The episodic nature of anxiety and its treatment with oxazepam

Abstract

The presentation of anxiety in clinical practice is examined, and it is concluded that many patients, perhaps a majority, experience fluctuating levels of anxiety. It is therefore suggested that therapy should be intermittent, according to this waxing and waning of symptoms. Most benzodiazepines are long‐acting, and are therefore unsuitable for this type of therapy, but oxazepam, which is short‐acting and has no active metabolites, is ideal for this purpose. It is proposed that such a regimen would minimize the problems of over‐sedation, psychological habituation, and a reluctance, due to a permanently tranquillized state, to deal with the root causes of the anxiety.

The Anxiolytic Potential and Psychotropic Side Effects of an Echinacea Preparation in Laboratory Animals and Healthy Volunteers

“…Anxiety disorders other than panic as well as anxieties associated with somatic diseases often show a fluctuating course (Imlah, ; McCurdy, ; Rickels and Schweizer, ; Brenes et al ., ; Cukor et al ., ), and it was suggested that patients showing fluctuating levels of anxiety may benefit from intermittent treatment especially with benzodiazepines that have a rapid onset of action (Imlah, ; McCurdy, ; Rickels and Schweizer, , ; Rouillon, ). On the other hand, nearly half of patients with psychiatric disorders (especially those suffering from depression and anxiety) prefer alternative therapies over conventional ones (Astin, ; Ben‐Arye et al ., ; Giordano et al ., ).…”