Can Depression And Anxiety Be Cured
April 15, 2019Rhonda Kelloway, LCSW, SEP
If youve had depression, anxiety, or even both, chances are youve wondered Can depression and anxiety be cured? Wouldnt it be a relief to have the symptoms gone?
The psychological and medical communities believe these common disorders unfortunately cant be cured. However, the symptoms of depression and anxiety can be relieved, though. So instead of cure, the goal is remission of symptoms. Remission varies from person to person in real life. Less impaired functioning through reducing or eliminating symptoms is at its heart.
What Are Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a normal emotion. Itâs your brainâs way of reacting to stress and alerting you of potential danger ahead.
Everyone feels anxious now and then. For example, you may worry when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision.
Occasional anxiety is OK. But anxiety disorders are different. Theyâre a group of mental illnesses that cause constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. The excessive anxiety can make you avoid work, school, family get-togethers, and other social situations that might trigger or worsen your symptoms.
With treatment, many people with anxiety disorders can manage their feelings.
The Body Keeps The Score
Although the thinking mind may forget, the body never does.
A person gets to a place in their lives where they become so numb to trauma that they dont even realize theyre in one anymore. Suffering become so habitual that overwhelming experiences dont overwhelm them as badly.
A fascinating and most definitely a horrifying state to be in if I could say so myself, because Ive lived through the depths of depersonalization disorder.
This brings us to the next point on this journey. That is, the biggest component that maintains this numbing, freezing, foggy, bewildering, and detached state. And that would be directly connected to your conscious mind. You see, the conscious mind is a vital component to healing anxiety for good, and yet it tends to work against us many times. Why?
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What It Takes To Cure Anxiety
How do you cure anxiety whether generalized anxiety, panic attacks, or obsessive worry? By getting to the roots of your early experiences and reconnecting the specifics of what happened long ago to the situations that make you anxious now. That is truly the best answer for a cure. But you cant do that on your own.
You need a place to safely bring those past situations and relationships out into the open. To remember. And to finally express the feelings you now carry within your anxiety. When anxiety is severe and paralyzing, its well worth finding a psychotherapist who specializes in anxiety. Especially, one who knows how to get to the unconscious roots.
What kind of therapy, though? Behavioral or skill-based therapies have their place. But, they give you tools to override your anxiety not to work out its roots. A psychoanalytic approach is the most effective cure.
Does that mean 3-5 times a week on the Freudian couch? Not necessarily at all. Frequency is an individual thing. What a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic approach means is having a therapist that takes into account early childhood experiences.
Each of the situations that stir up your anxiety needs to be understood at the deepest level. Especially, the unconscious early childhood sources of your fears. Anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and obsessive worry must be traced back to the fantasies and fears behind them.
Psychotherapy For Anxiety Disorders: What To Expect
Psychotherapy is a collaborative process, where psychologists and patients work together to identify specific concerns and develop concrete skills and techniques for coping with anxiety. Patients can expect to practice their new skills outside of sessions to manage anxiety in situations that might make them uncomfortable. However, psychologists wont push patients into such scenarios until theyre sure they have the skills they need to effectively confront their fears.
Psychologists sometimes use other approaches to treat anxiety disorders in addition to CBT. Group psychotherapy, which typically involves several people who all have anxiety disorders, can be effective for both treating anxiety and providing patients with support.
Family psychotherapy can help family members understand their loved ones anxiety and help them learn ways to interact that do not reinforce anxious habits. Family therapy can be particularly helpful for children and adolescents suffering from anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders are very treatable. Most patients who suffer from anxiety are able to reduce or eliminate symptoms after several months of psychotherapy, and many patients notice improvement after just a few sessions.
Psychologists are highly trained and will tailor a treatment plan to address the unique needs of each patient. To find a licensed psychologist in your area, visit Psychologist Locator.
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Dont Be Afraid To Ask For Help
Hopefully, you have a wonderful treatment team in place that you can call for help and support, no questions asked. But are you also including your family and friends and giving them a chance to support you in recovery? Asking for help can be a daily process and may require you to ask for specific things that they can help you with.
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How Is Anxiety Treated
Anxiety is treated by psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals.
Anxiety disorders sometimes coexist with other conditions, such as depression or substance use disorder. Its important that other mental health conditions are also addressed.
Treatment options for anxiety include:
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Is It Dangerous To Talk About Cures
There’s another issue to discuss here: whether thinking about anxiety, or any mental disorders, in terms of “cure” or “recovery” is actually helpful, or a misconception of the realities of mental problems.
The medicalization of mental health has, in many ways, been a good thing. It’s helpful for people to comprehend mental health difficulties as, say, comparable to a broken leg when asking them to contemplate the real, physical obstacles of a serious brain issue. But there’s a limit to the analogy, and that’s the fact that mental health problems are extremely individual. Some may fade over time, others may go through phases of severity, and still others can be with the person for life. If they’re going to be compared to anything physical, possibly mental health problems are most similar to a chronic pain condition, with highly individual details, a very unclear future, and a focus more on management than on “cures”.
Psychological Therapies For Gad
If you have been diagnosed with GAD, you’ll usually be advised to try psychological treatment before you’re prescribed medication.
You can get psychological therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy and applied relaxation on the NHS.
You can refer yourself directly to an NHS psychological therapies service without a referral from a GP.
Or your GP can refer you if you prefer.
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How To Help Someone With Anxiety
All of us worry and get scared from time to time. But those with anxiety may feel consumed by fears of things that might seem irrational to others. It can be hard to relate to these concerns, and as a result, many people dont know how to best help someone with anxiety. People are often dismissive of people experiencing anxiety, says Joseph McGuire, Ph.D., a pediatric psychologist with Johns Hopkins Medicine. With other medical illnesses, you may be able to see physical symptoms. But with anxiety, you dont necessarily see what the person is dealing with. So its important to be sensitive to what the person with anxiety is going through, even if it doesnt make sense to you. Its distressing to watch a loved one experience panic attacks and face anxiety every day, but there are things you can do to help. It starts with recognizing the signs of excessive worry and understanding the best ways to support your loved one.
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Can Depersonalization Disorder Really Be Cured
If you really want to confuse yourself ask 5 different people about depersonalization disorder and youll get 5 different answers. Actually, you wont get answers rather theories. Unless you ask someone whos actually gone through it themselves and can pinpoint practical answers based on finding the cause of this bewildering symptom.
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Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration
SAMHSA is a government agency that addresses mental health and substance use concerns throughout the country. Their website has a treatment locator that you can use to find a treatment facility in your area.
Additionally, the SAMHSA National Helpline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. You can call this number to receive a referral for a treatment facility near you. All information is kept confidential.
Getting help for an eating disorder may initially seem challenging or scary. These feelings are normal discussing concerns about our bodies or our mental health can require us to be more vulnerable than were used to.
Remember: Seeking help is a big first step on your recovery journey.
If you think you may have an eating disorder, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss your concerns. You can choose to see your primary care doctor or a mental health professional.
Try to be as open as possible with your doctor about your thought patterns, eating habits, and concerns. Also, dont hesitate to ask questions if you have them.
If youre nervous, it may be helpful to bring a family member or friend along with you for support.
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Anxiety Treatments: Know Your Options
Anxiety disorders can have multiple potential causes and co-existing conditions, so there is no single remedy that works for all of them. Anxiety treatment must be tailored specifically for each individual what works well for one person may not work for another. Understand your options and then work with your doctor or therapist to determine the course of action that is best for you.
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Who Can Diagnose Anxiety Disorders
If your provider finds no signs of physical illness, they may refer you to a psychiatrist or psychologist. These mental health professionals specialize in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses. They may use specially designed interview and assessment tools to figure out if you have an anxiety disorder. Typically, the provider bases a diagnosis on:
- Your reported symptoms, including how intense they are and how long they last.
- Discussion of how the symptoms interfere with your daily life.
- The providers observation of your attitude and behavior.
Providers also consult the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . The American Psychiatric Association publishes the DSM-5. Its the standard reference manual for diagnosing mental illnesses.
Whats The Outlook For People With Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders can often go undiagnosed and untreated. Fortunately, treatment can help. The right treatment can help improve your quality of life, relationships and productivity. It can also support your overall well-being.
You dont need to live with constant worry and fear. If you notice symptoms of an anxiety disorder, talk to your healthcare provider. Its best to get diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. Doing so can limit the problems that anxiety disorders can cause. Often, a combination of medications and counseling for anxiety can help you feel your best.
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Full Recovery Predictive Of Permanent Recovery
Among the 21 percent who made a complete recovery, 94 percent had managed to maintain their recovery two years later. Unfortunately, patients who only achieved partial recovery continued to struggle and were much more susceptible to relapse, Accurso noted.
Previous studies have found that around 50 percent of patients with anorexia nervosa made complete recoveries, but this study had a preponderance of patients with refractory illness. In the current study, approximately half had undergone residential therapy, partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient treatment, and two-thirds received three or more types of psychological treatments. More than 60 percent reportedly received family-based treatment, which is recognized as most effective for adolescent anorexia nervosa.
Parents are telling us that recovery needs to be approached more holistically, with treatments that extend beyond eating disorder symptoms to target emotional well-being, cognitive flexibility and establishment of a meaningful life.
Erin C. Accurso, PhD
Anorexia nervosa is a complex condition with the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, said Accurso. We know that families are the most important resource in recovery, which is why family-based treatment is the gold standard for adolescent anorexia nervosa.
The authors also noted that parents are challenging the fields definition of recovery.
What Is An Anxiety Attack
Anxiety attacks, also known as panic attacks, are episodes of intense panic or fear. They usually occur suddenly and without warning. Sometimes theres an obvious triggergetting stuck in an elevator, for example, or thinking about the big speech you have to givebut in other cases, the attacks come out of the blue.
Anxiety attacks usually peak within 10 minutes, and they rarely last more than 30 minutes. But during that short time, you may experience terror so severe that you feel as if youre about to die or totally lose control. The physical symptoms are themselves so frightening that many people think theyre having a heart attack. After an anxiety attack is over, you may worry about having another one, particularly in a public place where help isnt available or you cant easily escape.
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Is Anxiety A Mental Illness
Occasional anxiety is OK. But anxiety disorders are different. Theyre a group of mental illnesses that cause constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. The excessive anxiety can make you avoid work, school, family get-togethers, and other social situations that might trigger or worsen your symptoms.
Combining Psychotherapy And Medication
Both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy have been shown to be more effective than control groups. However, whereas drugs are mostly compared with placebo controls, the evidence for psychotherapy in anxiety disorders is mainly based on comparisons with a wait-list, a control method that was used in 70% to 75% of the studies in adults and children.,, Because pill placebos have higher effect sizes than waitlist controls, the effect size differences between active and control conditions cannot be compared between psychotherapy and medication studies. Therefore, our research group conducted a large meta-analysis of all available controlled short-term studies for anxiety disorders and compared the pre-post effect size differences between medications and psychotherapies. In this meta-analysis, which was based on studies with around 35 000 patients, medications were associated with a significantly higher average pre-post effect size than psychotherapies . It was also found that patients included in psychotherapy studies were less severely ill than those recruited for medication trials.
The meta-analysis also showed that combinations of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy had a relatively high effect size . However, only a few combination studies were available for this comparison, and some of these have not been conducted with the most powerful drugs.
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