A Guide To What Works For Anxiety Disorders - Mental Health First Aid

Other anxiety disordersThere is no evidence on whether beta-blockers work for SpecificPhobias or OCD.ARE THERE ANY RISKS?Beta-blockers can cause a range of side-effects, including nausea,diarrhoea, fatigue, dizziness, vision problems and poor concentration.However, most people can cope with these side-effects. Thesedrugs should be avoided by people with asthma, as they can affectthe bronchial muscle. They should also be avoided by people withcardiovascular (heart) disease.RECOMMENDATIONThere is mixed evidence on beta-blockers for anxiety disorders. Theevidence suggests that these drugs are not effective for GAD, SocialPhobia and Panic Disorder. There is not enough good quality researchas to whether they are useful for PTSD.Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)GADOur ratingPanic Disorder and AgoraphobiaOur ratingPTSD and ASDSpecific PhobiasSocial Phobia OCD?WHAT IS IT?DBS is a type of brain stimulation. It requires surgery to implant adevice (called a ‘brain pacemaker’) and wiring under the skin into thechest, neck and brain. The pacemaker is usually placed under the skinnear the shoulder. Wiring then goes from the pacemaker, into the neckand then connects to an ‘electrode’ that is placed in the brain. Thissends electric impulses to the part of the brain that needs stimulating.Different brain areas are targeted for different disorders. DBS hasmostly been used for people with Parkinson’s disease. With anxietydisorders, DBS has only been used to treat severe OCD that has notresponded to other treatments.HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK?It is not known exactly how DBS works, other than stimulating partsof the brain.DOES IT WORK?OCDThere have been several studies of DBS for severe OCD. In one goodqualitystudy, 16 patients had DBS devices implanted. At different timesover six months, the participants received either active (real) or ‘sham’(fake) stimulation. The results showed that OCD symptoms improvedmore with active DBS compared to the sham condition. There havebeen smaller studies, involving only a few people, all with severe, longstandingOCD. These studies generally compared OCD symptomswhen stimulation was turned on versus off. Overall, these studies showthat some, but not all, people improve with DBS.Other anxiety disordersThere is no evidence on whether Deep Brain Stimulation works forGAD, PTSD, Social Phobia, Panic Disorder or Specific Phobias.19