I am very new to this anxiety forum and I believe that I will learn many things and come into terms with this anxiety that I have. I didn't know there was a name for what I was feeling inside. I thought it was a part of life and something I had to live with. After seeing some anxiety commerical I thought to myself, can this be what I have been dealing with all this time? There after, I decided to go online and read up on anxiety. I went to border to read books and the more I read and studied anxiety the more I realized I have been living with it.

I would like to know, does the use of these anti-anxiety medications actually help in the aiding of total recovery, to the point of no medication. Could the medication teach the body that these situations socially aren't so bad after all to the point where they aren't even an issue anymore? Or is the social anxiety there for life and medications will only help us be normal for a little while?

Thank you for your time.

I don't know if this will really be an answer to your question, but this was my experiance.
The anxiety commericals you see on tv are for SSRI medications such as Paxil and Zoloft.
These do work well for some people, but not for everyone...at the risk of sounding like a broken record...what works for one person doesn't work for everyone.

I had no luck at all with the SSRI medications.
There is another class of drug called Benzos that are also used for anxiety.
Two of these would be Xanax or Ativan.
The benzos are the only ones that worked for me.
Some people...not all...but some people can become dependent on or tolorant to this class of drug.
The people who have had problems with these drugs..be it an SSRI or a benzo are the ones you usually hear from.
They're usually very quick to tell you how you'll become addicted to the benzos and will go through a very hard time when you try to get off of them.
While this is the case for SOME people it is not the case for ALL people.
It wasn't the case for me and I know several others who had no problems using or coming off of any of these drugs.

The SSRI's seem to cause increased anxiety at first until your body gets used to them, but for people who can use them this side effect seems to go away after 6 to 8 weeks.
It's the same with these drugs, people who've had a problem will be quick to tell you how hard it was to come off of them.
Again this is the case for SOME, but not ALL people.
As I said, I couldn't use the SSRI's...I had an allergic reaction to them, but I know several people who did use them with success and were able to come off of them without any trouble.

What is important to remember is...no one single thing works for everyone.
Some people will have trouble with the Benzo's and others will have no problems at all.
Some people will have trouble with the SSRI's while others swear by them and have no trouble at all.

As to whether medications are the cure...to tell you the truth...and this is only my opinion...I'm not entirely sure there is a cure for panic and anxiety.
I believe that once you realize that a panic attack can't kill you and realize that you can get through them they get less and less severe and happen less and less often.
That was the case for me, then one day they just went away.
I believe the medication did help me get to the point that I no longer feared the attacks so I know longer needed the medication.

For some people the attacks are brought on by an event and for others they come on out of the blue for no reason at all...that was the case for me...I came to find out later that several people on my Mothers side of the family suffered with panic disorder...my Mother, Grandfather and several Cousins..but I'm the only one of my Siblings who has/had it.
So if it does run in your family, that doesn't mean that you WILL get it, but you probably have a better than average chance of getting it.

Some people go the therapy or CBT route...that did nothing for me, but I know others on this board have found help doing only that without medication.
While others combine medication and therapy or CBT...again everyone is different.

What I would suggest you do is go to your Doctor and tell him/her what you're feeling.
There are other things that can cause the same symptoms as panic disorder.
A few would be high or low blood sugar or a thyroid problem.
Your Doctor should order these tests before telling you that you have panic disorder...because they only way to dx it is to rule other things out.

Sorry this was so long, but I hope I answered at least some of your questions.

Thank you very much for you answer. It has answered my question and a few other ones that I've also been having.

You're very welcome, I'm glad I was of some help to you.

anxiety meds are a cure for as long as you take them but their big advantage is they allow you to quickly get back to an almost normal life
generally it then helps to learn relaxation and better ways of coping with stress and anxiety, this is generally called CBT, the benefits should then continue when the meds are eventually stopped
the meds and the CBt allow you to reteach your body, IMO :jester:

I agree 100% with hry. I think (having been on effexor for months now) that I am slowly learning the correct way to think and the correct way to cope with situations. Also, the longer you go without having a panic attack, the more confident you get, and less scared you are of having one. Being afraid of having one is 99% of the reason why you have them in the first place, so this is a big step. I know I will try to go off the antidepressants eventually, and my goal is not complete recovery where I never have another attack again. My goal is that on a day to day basis I feel normal, and I take a very occasional ativan to calm myself if I have a few panic attacks a year. So to answer your question, nobody is really sure if it's a mask or a cure, but my opinion is that it's more of a cure than a mask. If you take two people with a panic disorder, one goes on meds successfully and one doesn't, in 10 years one could have agoraphobia from not being treated and the other won't. At any rate, even if it doesn't cure, it can certainly stop it from degenerating further. Anxiety untreated is absolutely horrible for your mind and body.

Jeff

I agree 100% with hry. I think (having been on effexor for months now) that I am slowly learning the correct way to think and the correct way to cope with situations. Also, the longer you go without having a panic attack, the more confident you get, and less scared you are of having one. Being afraid of having one is 99% of the reason why you have them in the first place, so this is a big step. I know I will try to go off the antidepressants eventually, and my goal is not complete recovery where I never have another attack again. My goal is that on a day to day basis I feel normal, and I take a very occasional ativan to calm myself if I have a few panic attacks a year. So to answer your question, nobody is really sure if it's a mask or a cure, but my opinion is that it's more of a cure than a mask. If you take two people with a panic disorder, one goes on meds successfully and one doesn't, in 10 years one could have agoraphobia from not being treated and the other won't. At any rate, even if it doesn't cure, it can certainly stop it from degenerating further. Anxiety untreated is absolutely horrible for your mind and body.

Jeff

I definitely agree with you on where you said that 99% of the reason why you have them is because your simply afraid of the panic attack happening. I've been using St. Johns Wort and I can truely say that it has been doing wonders for me. I have become more socialable and more confident in speaking with my peers. I have been able to intiate deep converstaions with people which I haven't been able to do before. I think after a little bit, now that my brain realizes, hey its not so bad! I can stop using St. Johns Wort. I know everyone says that the same thing doesn't work for everyone, but thank God SJW is working for me.

I would stay clear of the more potent tranquilizers like xanax and ativan, xanax is an extremely addictive drug. An internal FDA memo admits that xanax is so addictive that some people will NEVER be able to quit. YIKES! If you must take a tranquilizer, klonopin is long acting and less addictive in my opinion.

Of course, none of these anti-anxiety meds are cures. {Removed}CBT therapy is an excellent non- med alternative.

I definitely agree with you on where you said that 99% of the reason why you have them is because your simply afraid of the panic attack happening. I've been using St. Johns Wort and I can truely say that it has been doing wonders for me. I have become more socialable and more confident in speaking with my peers. I have been able to intiate deep converstaions with people which I haven't been able to do before. I think after a little bit, now that my brain realizes, hey its not so bad! I can stop using St. Johns Wort. I know everyone says that the same thing doesn't work for everyone, but thank God SJW is working for me.

good for you!!