What Medications for Stress and Anxiety Relief Can I Buy Over the Counter?

Whoa! Slow down, my friend. Can we have a quick chat first? l know you don’t have the time. But, please make that time and come along with me for a few minutes. Trust me this one article could make you look at your challenges with stress in a new light.

First of all, you say you are suffering from stress and anxiety. Why and how come? What is the reason behind all of that pain? Secondly, did you know that stress is the cause and anxiety is the result? Thirdly, are you a qualified physician who understands what is physiologically and psychologically out of balance in you? Fourthly, do you know what type of medication you need? I’m not asking about brand names – they are made easy and catchy by the manufacturers just to make your life “easier”. I personally find it difficult to even pronounce some of the key ingredients – benzodiazepines, azapirones, antihistamines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, monamine oxidase inhibitors and the list goes on. Do you know what these are and what they do? Fifthly, do you know what side effects these drugs could cause? No, don’t look at the label on the packaging of the medication. Sixthly (now this is getting weird), do you know how long you need to take them and how frequently? Again, don’t look at the label. You know what, look at the label and read it all. Do you see that disclaimer on the label? It says, “consult your physician”, doesn’t it? Well, that’s for a purpose. In addition to covering themselves from litigation, the drug manufacturer is actually giving you the right advice that unfortunately we tend to simply ignore.

Medications are not candy

Medication for stress and anxiety relief should not be confused with candy or vitamins or even the latest panacea for common cold (what is it by the way?) Such medication is serious business and it requires a careful consideration of your situation, a thorough evaluation of your physiological and psychological health, due diligence on your allergies and side effects of the ingredients on you, before a decision can be made on what medication you can use and what the dosage should be.

While such medication can be obtained mostly through prescriptions in the United States , countries of the European Union and Down Under, some countries do not have such regulatory controls. If you are living in such countries, I implore you to resist the urge to simply walk up to the drugstore and empty your money bag on medications for stress and anxiety relief. Go to a qualified healthcare professional and seek help.

Medication for stress relief – does not exist. I can repeat that as many times as anyone wants me to. It is like medication for the common cold. The confusion comes as a result of improper education on stress management. We are subjected to stress for as long as we live. Situations in life, our experiences with objects, people and events cause stress. When we cannot physiologically or psychologically deal with the situation using our inherent faculties we get subjected to stress. It is human nature to be in control of everything, have an answer to every question, a solution to every problem – to be always in charge. When we cannot fulfill this basic instinct we create stress on ourselves.

What Exactly is Stress?

The value of your home is dropping like a stone for the last year with no signs of a turnaround. Surely that is a problem, but quite honestly is it something you can control? There’s nothing wrong with your property, but rather the market conditions that is causing the drop. What can you do about it? This could subject you to stress. A family member is ill and had to be hospitalized. Well, you cannot control the person’s health, can you? You can’t even control yours in some cases. This could cause stress. What I am trying to get at is when we feel helpless, when we cannot find that answer to the question or that solution to the problem, we get subjected to stress.

Medications cannot eliminate your stress

Now tell me, what medication can take care of such circumstances? Ask your doctor, scour the Internet, spend a week in the local library you will not find anything that talks about medication for stress relief. Stress is a condition of the mind, which spreads into your anatomy over time. There is no medication – prescription or over the counter for stress.

Confused? Well, the medication that you are really looking for are for the symptoms of stress -these are anxiety, depression, phobias, panic attacks and their derivatives and concoctions. These are physiological and psychological manifestations of stress – something that you can control. So the medications available are to remedy these symptoms of stress not the cause.

Address the root cause and you’ll eliminate the symptoms of stress

Now read this section very carefully to get a thorough understanding . What happens to that weed in your garden when you just snap it off from the trunk that is visible above the ground? After a few days, it grows right back. Do this a few times, and it keeps growing back. Why do you think that is? Well, that’s because you are only addressing the symptom which is the ugly part of the weed that is visible above the ground. The root below the ground is hale and hearty and well protected and it continues to grow deeper and stronger. You are not trying to stop the proliferation of the root, so it keeps coming back again and again.

What happens if you took the time and effort to dig the weed out of the ground from the root itself? It might take some effort, depending on how long and spread out the root has become, to dig it all out. But when you remove the weed from the root, the same weed cannot grow in that same spot in your garden, right? So you eliminated the root cause and thereby remedied the symptom.

It’s amazing how simple things in life can create such a huge impact on us. Draw the example from the simple weed and compare it to your problem. Your medications will take care of the symptoms of stress such as anxiety, depression, phobias and panic attacks, but they won’t address the root cause of stress. The secret to a true and long lasting solution to stress management lies in your mind and not in medications that you can purchase as a prescription drug or over the counter.