Hoffman

Imani Hoffman
Professor Sotirakopulos
English 1102
2/4/16
Anxiety and the treatment used
One of the most commonly used treatment options for anxiety disorders is
Pharmacotherapy, which is the use of prescription medication. Anxiety disorders are one of the
most common psychiatric disorders and can appear in children as young as six years old.
Children as young as six years old or younger are being diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and
being treated with prescription pills. However, even though more research has been done to
study the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy against anxiety; most doctors prescribe
antidepressants or SSRIs for the treatment of anxiety. SSRIs are selective serotonin re-uptake
inhibitors or serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors, which are a class of drugs that are typically
used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders. It
has been argued that since anxiety and depression go hand in hand, the best treatment option is
an antidepressant which can treat both.
If that is so then why are some doctors now using an under the counter psychedelic for
treatment? According to an article called Club Drug Ketamine Gains Traction As A Treatment
For Depression, the club drug called Ketamine that is a psychedelic club drug is being more
widely used by doctors to treat tough cases of depression. This drug is Encouraged by research
showing that Ketamine can relieve even the worst depression in a matter of hours, these doctors
are giving the drug to some of their toughest patients. And they're doing this even though

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Ketamine lacks approval from the Food and Drug Administration for treating depression. In this
article, Doctor Fiefal says he uses Ketamine because he was fed up with prescription drugs and
that they werent getting effective results with his patients. But what effect could this have on
patients with both anxiety and depression?
Well so far there are case studies being conducted to see what effect using such a
powerful psychedelic could have on anxiety. Fiefal reports that he encounters many skeptics
who are wary of the use of the drug and want more research to be conducted, to which he
responds is a ridiculous notion because he has patients that are desperate for a solution. A portion
of the Ketamines effectiveness lies within Paul. A patient of Fiefal, named Paul, who reported
having severe depression started the drug in 2014 and received a dose every four to six weeks for
the past year, reports that he feels an altered sense of reality for an hour or two after getting the
drug. "I remember I was in my bathroom and I literally fell to my knees crying because I had no
anxiety, I had no depression," Pauls says. Unfortunately, with all treatment options it isnt
guaranteed to work for every patient. However the testing of this drug seems to be aimed at
consenting adults, but what for children as young as six years old or under sixteen? Well Sue
Smith, a mother of struggling eleven year old Dylan Smith has reported that the use of
prescription medication wasnt enough for her son with anxiety and behavioral problems. She
told me how she had tried many different medications but none of them quite covered the full
bounty of the issue that was until she did some research and met with a therapist. The therapist
had suggested a physical outlet, along with the use of dietary supplements such as B- complex,
Fish oil or Krill Oil, Magnesium, Vitamin B12 etc.
Dylan is enrolled in KyukiDo martial arts, along with taking prescription medication with
his daily dose of vitamins. According to Naturopathic Doctor News & Review the recommended

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treatment options include Taurine (1000 mg in the morning and at bedtime to potentiate GABA
receptors), 4-Amino-3-phenylbutyric acid (500 mg in the morning and at bedtime to stimulate
GABA receptors), N-acetylcysteine (800 mg in the morning and at bedtime to decrease
glutamate levels),L-theanine (200 mg in the morning and at bedtime to support GABA activity
through its glutamate receptor antagonist activity) and many more. Essentially a simple list of
Amino acids to keep the body on track. Dr. Trudy Scott in BestHealthmag.ca writes If you take
individual B vitamins, also take a good B complex supplement to help prevent imbalances
among these vitamins, which work together. Specific B vitamins have been shown to be deficient
in patients with agoraphobia. Along with that she also states that in a study of people with panic
disorder, OCD, and depression she found the B Vitamin inositol in amounts up to 18 grams daily
was useful and effective, with lower side effects than an anti-anxiety medication. In the article,
she goes on to say that she found this to be very helpful with clients who experience obsessive
and deep thoughts.

Elaine Pomfrey Author of the article Eat, Meditate, Exercise Treating Anixety
Naturally suggest an alternative to the typical doctor prescribed medications for anxiety. Elaine
believes that if you are willing to make a few changes then you can begin to treat your anxiety
yourself. She first suggest to eat a healthy diet, a study published in the American journal of
Psychiatry took a group of a thousand women over ten years and found that women who ate a
more traditional western diet like fast foods, refined foods or gains were more likely to be
anxious and depressed whereas the woman who ate a more organic diet of fruits, veggies, whole
grains, along with meat or fish did much better anxiety and depression wise. Next is to meditate,
relax and calm the mind. Sleep is the bodys natural way of reducing stress. There are various

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types of meditation techniques but the most popular form is transcendental meditation.
Transcendental meditation doesnt focus on chanting or breathing but rather a restful state of
mind beyond thinking. Next step is exercise, because exercise can also reduce anxiety among
other benefits to the body. Evidence from six meta-analyses concluded that exercise was
significantly correlated to reduction in anxiety according to Elaines article. Not just any exercise
will work though, it is suggested that aerobic exercise is more beneficial. Workouts like biking,
swimming, or running, over workouts like weight lifting.

Pomfreys approach to self-treatment of anxiety is something that most Americans would

struggle with, for her next step is to cut out fifty percent of caffeine and alcohol intake. A recent
study from John Hopkins Medicine reports that caffeine is the most commonly used mood
altering drug in the world, and that in North America eighty to ninety percent of adults and
children consume caffeine. In the U.S alone the average per capita daily intake among adult
caffeine consumers is 280 milligrams, which happens to be the equivalent to either 17 ounces of
brewed coffee or 84 ounces of a soft drink. Scientific studies are still being done on both ends of
Pharmacotherapy and Natural treatment options for Anxiety Disorders, but when it comes to
children that are as young as six years old with psychiatric disorders it is better to with a more
natural route to anxiety treatment before hopping right to prescription medications. Prescription
medications such as Wellbutrin that are designed to treat anxiety and depression can have up to
ten or more side effects experienced at a time. The problem with that is that most of the side
effects are subtle but uncomfortable such as agitation, dizziness, insomnia, headache, nausea, dry
mouth, constipation, ringing in the ears, vision problems, loss of interest in sex, sore throat,

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muscle pain, itching or skin rash, increased sweating, increased urination, and tremor. Kids as
young as six shouldnt be prescribed any type of medications that could cause such side effects.
Works Cited
Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit (Bpru) Fact Sheet. CAFFEINE DEPENDENCE (n.d.):
n. pag. Web.

Hamilton, John. "Club Drug Ketamine Gains Traction As A Treatment For Depression." NPR.
NPR, 7 Feb. 2016. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

Kirsch, Irving. "Antidepressants and the Placebo Effect." Zeitschrift Fur Psychologie. Hogrefe
Publishing, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

"Learn about the Transcendental Meditation Technique." Transcendental Meditation

Technique Official Website. National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

"Natural Approaches to Anxiety: Less Stress When You Dont Guess." Www.ndr.com. Ed.
Naturopathic Doctor News & Review. Bradley Bush, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.

Ogbru, Omodhome. "Side Effects of Wellbutrin (Bupropion Hcl) Drug Center - RxList." RxList.
N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

Pomfrey, Elaine. "Transcendental Meditation." Eat, Meditate, Exercise. Transcendental

Meditation, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

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Scott, Trudy. "Ease Anxiety by Adding These Nutrients to Your Diet." Best Health Magazine
Canada. Best Health, 17 Jan. 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.