For people who feel an uncomfortable amount of stress all or most of the time, buspirone (Buspar) may provide some relief. Prescribed most frequently for a condition called generalized anxiety disorder, it takes several weeks to reach a therapeutic level in the body, and it is not habit forming. Since depression and anxiety often go hand in hand, antidepressants such as Elavil, Desyrel, Paxil, and Celexa have also been used for long-term relief of anxiety.

When to Use Stress Relief Drugs

There are two common situations in which stress relief drugs can prove very helpful.

Benzodiazepines can help people through short-term crisis situations. For instance, benzodiazepines are often prescribed after a specific trauma--the unexpected death of a loved one, a car accident, a rape or other form of assault, a severe panic attack. They work best when the person is committed to learning other, non-pharmaceutical ways of managing stress as well and should generally be used no longer than a few weeks or months due to the high risk of dependency (although of course this is at your doctor's discretion).

Some people experience high levels of stress all the time, even when nothing particularly stressful is going on around them. They may even experience regular panic attacks, moments of extreme distress when the body's fight or flight mechanism kicks in. Symptoms can mimic those of a heart attack. The medications prescribed for dealing with long term stress are Buspar and anti-depressants, which are not addictive. Ideally, the person will also be learning other methods of stress relief such as progressive relaxation or biofeedback.

When Not to Use Stress Relief Drugs

As a general rule, stress relief drugs should not be used to anesthetize you to the little annoyances of day to day life--traffic, the annoying co-worker in the next cubicle, the neighbor's barking dog, your kids arguing over their Game Cube, etc.

And no matter how stressed out you think you may be, it's never a good idea to take a stress relief drug prescribed for someone else.

If stress is interfering with your life, talk to your family doctor or a psychiatrist. These highly trained health care professionals can listen to your symptoms and discuss different treatment options. If they feel that medication is indicated, they can prescribe the one they feel is right for you, not your best friend or your Aunt Sophie.

With so many treatment options--both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical--available, there is no reason why anyone should ever have to suffer from crippling stress.

Author Details:
Elizabeth Penning, copywriter for various web sites writing articles about natural health and other related subjects for sites such as the A-Z of and Information Junkie.

Source: Directory of Free Articles

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