Medications For ADHD and Anxiety
The same medications that treat ADHD can be used to treat anxiety. Stimulants like methylphenidate or amphetamine increase the levels of certain neurotransmitters that are present in the brain. Antidepressants and nonstimulants like atomoxetine could also be helpful.
In some instances, stimulant medications can cause anxiety to worsen. If this is the case, your doctor might prescribe an alternative medication or switch to another.
Stimulants
Stimulants are usually the drug of choice for people with ADHD who also have anxiety. These drugs are believed to aid both ADHD and anxiety because they increase brain's production of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which promotes concentration and decreases impulsivity. It also aids in motivation and memory.
The stimulant drugs like amphetamines or methylphenidate block the process of reuptake, which keeps dopamine and norepinephrine in higher levels in your brain. This improves focus and decreases the tendency to be impulsive, making it easier to manage anger and other emotions that could cause anxiety to become worse.
However, stimulants can also have an an unexpected side effect that can trigger symptoms of anxiety. They can also trigger sleep issues, which means you or your child may struggle to get enough restful sleep. see this site can also reduce appetite, which can interfere in eating enough to maintain healthy growth. get redirected here experience tics which are sudden movements or sound like eye blinking and throat clearing. These side effects, although frequent, can be lowered or eliminated by some simple methods.
It's important to recognize that every person reacts differently to stimulants and non-stimulant ADHD medications. It might take a bit of trial and error to find the best combination of medications dosages, schedules, and dosages for your child or yourself.
When determining a treatment plan, your healthcare provider will consider your specific symptoms and life style. They'll likely recommend a treatment to manage anxiety and observe the response of your medication to determine which treatment options are best for you.
Certain ADHD medications may interact with medications for treating anxiety. Adderall, for example can cause anxiety in children with both ADHD and anxiety. This is because psychostimulants affect the way the brain processes information about potential threats in the external and internal environments, and it's possible that they could hinder this normal process.
However this doesn't mean ADHD and anxiety aren't treated together. see this site 's also possible that reducing ADHD symptoms could decrease anxiety, too, as they might reduce the number of stressful situations and conflicts that children who are not treated for ADHD confront.
Psychostimulants are generally found to be effective in reducing both ADHD and anxiety in a number of studies. They're generally more effective than traditional antianxiety medications for both disorders. It's possible that the decrease of anxiety using psychostimulants was due to the improvement in ADHD symptoms rather than the drug itself.
