But sometimes they’re a little too helpful, because people begin to like how they feel on them and don’t really shift focus from those medicines onto the antidepressants, which really offer long-term, durable anxiety reduction without really any side effects or problems. There are kids who are so anxious and uncomfortable and are on the verge of school failure or disruption of the home or something like that where you just really need an acute way to bring down everybody’s anxiety, and in those cases the benzodiazepines can be very helpful. But the data supporting their long-term usefulness is very thin, even in adults. They are short-term, they can be extremely effective in reducing intense anxiety in youngsters who are really suffering and in distress. Now, in someone’s mind that may be safe, but from an evidence-based point of view it’s terrible care.įinally, the benzodiazepines are the other treatment that I commonly see being used in kids with anxiety disorders. With the scare a few years ago about suicidal behavior on antidepressants, people moved away from the antidepressants and now they’re treating anxious kids with antipsychotics. The third group of anxiety medications that we see people using are, believe it or not, antipsychotics. These are alpha-two agonists they calm, they lower arousal levels, but they don’t really treat anxiety. Plus anxious kids have trouble sleeping, and sometimes the stimulants makes sleeping even harder.Īnother type of anxiety medications some practitioners use, because they’re comfortable with it, is clonidine or guanfacine. The stimulants may actually make the anxiety a little bit worse. Stimulants will help anybody feel a little bit more attentive, so they will help these kids concentrate better, but they might also have more stomachaches, and often they’re not happy, they’re not comfortable. But their parents and teachers may only notice that they’re having trouble paying attention, and so they get misdiagnosed as having the inattentive subtype of ADHD and put on stimulants. It’s not because they have attention deficit, it’s because their heads are full of worry. We see a lot of the wrong anxiety medications being given to anxious kids because people who are treating them don’t really understand what these children are experiencing, and they don’t know what the evidence-based treatments are.Īnxious kids have a hard time paying attention. In order for the medication to continue working, the doctor would need to keep increasing the dose. While benzodiazepines can help a child feel better quickly, they often don’t work as well after a month or two. These give the most relief to children who are really suffering, but they should only be used for a short period of time. Some doctors prescribe benzodiazepines to anxious children. Some doctors even prescribe antipsychotic medication, but there is no evidence that these medications help anxious children. While these medicines can make kids a bit calmer, they don’t really treat anxiety. Kids with anxiety may also be given clonidine or guanfacine. Plus, they could actually make kids’ anxiety a little bit worse. But stimulant medications might also cause them to have stomachaches or trouble sleeping. These children are often given stimulant medications, which can help them concentrate. Sometimes, adults only notice the trouble paying attention, so the child is misdiagnosed with ADHD. Unfortunately, it’s common for kids to be prescribed the wrong anxiety medications.īecause kids with anxiety are constantly worrying, they often have a hard time paying attention. The very best way to treat anxiety is with a combination of antidepressant medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. And they work even better when they’re combined with therapy. Usually, antidepressants can give kids long-term relief with barely any side effects. And they work pretty quickly - most kids start to feel better after the first week or two. Antidepressants work very well for most children. The best anxiety medications for children are antidepressants called SSRIs. Finding the right medication can help kids with anxiety worry less.
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