How Can Anxiety Be Treated

Treating Anxiety Disorders With Therapy

Whether youre suffering from panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, unrelenting worries, or an incapacitating phobia, its important to know that you dont have to live with anxiety and fear. Treatment can help, and for many anxiety problems, therapy is often the most effective option. Thats because anxiety therapyunlike anxiety medicationtreats more than just the symptoms of the problem. Therapy can help you uncover the underlying causes of your worries and fears learn how to relax look at situations in new, less frightening ways and develop better coping and problem-solving skills. Therapy gives you the tools to overcome anxiety and teaches you how to use them.

Anxiety disorders differ considerably, so therapy should be tailored to your specific symptoms and diagnosis. If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder , for example, your treatment will be different from someone who needs help for anxiety attacks. The length of therapy will also depend on the type and severity of your anxiety disorder. However, many anxiety therapies are relatively short-term. According to the American Psychological Association, many people improve significantly within 8 to 10 therapy sessions.

Online vs. in-person therapy

However, not all online therapy is the same. Communicating via a messaging app, phone, or email, for example, is no substitute for live face-to-face interaction using video chat.

Read: Online Therapy: Is it Right for You?

Seeing A Psychologist About Anxiety Disorders

Though many types of anxiety disorders exist, research suggests that most are driven by similar underlying processes. People with anxiety disorders tend to become easily overwhelmed by their emotions, and they tend to have particularly negative reactions to those unpleasant feelings and situations.

Often, people try to cope with those negative reactions by avoiding situations or experiences that make them anxious. Unfortunately, avoidance can backfire and actually feed the anxiety.

Psychologists are trained in diagnosing anxiety disorders and teaching patients healthier, more effective ways to cope. A form of psychotherapy known as cognitive-behavioral therapy is highly effective at treating anxiety disorders. Through CBT, psychologists help patients learn to identify and manage the factors that contribute to their anxiety.

Through the cognitive component of therapy, patients learn to understand how their thoughts contribute to their anxiety symptoms. By learning to change those thought patterns, they can reduce the likelihood and intensity of anxiety symptoms.

With the behavioral component, patients learn techniques to reduce undesired behaviors associated with anxiety disorders. Specifically, patients are encouraged to approach activities and situations that provoke anxiety to learn that their feared outcomes are unlikely.

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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Who Gets Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders affect about 40 million American adults every year. Anxiety disorders also affect children and teens. About 8% of teens ages 13 to 18 have an anxiety disorder, with symptoms starting around age 6.5

Women are more than twice as likely as men to get an anxiety disorder in their lifetime.2 Also, some types of anxiety disorders affect some women more than others:

• Generalized anxiety disorder affects more American Indian/Alaskan Native women than women of other races and ethnicities. GAD also affects more white women and Hispanic women than Asian or African-American women.6
• Social phobia and panic disorder affect more white women than women of other races and ethnicities.7

Aim To Get A Good Nights Sleep

Not enough sleep can worsen symptoms of both anxiety and depression but too much sleep can also affect well-being and mood.

Experts recommend most adults get

These tips can help you get the sleep you need:

• Make a habit of going to bed and getting up around the same time each day.
• Turn off electronic devices about 1 hour before bedtime.
• Create a soothing ritual that helps you wind down before bed.
• Keep your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet.

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How Thought Challenging Works

To understand how thought challenging works in cognitive behavioral therapy, consider the following example: Maria wont take the subway because shes afraid shell pass out, and then everyone will think shes crazy. Her therapist has asked her to write down her negative thoughts, identify the errorsor cognitive distortionsin her thinking, and come up with a more rational interpretation. The results are below.

Replacing negative thoughts with more realistic ones is easier said than done. Often, negative thoughts are part of a lifelong pattern of thinking. It takes practice to break the habit. Thats why cognitive behavioral therapy includes practicing on your own at home as well.

CBT may also include:

Can Cbd Help With Panic Attacks

CBD is also found to be useful for controlling panic disorders. Panic attacks are also a type of anxiety disorder that happens when a person is experiencing acute terror or apprehension. Some of the common symptoms of this mental disorder include sweating, increased heart rate, chest pain, light-headedness, trouble with breathing, and feeling like you are going to die.

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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.

Treating Children And Adolescents

Whereas specific phobias, SAD, and separation anxiety disorder are common in younger people, PDA and GAD are relatively rare. There are some randomized, placebo-controlled studies of pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents showing efficacy of sertraline, fluoxetine, and duloxetine in young patients with GAD, of venlafaxine and paroxetine in SAD, and of sertraline, fluvoxamine, and fluoxetine in mixed samples, including patients with separation anxiety disorder, GAD, and SAD.88 However, little is known about the value of long-term treatment.89 The combination of CBT and sertraline was found to be more effective than both treatment modalities alone.90

For children and youths with separation anxiety disorder, several treatment studies exist.95 However, no controlled studies on the treatment of adults with this disorder could be traced.

There is also a paucity of treatment studies for children with selective mutism. Small studies have shown that psychotherapeutic approaches were at least better than waitlist controls.96,97 One review indicated that only two very small placebo-controlled drug studies showed efficacy of the SSRIs fluoxetine and sertraline.98

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Anxiety Treatment Success & Outlook

There is no such thing as a quick fix regarding anxiety therapy. Each persons experience with it will be different. The kind of therapy you need, the skills you gain, and how long you will need treatment will depend on your type of anxiety and the severity of your specific symptoms.

One typical misconception about therapy is that youll feel better right away. While this is true sometimes, you frequently feel worse before you begin to feel better. Unexpectedly, feeling worse is usually a sign that therapy is working.

When you decide to start anxiety counseling, usually its because you were unable to manage your symptoms on your own. In therapy, you will dig deeper and more meaningfully into the causes of your worry. Your anxiety may temporarily heighten as a result of this.

While some patients react to treatment within a few weeks or months, others may need more time. For example, it may take longer if a person has several anxiety disorders or other co-occurring problems. Therefore, a qualified therapist will complete a thorough assessment before establishing a customized treatment plan.16

Below are a few success outcomes and statistics on therapy for anxiety:

Mindfulness And Applied Relaxation

Mindfulness and applied relaxation are alternative types of psychological treatment.

Mindfulness helps you focus on the present moment. It allows you to acknowledge and accept certain feelings. It can reduce anxiety associated with the fear of actual situations or sensations.

Applied relaxation focuses on relaxing your muscles in a particular way. A trained therapist teaches you how to do this.

This alleviates anxiety and involves:

• learning how to relax your muscles
• relaxing your muscles quickly in response to a trigger
• practising relaxing your muscles in situations that make you anxious

If psychological treatments do not help, medicine might be the next option.

There is a range of medicines your GP can prescribe to treat GAD.

Your GP can discuss options with you in detail, such as:

• the different types of medicines
• the length of treatment
• the side effects and possible interactions with other medicines

You should see your GP regularly while taking medicine for GAD.

Tell your GP if you think you may be experiencing side effects from your medicine. They may be able to adjust your dose or prescribe an alternative medicine.

The main medicines for treating GAD are:

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What If I Don’t Feel Better

Your doctor should offer you regular appointments to check how you’re doing, and see how well any treatment is working for you.

Different things work for different people, so if a particular medication, type of talking therapy or particular therapist doesn’t work for you, your doctor should offer an alternative.

If you’ve tried a range of treatments and none of them have helped, your doctor might refer you to a community mental health team . This is made up of a number of different healthcare professionals, such as psychiatrists and clinical psychologists. Your CMHT can assess you separately and offer you a personalised treatment plan.

This is particularly recommended if:

• your symptoms are making it very difficult to carry out everyday activities
• you have a serious physical health problem or another mental health problem
• you’re having thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

It’s important to remember that recovery is a journey, and it won’t always be straightforward. For example, you might find it more helpful to focus on learning more about yourself and developing ways to cope, rather than trying to get rid of all your symptoms.

How Can I Help My Child

If your child has an anxiety disorder, here are some ways you can help:

• Find a trained therapist and take your child to all the therapy appointments.
• Talk often with the therapist, and ask how you can best help your child.
• Help your child face fears. Ask the therapist how you can help your child practice at home. Praise your child for efforts to cope with fears and worry.
• Help kids talk about feelings. Listen, and let them know you understand, love, and accept them. A caring relationship with you helps your child build inner strengths.
• Encourage your child to take small steps forward. Don’t let your child give up or avoid what they’re afraid of. Help them take small positive steps forward.
• Be patient. It takes a while for therapy to work and for kids to feel better.

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Reach Out To Loved Ones

Strong relationships can go a long way toward improving your outlook and emotional well-being when you live with mental health conditions.

Friends and family can:

• provide encouragement and emotional support
• join you in hobbies or activities that offer a positive distraction
• offer rides, grocery runs, and other more tangible forms of support when you have trouble getting things done

Simply knowing you have someone you trust in your life can often help you feel less alone, whether you actually want to talk about your symptoms or not.

Treating co-occurring depression and anxiety can sometimes be more complicated than treating one condition alone. Even when you get treatment for one condition, some symptoms might persist or seem to play off the others.

For example:

• You cant stop worrying about all the things going wrong in your life, or thinking about the ways things could get worse. These fears eventually drain your energy and motivation to keep trying, leaving you feeling low and hopeless.
• Social anxiety keeps you from connecting with people in the ways youd like. You want to make new friends but generally end up avoiding interactions instead. This leaves you feeling lonely, sad, and guilty, especially when thinking of those missed opportunities, but helpless to do anything differently.

A mental health care professional may recommend combining treatment approaches, since what helps ease depression symptoms may not always relieve anxiety symptoms, and vice versa.

Learning To Be Assertive

Being assertive means communicating your needs, wants, feelings, beliefs and opinions to others in a direct and honest manner without intentionally hurting anyones feelings. A person with an anxiety disorder may have trouble being assertive because they are afraid of conflict or believe they have no right to speak up. However, relating passively to others lowers self-confidence and reinforces anxiety. Learning to behave assertively is central to developing a stronger self-esteem.

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What Happens If I Dont Get Treatment For My Child With An Anxiety Disorder

Getting your child help for an anxiety disorder can improve their development and self-esteem. But untreated anxiety disorders can harm:

• Family relationships.
• School performance.
• Social functioning.

Your child may also end up with more serious mental and physical health problems. Fortunately, there are several treatments for anxiety disorders. The right treatment can help your child manage their symptoms and feel their best.

How Cbd Can Be Useful For Anxiety

A lot of studies were conducted in the medical field for finding out the effectiveness of CBD for anxiety. Many of them showed promising results, hence, the use of CBD for anxiety is now greatly increasing.

A study conducted in 2010 concluded that CBD is useful for reducing the symptoms of social anxiety in people who are suffering from social anxiety disorder . This study suggests that the use of CBD resulted in changes in the blood flow to the specific areas of the brain that are associated with feelings of anxiety. This study found that cannabidiol is useful for making people feel better. In addition to this, it can also change the way a persons brain responds to anxiety.

CBD exhibits anti-anxiety and antidepressant properties. Hence, it is now becoming a promising treatment for a large number of mental disorders including social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder , obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more. Hence, it can be useful for controlling a large number of other issues caused by anxiety including sleeping disorders, increased blood pressure, etc.

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Does Throwing Up Relieve Anxiety

Vomiting can relieve anxiety, but not necessarily. According to Koslowski, whats actually providing relief is a sense of control over your automatic body responses.

Having a tangible outcome of vomit can also be incredibly validating when others around you, or yourself, minimize the experience of anxiety, explains Koslowski. The experience of vomiting can make your internal experience feel real.’

Koslowski explained how validation and connecting with others decrease distress and provide relief in and out of crises.

Many supportive people in our lives know how to help when we are sick, but thats not always the case when our illness is not externalized, says Koslowski.

Having an outward, physical outcome of anxiety makes it obvious were in distress, which might cause people around us to be more supportive. That additional community support can decrease anxiety.

Occasional vomiting is not believed to be dangerous, starts Koslowski, but if this occurs more frequently, especially over long periods, it can become dangerous.

Physical risks from frequent anxiety-related purging include:

• vitamin deficiencies
• damage to the esophagus and tooth enamel
• exacerbated anxiety

If your fight, flight, or freeze response is activated, think about taking a few deep breaths. There are fast-acting and long-term options to help you stop throwing up from anxiety.

In the short term:

Practice Mindfulness And Meditation

Being mindful means stepping back, tuning out the unimportant, and paying attention to whats happening in the moment. Mindfulness involves tuning into your surroundings and whats going on inside you.

Meditation is the practice of training your mind to redirect your thoughts and channel your focus and awareness.

There are many types of meditation, and all of them require some practice. Many resources are readily available to help you get started.

Consider downloading a meditation app or taking a meditation class to help you learn. The techniques you learn in meditation can come in handy when coping with a stressful situation.

Practicing meditation is associated with multiple health benefits, including improved sleep and lower stress.

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