Managing Your Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Having spoken with your doctor, you understand Cymbalta's role in managing the symptoms associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which can include:
- Excessive anxiety
- Constant worry
- Restlessness or feeling "keyed up" or on edge
- Being easily fatigued
- Having difficulty concentrating or your mind going blank
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbance
What to expect from Cymbalta
While the mechanism of action for Cymbalta is not fully known, its effects on GAD may be due to increasing the activity of two naturally occurring substances in the central nervous system, serotonin and norepinephrine. These substances aid communication in many areas of the brain that affect emotion, such as the anxiety symptoms you may be experiencing.
Cymbalta is in a class of medications called selective SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), and is FDA approved for the acute treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Over 9 million patients in the United States have been prescribed Cymbalta.
Other Treatment Options
In combination with your Cymbalta prescription, your doctor also may ask you to attend therapy with a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or counselor. This treatment can be very helpful in treating GAD by helping to change the thinking patterns that support your fear, as well as how you react to anxiety-provoking situations.
While there is no cure for GAD, the goals of treatment are to treat the anxiety symptoms you are experiencing and to help improve your functioning in life.
Contact us if you have any questions about Cymbalta.
