In the modern world, most people are forced to constantly be in a state of stress and emotional tension, which naturally leads over time to various neurotic disorders. By the way, in developed countries, up to 20% of the population suffers from these disorders.
In connection with the described situation, the problems of diagnosing neurotic disorders, as well as their treatment, are currently becoming one of the most relevant in pharmacology and medicine. And drugs that help to cope with increased anxiety, anxiety and emotional disturbances are among the most popular today.
In the article we will try to take a closer look at the action of psychotropic drugs, which group includes tranquilizers, also called anxiolytics, and antidepressants, and also to understand what is the difference between their effects on the human body.
Anxiety disorders are the scourge of modern man
Among the psycho-emotional disorders that manifest themselves within the framework of psychosomaticdiseases and neuroses (neurasthenia should be highlighted in the first place), it is anxiety disorders that are most common. They, by the way, can also be observed as a separate nosological form (i.e., an independent disease), for example, in the form of panic attacks, social phobias, or generalized anxiety disorder. And, unfortunately, anxiety-depressive disorders currently occur in 70% of patients with depressive conditions of non-psychotic origin, while for reasons that are not yet clear, 75% of them are women.
It is worth noting that if neuroses increase the feeling of fear and anxiety, regardless of the nature of the underlying disease, then in medicine this is always considered as a negative circumstance. This happens because anxiety greatly worsens the psychoemotional state of the patient, and against this background, psychosomatic pathology may develop, and the somatic (bodily) diseases that he already has will be more difficult and with a worse prognosis.
Various psychotropic drugs help fight anxiety, including tranquilizers (anxiolytics) and antidepressants.
Anxiolytics (tranquilizers) and antidepressants: the difference between them
But it must be clarified right away that, despite a similar general focus, these funds have a different effect on the patient. And the main difference between tranquilizers and antidepressants is precisely that anxiolytics work to destroy feelings of anxiety, melancholy, restlessness, irritability,accompanying depression, and antidepressants fight the disease itself.
Tranquilizers (a list of drugs with this action will be provided below) detect their effect immediately, but it usually lasts no more than a day, after which the patient, without receiving the next dose of the drug, may again experience alarming symptoms.
The effect of antidepressants is longer, as it is aimed at the causes of the pathological condition. The course of treatment with these drugs can last 1-2 months, and in severe cases up to a year. But with the right therapy, antidepressants allow you to get rid of depression completely. In severe cases of the disease, tranquilizers are prescribed together with antidepressants - some treat the manifestation of the disease, while others treat its cause.
What properties do tranquilizers have?
So, we found out that tranquilizers primarily have an anxiolytic effect - this is a decrease in the patient's feelings of fear, anxiety, tension, manifested to varying degrees in various psychosomatic pathologies.
As a rule, tranquilizers also have a sedative (general sedative), hypnotic, muscle relaxant (reducing muscle tone), as well as anticonvulsant action. And the hypnotic effect of the described drugs is expressed in the increased effect on the patient's body of sleeping pills, analgesics (painkillers), as well as narcotic drugs used together with tranquilizers.
Named drugs can be veryeffective in obsessive states (so-called obsessiveness) or increased suspiciousness (hypochondria). But it should be noted that at the same time, acute affective, delusional, hallucinatory and other disorders, which can also be accompanied by anxiety, fear and anxiety, cannot be treated with tranquilizers.
How is information transmitted in the human brain?
To understand how a person develops a constant feeling of fear and anxiety, emotional tension, and other signs of a depressive state, let's look in general terms at how information is transmitted in the brain.
The brain consists of nerve cells - neurons that do not directly touch each other. There is a synapse (or synaptic cleft) between neurons, and therefore the transmission of information, namely electrical impulses between neurons, is carried out using chemical mediators called mediators.
Disturbances in the emotional sphere of a person lead to a change in the concentration of some mediators (this condition includes a decrease in the amount of three of them): norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine.
How does an antidepressant work?
The action of antidepressants is aimed at regulating the number of mediators. As soon as the neuron receives an electrical signal, neurotransmitters enter the synapse and help to transmit this signal further. But if they are destroyed, then the transmission process becomes weak or even impossible. And in suchcases, as a rule, we are talking about a depressive state of a person - the patient's concentration is disturbed, apathy occurs, the emotional background decreases, anxiety, a feeling of fear and similar manifestations of a pathological condition appear.
The prescription of antidepressants in this condition prevents the destruction of mediators, due to which the transmission of the nerve impulse is enhanced, and the inhibition of the signal is compensated.
But it should be borne in mind that long-term use of antidepressants inevitably causes side effects in the form of weight changes, impaired sexual activity, dizziness, nausea, and itching of the skin. Why are these legal psychotropic drugs inevitably placed in the category of drugs that require special control over the appointment and intake.
Why are tranquilizers so widespread?
Unlike antidepressants, the effect of anxiolytics is to reduce excitability in the subcortical areas of the brain, while the effect on the concentration of mediators in these drugs is weak.
In clinical practice, the spread of tranquilizers (anxiolytics) is facilitated by the fact that, compared with antidepressants, they have fewer severe side effects and, as a rule, are well tolerated by the patient.
Anxiolytic drugs are used both in hospital and outpatient settings. And the scope of their use has long gone beyond the scope of psychiatry. It covers neurological, surgical, oncological and other diseases. And this is connected in the first placeturn with the fact that since the development of the first tranquilizers, their group has already more than 100 different drugs with a wide range of effects, and the development of new ones continues to this day.
When are anxiolytics used?
So, as you probably already understood, in order to eliminate the feeling of fear, anxiety, increase the threshold of emotional excitability, normalize sleep, reduce irritability, incontinence and hypochondriacal reactions, the patient needs to prescribe anxiolytics. Their influence helps to streamline the patient's behavior, reduce the exhaustion of the central nervous system, improve the social adaptation of the patient, and even reduce autonomic disorders. Indications for the use of these funds are both neurotic conditions and manifestations of sleep disorders, as well as cardiovascular problems and pain syndromes.
The most common in such cases are tranquilizers related to benzodiazepines: Xanax, Lorazepam, Finazepam, Elenium, Diazepam or Relanium. But the so-called atypical anxiolytics, such as Buspirone hydrochloride or Mexidol, have also become widespread.
Tranquilizers: a list of drugs and their effects
Tranquilizers (anxiolytics), as already mentioned, are used in the treatment of many diseases of both psychosomatic and somatic origin.
These drugs help reduce the excitability of those parts of the human brain that are responsible for emotionalreactions. And the main thing in tranquilizers is an anxiolytic effect, which is expressed not only in reducing anxiety, but also in reducing obsessiveness (obsessive thoughts), as well as in alleviating hypochondria (increased suspiciousness). They relieve mental stress, fear and anxiety, which is most pronounced in such drugs as Finazepam, Nozepam, Diazepam and Lorazepam.
And the drugs "Nitrazepam" and "Alprazolam", which have a pronounced sedative effect, can also be classified as a sleeping pill-tranquilizer. Medicines "Mezapam" and "Grandaxin" are classified as so-called daytime tranquilizers, which are practically devoid of muscle relaxant (muscle-relaxing) and sedative properties, which allows them to be taken during working hours.
The drugs "Clonazepam", "Finazepam" and "Diazepam" also have an anticonvulsant effect, and they are used to treat autonomic crises and convulsive syndrome.
How are anxiolytics prescribed?
When prescribing anxiolytics, the difference in their spectrum of action must be taken into account. Although in large doses, any of them exhibit all the pharmacological properties characteristic of tranquilizers.
The usual course of treatment for drugs that have anxiolytic effects is approximately 4 weeks. In this case, the drug is taken from a week to 10 days constantly, and then a three-day break is taken, after which the drug is resumed. This mode allows in many cases to avoid the effect of addiction if necessary.long-term use.
At the same time, a short-acting anxiolytic agent (for example, Lorazepam or Alprazolam) is recommended to be taken 3-4 times a day, and long-acting agents (Diazepam, etc.) - no more than 2 once a day. By the way, "Diazepam" is often prescribed to be taken once before bedtime, as it has a pronounced sedative effect.
Precaution when taking tranquilizers
But all the drugs described above require mandatory medical supervision, otherwise the patient may develop addiction - the anxiolytic effect with prolonged use will be reduced and an increase in the dose of the drug will be required. In addition, the formation of drug dependence is also likely. And with long-term use, the risk of dependence increases especially strongly. In turn, this can also cause the so-called withdrawal syndrome, which leads to a general deterioration in the patient's condition and, by the way, to an exacerbation of precisely those symptoms that anxiolytics were aimed at eliminating.
By the way, these side effects of tranquilizers are especially pronounced in children and adolescents under 18 years of age, which is why their use in this age category is possible only in exceptional cases, when there are clearly justified indications for this. Even so, the duration of therapy should be kept to a minimum.
List of major adverse effects of anxiolytics
Unfortunately, the anxiolytic effect is not only an anti-neurotic effectdrug on the human body, but also some of the problems caused by its side effects.
The main manifestations of side effects of tranquilizers are a decrease in the level of wakefulness, which is expressed in daytime sleepiness, impaired attention and forgetfulness.
And the effect of muscle relaxation (relaxation of skeletal muscles) is also manifested by general weakness or a decrease in strength in some muscle groups. In some cases, the use of tranquilizers is also accompanied by the so-called "behavioral toxicity", that is, a slight impairment of cognitive functions, expressed in some decrease in memory, susceptibility and speech skills.
One of the ways to alleviate the situation, doctors consider the use of daytime tranquilizers, which include "Gidazepam", "Prazepam", as well as "Mebikar", "Trimetozin", "Medazepam" and other drugs in which these side effects are manifested to a small extent.
Signs of an overdose of tranquilizers
The pronounced anxiolytic effect of tranquilizers often leads to thoughtless and uncontrolled use of these drugs. After all, quickly getting rid of a state of emotional stress is so great!
But anxiolytics, especially those that belong to benzodiazepines, are readily soluble in fat, which helps them to be completely absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and evenly distributed in the tissues of the human body. And this, in turn, leads to very serious consequences in case of an overdose.
As a rule, an overdose is accompanied by increased drowsiness,weakness, impaired gait, speech and dizziness. More severe stages of poisoning are accompanied by respiratory failure, changes in tendon reflexes, complete loss of consciousness, and sometimes a coma. Therefore, although it is not difficult to obtain some tranquilizers (although these are psychotropic drugs) without a prescription, remember that these drugs can only be taken on the advice of your doctor and under his supervision!
What other drugs have an anxiolytic effect?
By the way, as anti-anxiety in medicine are sometimes used and means that are not related to sedative-hypnotics. So, for example, such an antihistamine drug as "Hydroxyzine" has a clear anxiolytic effect. This is especially expressed in situations where the patient's anxiety and emotional stress are caused by skin irritations.
Some nootropics (like Phenibut) also have anti-anxiety effects. The homeopathic remedy "Tenaten" has also proven itself worthy.
Tinctures of some medicinal herbs (motherwort, immortelle, prickly tartar, Rhodiola rosea, peony and Schisandra chinensis) will help improve your mood by removing the feeling of depression or irritation. And calendula will relieve not only psycho-emotional stress, but also the headache caused by it.
Stress resistance will help increase ginseng root, and angelica and hawthorn will be useful for insomnia. All these herbal infusions are drunk in courses of 14 days, and ifthe expected effect does not occur, a doctor's consultation is required.
