How Do I Know If I Need Anxiety Medication?

Anxiety feels terrible. Anti-anxiety medications, also called anxiolytics, can deliver fast relief. So why doesn’t everybody with anxiety take them? 

The short answer, from a treatment perspective: These drugs can do much more to your body than simply turn down the dial on anxious feelings. Anxiolytics have a well-known risk for addiction and potentially harmful side effects – especially as you age. 

Anxiety can be uncomfortable. Physically uncomfortable. An intense episode of anxiety can make you want to crawl out of your skin.

A single episode of anxiety can also affect your personality, bringing out undesirable traits – even if only for a short period. You might burst into tears if your pants don’t fit, or yell at your spouse when there’s family stress. 

Bottom line: Sometimes, you need immediate relief from the tension of high anxiety. You simply can’t imagine waiting until 5 pm for a yoga class, or two days for your therapist’s next available appointment. 

Anxiety affects us all. In some cases, it’s fleeting: a pit your stomach before your doctor delivers test results; sweaty palms before you deliver a presentation. Those are normal responses to stressful situations.

Anxiety may be a problem, however, if it becomes overwhelming or interferes with everyday activities. It may be a problem if it causes you to feel ill, lose your temper, or avoid certain places or people. 

It's inevitable that when you bump into your desk, cut yourself while cooking, or strain a muscle playing sports that the area is bound to be sore, become red or swell. This is known as inflammation, which can happen as a result of an injury or infection. Your body then helps to accelerate the healing process by releasing white blood cells that close around the infected or injured area and serve to fend off any foreign threats. You typically see or feel inflammation in the form of pain, tenderness, swelling, redness or warmth of the affected joints or tissues.

Do You Suffer with Migraines? Green Light Therapy May Help

Migraines are a debilitating condition that affect about 39 million Americans, according to the Migraine Research Foundation. Typical treatment includes over the counter and prescription pain relievers. But simple lifestyle changes can help you prevent migraines. These include:

Can Your Medications be Causing Your Blood Pressure to Spike? 

Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure – a condition that raises your risk for heart attacks, strokes, sexual dysfunction and damage to the brain, kidneys and eyes. However, only 24 percent of Americans with high blood pressure have it under control, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MDVIP Physicians Help Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease & Stroke

When it comes to preventing heart disease, many of us miss the mark – we’re just focused on other things. Women are more concerned with breast cancer risk, for example, than heart disease, which kills seven times the number of women as breast cancer.

Stress is bad for your health – but you probably know that from experience. (If you’ve somehow skated through this life stress-free, we want to know your secrets.) Stress can keep you up all night and cause diarrhea, headaches, fatigue and more.  

Stress also harms your health in ways you can’t quite see or feel. Some are well known, like high blood pressure. Others may surprise you, like the link between stress and type 2 diabetes. 

Recommended Women's Medical Tests and Screenings by Age

No one likes blood draws, pap smears and colonoscopies. But these tests are key to detecting serious health conditions and determining risk. Some tests you’ll need throughout your lifetime, while others are limited to certain decades of your life. 

Recommended Health Screenings & Medical Tests by Age for Women

Download our Women's Health infographic.