There are many types of anti-anxiety medication since drugs are usually the first to use when suffering from an intense and unexpected panic attack. However, tranquilizers don’t offer a cure for the health problem and they also have the disadvantage of causing all sorts of side effects. Here are some of the paradoxical and troublesome adverse reactions related with the administration of anti panic pharmacuticals in general. While the major benefit from their use consists of the relaxation of the nerves, too much soothing can make the patient feel sleepy even when you need alertness.

Since anxiety medications blocks the secretion or the release of certain chemicals at the level of the central nervous system, this may often result in a poor coordination, lack of energy and slow reflexes. Some people have even reported dizziness, confusion, disorientation and impaired thinking, not to mention the impossibility to operate machines and drive. The long-term use of anti-anxiety medication can also cause depression with or without suicidal feelings. The problem is that such drugs not only terminate anxiety attacks but also make it impossible for one to feel pleasure or even pain, which can often go hand in hand with depression.

There are also some unexplained paradoxes in some people’s reactions after the administration of anti-anxiety medication. For instance, the use of tranquilizers aims at inducing relaxation and calm, but an increase of the irritability and agitation level has sometimes been signaled out. Plus, mania, hostility and even rage have been noticed in some cases. The severest forms of side effects include hallucinations and aggressive behaviors, which, although rare, remain very dangerous. More than half of the peculiar reactions to anti-anxiety medications has been reported with children or the elderly, as well as with people that suffer from some developmental disabilities.

Consequently, choosing the treatment well and complementing it with some other form of therapy represent essential stages for the patient’s full recovery, and thus should be considered as priorities for any treatment program or approach. Anti-anxiety medication only reduces or stops the symptoms without bringing an improvement to  the health condition in any way. The factor or the problem that generates the panic attacks remains lurking at the back of the mind, somehow kept under control, and once you cease taking the medication, anxiety will be back all over again. Therefore, the therapeutic efforts should be directed towards identifying and eliminating the cause and not merely treating the unpleasant symptoms of anxiety.