Sunday, October 25, 2009

Is it OK to take medication for a long time for anxiety or mood disorders?

In my experience and according to scientific research, chronic anxiety and mood symptoms are extremely common. I think that, for many people, these symptoms can be due to being overloaded with all of the things that we expect ourselves to do (parent, spouse/relationship, work, friends, other family, etc, etc). When stressful life events happen, these are often “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”


From my point of view, the important thing is for each individual to find out what works to feel better and function better, by that person’s own idea of "better." This means that the individual is better able to accomplish more of what they want & need to do, and to get more pleasure & fulfillment from those people & activities that are important to them.

It's always best to emphasize non-medication techniques as much as you can actually do, in the real world. These include exercise, spending time in green spaces, prayer/meditation, relaxation techniques, massage, stress management, and counseling/therapy.

No one that I ever known has been able actually do all of the non-medication techniques that they could/should do due limitations of time, energy, & money.

Even if you could, clinical research and our experience indicate that non-medication techniques are only of limited benefit for pain, anxiety, mood and/or sleep disorder symptoms that have been present for a long time, or are beyond a mild level of severity.

If medication works to do the good things (reduce suffering and improve ability to do things you want and need to do), and is not causing significant side effects, then I believe that it is actually having a positive healthy impact on the central nervous system and overall health, with benefits that often include reducing the impact of stress on things like chronic pain, IBS, PMS, headaches, asthma, blood pressure, as well as risk for heart disease and immune system disorders.

As a rule, I think it's good to learn about possible side effects that can occur from any medication that you're taking on a regular basis and for more than a few months, and to always call your prescribing physician if you feel worse in any way, especially after a dosage change.

If you've been taking a particular medication on a regular basis and for a long time, I think that it's always good to speak with your prescribing physician about trying a step down in the dose for a short period of time. If you feel worse and nothing gets better, then you can go back to the original dose. If your symptoms are not in complete remission, then speak to your prescribing physician about a trial of a step higher in the dose, with careful continued monitoring for benefits vs. side effects.

If you feel better on a lower dose, then you can talk to your prescribing physician about taking another step down in the dosage.

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