Preview

Anxiety Disorders: Alprazolam (Xanax)

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
301 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Anxiety Disorders: Alprazolam (Xanax)
Alprazolam (or Xanax) is a common drug prescribed to treat anxiety disorders. Anxiety is the human body’s reaction to stressful, threatening, or uncommon situations. Some individuals report feeling fear, agitation, uneasiness, and distress (Lee). Approximately 18% of the United States population suffers from this disorder (NIMH). The physiological processes behind anxiety must be noted to understand how Xanax treats this disorder.
Anxiety will constantly cause the human body to enter a sympathetic motor response of “fight-or-flight.” This response is essential for human survival and allows us to react or avoid a threatening situation (Britannica). For instance, whenever a person feels a phase of anxiety, many parts of the brain such as the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Discussed is some of the research that has been conducted on the role of the amygdala in anxiety, as well as the role of GABA and benzodiazepines in anxiety. Research has indicated through amygdala lesions and stimulation that the amygdala does indeed play a major role in the expression of anxiety. Research has also indicated, through drug infusions to the amygdala, that benzodiazepines cause anxiolysis (by increasing GABA transmission), and that benzodiazepine antagonists increase anxiety (by decreasing GABA transmission). Also discussed are some limitations and problems found with benzodiazepine use.…

    • 2754 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theory Critique

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hart refers to anxiety as being “a disease of stress” that in turn can lead to physical and emotional illness such as: panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder among many other. So how does one become anxious or have anxiety? As Hart put it, “(people are) designed for life at camel speed, but we’re racing like cheetahs!” (Hart 1999), meaning that as people we are moving through life as such a fast-pace and because we take on so many responsibilities it has causes us to become anxious, which leads to stress. Hart goes on to explain about the brain’s inner workings, how one’s body responds to stress, and how the thought process can contribute to anxiety. Hart explains how anxiety can cause problems within the brain, due to the absence of neurotransmitters, which he refers to as the “happy messengers”. The balance between happy, which is due to the GABA and sad, Cortisol, is determined by the levels of stress which one is experiencing that causes a chemical imbalance that in turns allow anxiety to take over one’s mind, body, and spirit.…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psych 105

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Brain activation in response to threat occurs in the hypothalamus, stimulating the nearby pituitary gland, releases ACTH. ACTH stimulates adrenal glands. Adrenal glands then release hormones (cortisol) including catecholamines, which increases the sympathetic nervous system and decrease parasympathetic activation.…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Xanax

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Xanax has three names, the generic name is Alprazolam. The brand names are Niravam, Xanax XR and of course just Xanax (www.drugs.com/Xanax.html). No matter what the name they all do the same thing to your body. What do these drugs do you may ask? Well for starters they are used in a number of ways. One main reason these drugs are used is for anxiety. Anxiety is related to being stressed, almost everyone has experienced this at some point. Could you imagine living with severe anxiety everyday of your life? I know that I definitely couldn’t. Another reason they are used is for women with PMS (Premenstrual syndrome). All of the things this drug is used for has been related to something with anxiety.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Essay 2 final hypnosis

    • 1905 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The origins of stress and anxiety stem back millions of years ago when the fight or flight was a response vital to our survival.…

    • 1905 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anti-Anxiety Medication

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I found my source by heading to the EBSCO page, and following steps 1-through-9. I entered in the keyword “Anxiety Medications” and briefly read through the titles, and then the abstracts, until I found one that seemed pertinent, yet was of adequate length to fully analyze and to write this summary on.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a threat or stressor is identified or realised, the body's stress response is a state of alarm. During this stage adrenaline will be produced in order to bring about the fight-or-flight response.…

    • 2340 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Xanax, or alprazolam, is a prescription medication in the benzodiazepine class of drugs. This drug is often prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorders, because it acts as a central nervous system depressant, slowing brain activity to produce a calming effect. Xanax obviously has legitimate medical uses, but people can become addicted to it. When this occurs, the drug can produce harmful physical and psychological effects. These problems are magnified when Xanax is taken in conjunction with another central nervous system depressant such as alcohol. Mixing Xanax and alcohol can produce a strong sedative effect that can lead to slowed respiration, coma, and even death.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The response is characterized by a coordinating discharge of the sympathetic nervous system and portions of the parasympathetic nervous system and by the secretion of a number of hormones, especially epinephrine and cortisol. When a person experiences a threatening situation, the associated emotions that arise in the limbic system portion of the brain are translated automatically into the appropriate physiological responses through nervous and hormonal pathways mediated by hypothalamus. Some prominent aspects of the flight-or-flight response are an elevation of the heart rate and blood pressure, constriction of the blood vessels of the skin and increased activity in the reticular formation of the…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Xanax

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Alprazolam (the clinical name for xanax) is used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks. It works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. Xanax is comes in both concentrated tablets and in liquid forms. Xanax is part of the class of drugs called benzodiazepines more commonly referred to as Benzo. Xanax is so addictive that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) only approves usage of the drug for 8 weeks at a time in the United States. A user of xanax will usually become more dependent on the drug when larger doses are administered. If one uses these drugs long term the users body will develop tolerance for the drug and therefore a larger dose will be needed to achieve the same effects causing an overdose sometimes. When a user is brought off of xanax the body will go through a withdrawal. The symptoms from Xanax and other benzo’s are quite similar, but Xanax has a much higher incidence of panic attack and a and severe behavioral type problems. Xanax and other benzo’s are depressants. They sometimes referred to as minor tranquilizers. The effect on the mind is very similar to alcohol. It should be emphasized again that all minor tranquilizers combine with each other or with other central nervous system depressants have a potentially fatal effect. While they can be lethal when taken alone, they are especially dangerous in combination with these other drugs. A large percentage of drug-related emergency room visits involve minor tranquilizers. All of the minor tranquilizers impair mental alertness and physical coordination and can dangerously compromise mechanical performance or simply driving a car. Withdraws from Benzo’s such as xanax can last up to a year depending on the lethality in which the drug was administered and or abused by the user. Xanax is no drug to be played with because once the user becomes addicted to it, the self-detox or drop off rate becomes very low. The conclusion is that Xanax might look harmless but the truth is that…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This medication is used to treat problems such as anxiety and panic disorders in patients, basically to relax them. (Volkow, Nora D., M.D. "From the Director.") Many abuse the drug and take it recreationally without being prescribed. Those abusing it are often seeking its sedative side effects. Xanax is a highly addictive drug that even people prescribed can become addicted to. Abusing this drug can lead to many problems, including lack of coordination, slurred speech, confusion and disorientation. Xanax is a depressant, meaning it slows down your central nervous system. For patients who actually need this medication for serious problems, it can be a good thing. Although not good for anyone consuming the drug for fun.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Xanax

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Xanax is a prescription only drug, which can only be given by a doctor. It has been used to treat some types of depression, anxiety, and even panic attacks. Around, the early eighty’s Xanax was produced. This was supposed to be a less addictive drug than such as Valiums. Xanax should be taken on a “short term,” bases only. The side effects are dangerous and deadly. Because, the sedative is addictive, patients are strongly advised to follow the doctor’s orders while taking the drug. The Upjohn Company, now Pfizer introduced the pill. This is a medication that can help a person, but be harmful if used incorrectly.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fight Or Flight Response

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Which is another name for the fight or flight response? Sympathetic nervous system The "fight or flight response" is our body's automatic response that prepares the body to "fight or flight" from perceived attack, harm or threat to ourselves. This response is something we are born with and has been in our systems for as long as humans have been alive. This "fight or flight" response happens when the internal or external stress activates the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Generalized Anxiety

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Anxiety usually develops when someone is facing something that is out of their comfort zone and therefore can be many challenging situations. For example, if you were to take an exam, attend an interview or give a speech. It affects people in different ways because for some, these situations can be considered…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Retaining the status as the most prevalent mental disorder for the past few decades, anxiety can impact individuals in myriad ways (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005). Particularly, the cognitive ramifications of anxiety are of significance as they can lead to the development of an attention bias towards threat. (Cisler & Koster, 2010). As indicated by previous research, threat bias manifests in multiple forms (e.g. oversensitivity to perceived threat, near inability to disengage from threat) (Cisler & Koster, 2010). Notwithstanding the various manifestations of threat bias, the overall heightened sensitivity to threat arouses the autonomic nervous system (ANS), specifically the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which controls the “fight-or-flight” response, as discovered by Cannon (1932). However, when attention bias toward threat is chronic, the SNS will be excessively activated, leading to health problems (e.g. weakened immune system, cardiovascular complications) (Dienstbier, 1989).…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays