When anxiety is present, higher doses of medication may be necessary to treat depression than in cases of depression alone. While the clinician may be tempted to change medication when no response is seen, a higher dose of the same medication may be efficacious. This is particularly true when an anxiety disorder is not readily apparent in the clinic setting, as may be the case when a patient has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patients with an anxiety disorder often present with a sense of urgent need for treatment. These patients may be calmed temporarily with a benzodiazepine, which acts quickly.
Some benzodiazepines can, however, make patients more depressed.
Considering the goal of therapy is important. While achieving remission rather than partial response is an easy target in some patients, it may be a very difficult goal to achieve in others. In anxiety disorder, the goal of treatment is less clear. While the aim of treating panic disorder is generally considered to be complete elimination of panic attacks, it may be sufficient to eliminate the dysfunction which accompanies attacks without completely eliminating the attacks. In fact, eliminating all anxiety may eliminate adaptive responses to stress.