Medications
First-line choices for medications include SSRIs or SNRIs to treat generalized anxiety disorder. For adults there is no good evidence supporting which specific medication in the SSRI or SNRI class is best for treating anxiety, so cost often drives drug choice. Fluvoxamine is effective in treating a range of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Fluoxetine, sertraline and paroxetine can also help with some forms of anxiety in children and adolescents. If the chosen medicine is effective, it is recommended that it is continued for at least a year. Stopping medication results in a greater risk of relapse.Buspirone and pregabalin are second-line treatments for people who do not respond to SSRIs or SNRIs; there is also evidence that benzodiazepines, including diazepam and clonazepam, are effective. Pregabalin and gabapentin are effective in treating some anxiety disorders but there is concern regarding their off-label use due to the lack of strong scientific evidence for their efficacy in multiple conditions and their proven side effects.Medications need to be used with care among older adults, who are more likely to have side effects because of coexisting physical disorders. Adherence problems are more likely among older people, who may have difficulty understanding, seeing, or remembering instructions.In general, medications are not seen as helpful in specific phobia, but a benzodiazepine is sometimes used to help resolve acute episodes. In 2007, data were sparse for efficacy of any drug. Cannabis
As of 2019, there is little evidence for cannabis in treating anxiety disorders.
Studies have found the degree of exposure to a disaster has been found to be the best predictor of PTSD. Separation anxiety disorder
Separation anxiety disorder (SepAD) is the feeling of excessive and inappropriate levels of anxiety over being separated from a person or place. Separation anxiety is a normal part of development in babies or children, and it is only when this feeling is excessive or inappropriate that it can be considered a disorder. Separation anxiety disorder affects roughly 7% of adults and 4% of children, but the childhood cases tend to be more severe; in some instances, even a brief separation can produce panic. Treating a child earlier may prevent problems. This may include training the parents and family on how to deal with it. Often, the parents will reinforce the anxiety because they do not know how to properly work through it with the child. In addition to parent training and family therapy, medication, such as SSRIs, can be used to treat separation anxiety. Obsessive–compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is not classified as an anxiety disorder by the DSM-5, but is by the ICD-10. It was previously classified as an anxiety disorder in the DSM-IV. It is a condition where the person has obsessions (distressing, persistent, and intrusive thoughts or images) and compulsions (urges to repeatedly perform specific acts or rituals), that are not caused by drugs or physical disorder, and which cause distress or social dysfunction. The compulsive rituals are personal rules followed to relieve the feeling of discomfort.