In order to better understand the purpose of Xanax comparable medications, it helps to understand the nature of the disorders it treats. A large number of the mental health conditions that this drug addresses are those which affect parts of the central nervous system.
This is a short definition and explanation of the types of mental illnesses and nervous conditions treated with Xanax. If you read this, it could give you a better understanding of what is going on inside you.
This will better allow you to be treated and this will lead to a happier, productive life. It will make it easier for you to find a solution that is the most effective as well.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-This is a very broad category of anxiety disorder. It encompasses basically fears of things that may not ever even happen. It is a bit different than panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder in that it is not necessarily related to one past event.
It also is not a severe attack like what would take place in someone who suffers from panic disorder. It, however, is a level of anxiety that is far more above normal than the average person. This anxiety persists all the time, and again, this often happens unrelated to events, environment, or any other external factor.
Panic Attacks-The main characteristic of this mental disorder is that a person who suffers this kind of an attack feels as though they are having a heart attack. Their heart may be pounding, they might even experience chest or arm pain and at the same time experience extreme fear and terror.
It is a type of anxiety disorder that affects a person more physically than other types, but is not fatal like a heart attack. It typically happens to people whose vital signs such as blood pressure, cholesterol level, and heart rate are all normal.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-This fear-based mental and emotional condition often surfaces as a person is confronted by something that reminds them of a past. This “something” is usually called a “trigger” and this trigger could be one or more of the following: A person, place, event, piece of clothing, sound, or other tangible reminder.
It could also be the anniversary of a date such as a death, accident, or other tragedy that has occurred. One prime example of this is when the September 11 disaster took place in New York City, USA in the year 2001. It also could be the date that a person was sexually assaulted or physically abused or traumatized in some other way, such as burglarized or mugged.
Sometimes post-traumatic stress disorder is acute and only takes place temporarily. However, it sometimes can be an ongoing occurrence if that person had been repeatedly violated or mistreated.
Post-traumatic symptoms include nightmares, a high level of fear or terror, screaming, or even panic. Unlike other anxiety disorders this one is typically event-related while others are not necessarily.
Social Phobia/Anxiety-This type of disorder may be different for different people. However, overall it is the extreme fear or dread of social situations. It may be related to being made fun of or embarrassed in the past but it may also just be an extreme form of shyness a person has had since birth.
A person who suffers this disorder may still interact with people. However, this person always tends to feel more comfortable in groups of people they know well. It takes awhile for these types of people to adjust to new surroundings or to strike up a conversation with people they do not know.
However, sometimes people can really like people and really still be afraid of people. This might be post-traumatic related as well as a different type of social phobia.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)-A person who struggles with this type of disorder usually has some type of habit they cannot break. It may be virtually harmless such as repeatedly washing their hands or constantly checking the door locks. It could be very detrimental to their health such as using drugs, abusing alcohol, or becoming highly sexually involved with multiple partners.
The main motive of someone who has this type of disorder is to release the anxiety felt by acting on the thoughts they continually have. This could become dangerous if a person is psychotic, such as if they begin stalking people.
However, most OCD people are relatively harmless and just have a bad habit of needing to make sure everything is perfect-although perfectionism in itself is not an OCD indicator. A person with OCD may appear as perfectionist though, in that he or she might always be cleaning, doing the dishes, and finding a way to keep away germs.
Agoraphobia-Usually this is the fear of having a panic attack and/or fear of open or public places where a panic attack could be embarrassing. It may be combined with social anxiety or other phobias, such as fear of flying or fear of crowds.
A person may have a specific irrational fear that may have little to do with reality. For instance, numerous people are terrified of mice, snakes, or heights. This fear may be so great they might not even want to look at pictures of certain animals and they might not want to climb stairs or look out a window on a top story of a building. They will not even though it is safe to do so.
Xanax is also sometimes used for people who suffer epileptic seizures or have convulsions for some other reason. It might also be used by people who have restless leg syndrome or by individuals who suffer from insomnia.
Epileptic Seizures-There are actually different types of seizures, otherwise known as convulsions. Symptoms could range from staring into space, violent screams, spasms (severe muscle contractions) in the brain, involuntary limb movements, or brief unconsciousness. This is a disease that affects the central nervous system, and Xanax works to slow down the activity that causes these types of attacks.
Restless Leg Syndrome-An easy way to describe a person like this is that he or she has the constant need to move around. It seems that a person like this can almost never sit still. It quite frequently happens in the middle of the night but also during the day.
It often is more than just not being able to get comfortable and sit still even after shifting positions. It also may involve the burning, itching, or tickling sensation in the muscles. Sometimes a person may feel like small bugs are crawling around in his or her legs.
Usually this occurs only in the legs, thus the name of this condition, but it can also be in the arms. A person who has this problem usually is very active, and activity does help. Therefore, a person with Restless Leg Syndrome may talk walks, do yoga, perform stretches, or take up biking or a team sport.