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It is likely comes as no surprise that there is a vast array of anti anxiety drugs. After all anxiety is the most common of all mental disorders with a staggering one out of every four Americans suffering from the condition at one time or the other. And even if you don have one of the so called anxiety disorders (panic attacks, agoraphobia etc...) you probably are dealing with more anxiety than you would like. Besides the already daunting number of mainstream anti anxiety drugs there are new drugs and new applications for older ones appearing faster than your lost relativities would show up if you were to win the lottery jackpot. In this informational article titled Anxiety Drugs we will quickly cover four general categories along with some brief information. Most medications prescribed for anxiety fall under one of the following categories: *Antidepressants: There are four basic categories of antidepressants; Tricyclic, MAO Inhibitors, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Atypical Antidepressants. Antidepressant medications have been part of the conventional approach to treating anxiety for over 20 years now. These types of anxiety drugs are common used to treat depression as well as anxiety. Examples of drugs that fall into this category are Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft. *Benzodiazepines (mild tranquilizers): mild tranquilizers were first introduced over 40 years ago. They work fast and upon introduction rapidly became the anti anxiety drug treatment of choice. They work directly on the brain by reinforcing a substance that dampens the ability of nerve cells to get excited. For years doctors thought they had found utopia in the treatment of anxiety but certain side effects started to make this choice not quite as desirable as once thought. Additionally withdrawal symptoms were quite severe if for some reason the medication had to be discontinued. Examples of anti anxiety drugs that fall into this category are Ativan, Klonopin, Librium, Valium, and Xanax. *Miscellaneous tranquilizers: There are a couple few tranquilizers that have a different chemical makeup than the above benzodiazepines and thus appear to work differently. Some doctors find this to category to be an excellent option due to the reduced number of side effects. Examples of anti anxiety drugs that fall into this category are Buspar and Vistaril. *Beta blockers: Beta blockers are used primarily hypertension/high blood pressure. High blood pressure produces anxiety. For some doctors this option seemed like a natural choice. The most widely prescribed drugs in this category work to block the neurotransmitter hormone norepinephrine thus controlling many of the physical symptoms of anxiety such as shaking, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and blushing. They are widely prescribed for performance anxiety. Examples of anti anxiety drugs that fall into this category are Inderal and Tenormin. In summary it would be impossible to list all of the drugs used to treat anxiety and anxiety related conditions in such a short article format. While this may be the case one thing that all anti anxiety medications have in common is the risk of side effects. For this reason many natural health minded individual are turning to herbal remedies for relief from mild to moderate anxiety. Herbal remedies for anxiety are very safe and have been shown to be effective in addressing many problematic anxiety symptoms and are an option worth considering.