Question: Anxiety disorders and depression are the most common disorders in the U.S. What are current treatments available for these disorders (you can choose a specific one such as PTSD) and how successful is the treatment?

I chose to research a specific anxiety disorder: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) because it is one of the most common anxiety disorders out there. GAD is a pattern of continuous uneasiness and anxiety over a number of different occasions and activities. There are currently two main treatments for GAD: medications and psychotherapy.

To begin, medications including Antidepressants, Buspirone, and Benzodiazepines are commonly used to treat GAD. These titles are, of course, quite broad. To be more specific, antidepressants such as Paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft) and venlafaxine (Effexor) are common treatments for GAD. These medicines effect the movement of brain chemicals. As far as Buspirone goes, it is a type of medication that can be consumed continually. It usually takes up to several weeks to develop into a completely successful treatment, which is the same for most antidepressants. Finally, Benzodiazepines contain medicines like lorazepam (Ativan), diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium) and alprazolam (Xanax). These are normally prescribed for short-term anxiety.

Another very customary treatment of GAD is psychotherapy. Psychotherapy includes working and talking out core life fears and worries, and then making changes in