It is not surprising to see that anxiety disorder is the most prevalent psychiatric problem 

in the elderly. An appropriate use of tranquilizer may certainly lessen the suffering as stated.

Tranquilizers:

Approved benzodiazepines in the United States include:

• alprazolam (Xanax)
• chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
• clonazepam (Klonopin)
• clorazepate (Tranxene)
• diazepam (Valium)
• estazolam (Prosom)
• flurazepam (Dalmane)
• lorazepam (Ativan)

I have a question. If an old person gets into an anxiety disorder (acute or chronic), as you and they say,

does he know (or realize) that he is in an anxiety disorder himself at the moment?

As a medical doctor, I have known exactly what is supposed to be the anxiety that other people go through.

I have been in numerous moments of what must have been the situation of severe anxiety.

But, during, before, and after those moments of the stress, I've never felt that I was in a state of anxiety.

Will I be calling my family doctor and ask him, "I need a nerve pill now!" Such thing never happened to me.

Now that I have become an old person, will I get into such an anxiety spell?

If that happens, I will be very happy. I will say, "oh, man, finally, I got an anxiety spell!"

As a surgeon and a human being, I did (and do) get upset, mad, and frustrated but they weren't anxiety(?).

I will tell you one thing.

The list of nerve pills in Dr. Lee's comment brings me "anxious" nostalgia for the by-gone days.

"Long ago... Xanax, Librium, Valium, Tranxene, and finally Dalmane..."  I have not heard of them for a while.

I walked out of my white gown 26 years ago and have never looked back!

But I still remember those "dear" names just like yesterday.

The following is a comprehensive review and an answer to 

WM's question on the subject, anxiety disorder in the elderly.

https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aagponline.org%2Findex.php%3Fsrc%3Dgendocs%26ref%3Danxiety&data=02%7C01%7C%7C8425ee3281d64859cf6c08d832678285%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637314767431078428&sdata=voRgvX884WLY0eEUhhR9nSGg8BTf%2BOLd%2FZhc8wqp2Kc%3D&reserved=0