Symptoms of anxiety disorders can be managed with medications, such as benzodiazepines and SSRIs. You may also consider adding home remedies, like meditation.

Nearly everyone feels anxious from time to time. The feeling often goes away by itself. An anxiety disorder is different.

If you’ve been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, you may need help managing anxiety. Treatments typically consist of therapy and medication.

While medications do not cure anxiety, they can help you manage symptoms so you can function well and feel better in your daily life.

Many types of medications are available. Because every person is different, you and a doctor may have to try several medications to find the right one for you.

Benzodiazepines are sedatives that can help relax your muscles and calm your mind. They work by increasing the effects of certain neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that relay messages between your brain cells.

Benzodiazepines help with many kinds of anxiety disorders, including:

Examples of benzodiazepines include:

Benzodiazepines are typically used for short-term treatment of anxiety. This is because they can increase drowsiness and cause problems with balance and memory. They can also be habit-forming.

It’s important to only take these drugs until your doctor prescribes other treatments. However, if you have panic disorder, your doctor may prescribe benzodiazepines for up to 1 year.

Using benzodiazepines, even as prescribed, can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal if you stop taking the drug suddenly. Withdrawal can be life threatening.

Using benzodiazepines can also lead to misuse and addiction. Misuse of benzodiazepines increases your risk of overdose and death.

Side effects

In addition to drowsiness and memory problems, taking benzodiazepines can also cause:

  • confusion
  • vision problems
  • headaches
  • feelings of depression

If you take a benzodiazepine regularly for more than 2 weeks, do not stop taking the pills suddenly. This could cause unwanted withdrawal symptoms. Instead, talk with a doctor about slowly tapering off your dosage to reduce your risk of withdrawal and seizure.

Buspirone is used to treat both short-term anxiety and chronic (long-lasting) anxiety disorders. It’s not fully understood how buspirone works, but it’s thought to affect chemicals in the brain, like serotonin, that regulate mood.

Buspirone can take several weeks to become fully effective. It’s available as a generic drug and as the brand-name drug Buspar.

Side effects

Some people also report strange dreams or difficulty sleeping when they take buspirone.

Antidepressant medications work by affecting neurotransmitters. These drugs can be taken to treat anxiety symptoms, but they usually take 4 to 6 weeks to produce noticeable effects.

There are several types of antidepressants, including:

SSRIs

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) work by increasing levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects:

  • mood
  • sexual desire
  • appetite
  • sleep
  • memory

SSRIs are typically started at a low dose that your doctor gradually increases.

Examples of SSRIs often used to treat anxiety include:

Side effects

SSRIs can cause a variety of side effects, but most people tolerate them well. Side effects can include:

If you have concerns about a particular side effect, talk with a healthcare professional.

Tricyclics

Tricylcic antipressants (TCAs) work as well as SSRIs do for treating most anxiety disorders, though most aren’t as effective for treating similar conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Like SSRIs, tricyclics are started at a low dose and then increased gradually.

Examples of tricyclics used for anxiety include:

Tricyclics are older drugs that are prescribed less often because newer drugs cause fewer side effects.

Side effects

Side effects of tricyclics can include:

Side effects can often be managed by changing the dose or switching to another tricyclic.

MAOIs

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are used to treat panic disorder and social phobia. They work by increasing the number of neurotransmitters that regulate mood.

MAOIs are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved to treat depression. MAOIs that may be used off-label for anxiety include:

  • isocarboxazid (Marplan)
  • phenelzine (Nardil)
  • selegiline (Emsam)
  • tranylcypromine (Parnate)

Side effects

Like tricyclics, MAOIs are older drugs that cause more side effects than newer drugs. Some side effects include:

  • dry mouth
  • nausea
  • diarrhea
  • constipation
  • drowsiness
  • insomnia
  • dizziness

Some medications can react with MAOIs and should be avoided, including:

  • SSRIs
  • some birth control pills
  • pain relievers, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen
  • cold and allergy medications
  • herbal supplements

Taking an MAOI with certain medications can dangerously increase your blood pressure and cause other potentially life threatening side effects.

Beta-blockers are most often used to treat heart conditions. They’re also used off-label to help relieve the physical symptoms of anxiety, especially in social anxiety disorder.

A doctor may prescribe a beta-blocker such as propranolol (Inderal) to help reduce your anxiety symptoms in stressful situations, such as when attending a party or giving a speech.

Side effects

Beta-blockers don’t usually cause side effects in everyone taking them.

Common, potential side effects may include:

  • fatigue
  • dizziness
  • drowsiness
  • cold fingers or toes

Other side effects may include:

  • trouble sleeping
  • nausea
  • shortness of breath

There are several strategies you can try at home to help ease your anxiety symptoms. You can also do them in addition to taking medication.

Examples include:

Exercise

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), exercise can help reduce stress and enhance your overall sense of well-being.

It helps produce neurotransmitters known as endorphins. These neurotransmitters are your body’s natural pain relievers and can also help improve your sleep quality.

Even short exercise sessions (about 5 minutes at a time) can be effective in lifting your mood.

Meditate

Taking 15-minute intervals of quiet time and meditation to focus on deep breathing and relaxation can help calm your anxiety. You can listen to music or repeat a motivational mantra on a regular basis.

Try chamomile

Sipping chamomile tea or taking a chamomile supplement might help ease anxiety symptoms.

A 2016 study focusing on people with GAD found that study participants who took 500-milligram chamomile supplements three times per day on a daily basis reported a reduction in moderate to severe generalized anxiety.

Smell aromatherapy oils

Smelling diluted aromatherapy oils may help reduce anxiety, according to a 2023 research review.

  • lavender
  • jasmine
  • neroli
  • chamomile

Learn more about how to try aromatherapy.

Avoid caffeine

Sometimes, caffeine may make you feel jittery and more anxious. Avoiding it can help some people reduce their anxiety.

A healthcare professional can help you find the best course of treatment for your anxiety. Proper treatment will likely include therapy and medication.

Be sure to follow their instructions when taking anxiety medications and let them know about any side effects you have. Also, ask any questions you have about your condition or your treatment, such as:

  • What side effects could I have from this medication?
  • How long will it take to start working?
  • Does this medication interact with any other drugs I’m taking?
  • Can you refer me to a therapist?
  • Could exercise help relieve my anxiety symptoms?

If you feel a medication isn’t giving you the desired results or is causing unwanted side effects, talk with your doctor before you stop taking it.

If you need help finding a primary care doctor, check out our FindCare tool here.