How to treat Anxiety
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a common human experience that everyone goes through occasionally. Regular feelings of concern can actually be a driving force – they can assist you in tasks like punctuality for work or preparing for an exam. However, in certain individuals, feelings of excessive worry linger and are disproportionate to the circumstances.
Elevated levels of anxiety can hinder your capacity to: focus, sleep, and perform everyday activities.
What are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders comprise the most prevalent category of mental health conditions in Australia, affecting 1 in 4 Australians at some point in their lives. Experiencing an anxiety disorder extends beyond mere heightened anxiety. Individuals grappling with anxiety disorders endure persistent fears that induce distress and hinder engagement in desired and necessary activities. Various types of anxiety disorders encompass: Generalized anxiety disorder: Characterized by excessive, unmanageable concern regarding everyday matters such as health, employment, or finances. Social phobia or social anxiety disorder: This disorder prompts individuals to evade social or performance circumstances due to apprehension about potential embarrassment or rejection. Panic disorder: Marked by recurring panic attacks, abrupt intense episodes of fear that engender worry about subsequent attacks and avoidance of settings that could trigger them. Agoraphobia: Involves evading specific situations due to the dread of experiencing a panic attack. Often linked with panic disorder. Specific phobias: Fears restricted to particular situations, such as animal, insect, location, or people-related fears. Claustrophobia, for instance, pertains to a fear of enclosed spaces. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Manifests as unwanted thoughts and impulses (obsessions) that lead to repetitive, ritualistic behaviors aimed at alleviating anxiety. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Arises when feelings of fear persist following exposure to a traumatic life event. Symptoms include distressing memories, flashbacks, nightmares, and sleep disturbances.
Who do I see for my Anxiety?
If you're dealing with a serious mental health issue like severe depression, anxiety disorders such as panic attacks and phobias, or complex conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, it's likely advisable to consult a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists are specialized medical doctors focused on mental health. They possess the expertise to address anxiety through a range of treatment approaches, which encompass various medications and psychotherapy techniques. Determining the most suitable treatment for the individual patient will be based on their unique requirements. It is extremely important to weigh up the positives and the negatives before using medication to treat anxiety and in many cases, it can make the condition worse because the body begins to depend on chemicals to achieve a state of ease and without the chemicals offered by the drug, the anxiety can heighten and become worse.
Book a Holistic Psychotherapy Session with Lauren Lacey - Free Your Body (squarespace.com)
Is it possible for anxiety medication initiation to exacerbate anxiety symptoms?
SSRIs are believed to enhance mood by elevating serotonin activity in the brain. However, serotonin's effects are not always consistently positive. In the initial stages of treatment, it could elevate feelings of fear and anxiety, and in some cases, even lead to thoughts of suicide among younger individuals. Consequently, patients might discontinue the treatment within a few weeks.
What is the disadvantage of using medication to treat anxiety?
Some medications cannot be stopped abruptly and must be tapered off to prevent severe withdrawal symptoms. In some cases, such as with the long-term use of benzodiazepines, anxiety, and other problems may actually worsen after the medication is discontinued.
Therapeutic Approaches for Managing Anxiety Disorders
If you experience panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, constant worries, or overwhelming phobias, remember that you don't need to endure anxiety and fear alone. Treatment can make a difference, and in many cases of anxiety, therapy proves highly effective. Unlike medication, anxiety therapy addresses more than just the symptoms. It helps you uncover the root causes of your concerns, teaches relaxation techniques, changes how you view situations to make them less intimidating, and equips you with improved coping and problem-solving abilities. Through therapy, you acquire the tools to conquer anxiety and learn how to use them effectively.
Anxiety disorders differ considerably, so therapy should be tailored to your specific symptoms and diagnosis. If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 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.
While many different types of therapy are used to treat anxiety, the leading approaches are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy. Each anxiety therapy may be used alone, or combined with other types of therapy. Anxiety therapy may be conducted individually, or it may take place in a group of people with similar anxiety problems. But the goal is the same: to lower your anxiety levels, calm your mind, and overcome your fears.