Question

Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed medications for several indications, including anxiety and sleep disorders. Let's discuss their use in our health care systems and the impact on our patients.
Things to consider might include (just getting you thinking):

Safety: How could the side effect profile affect your patient?
Efficacy: Are benzodiazepines efficacious for anxiety and sleep?
Use: Are they under or over prescribed? How can we ensure safe use of these medications?

Consider the following case:

A 24 year old female completing her studies. While home for spring break, she presents to her primary care physician because she has been worried about her academic, professional, and personal future since class restarted in late August. She is constantly worried about passing all of her exams and that she is going to be the only one of her friends that graduates school without a ring on her finger.

How would you help her assuming she meets the criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Answer 1

First of all, I would provide adequate time and listent to all her concerns without judgement to her experience and try to build a connection as well as try to determine her ability to control her anxiety level. Looking at her present condition I would assume that the 24 year old female need sufficient amount of quality sleep with a plenty of healthy and nutritious food and physical activities. These things will help her a lot to limit her anxiety levels. Since the student already meets the criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I would prescribe her with a limited and restricted quantity of Benzodiazepines as it will effectively control the excessive activity of the nerves in her brain, restrain her anxiety levels and help her to sleep well. I would ask her to avoid alcohol in case she takes it to manage anxiety symptoms. I will also tell her about the serious side effects of the medicine in order to restrict her from taking overdoses and getting addicted. I will ask her to meet more people, talk to friends and family more openly and openly express herself rather than keeping all the things to herself. I will advise her to be positive about her academic, professional, and personal future and recommned some self-help workbooks form good health professionals. There are also a number of relaxation techniques like S.T.O.P. which can actually help her in relaxing and collecting herself for various challenges.