Anxiety And Stress
Posts tagged Severity
Can anxiety disorders be treated? – Part 2
Sep 30th
Anxiety disorders can be anything from panic attacks to a specific or generalised anxiety. They range greatly in severity and can include obsessive-compulsive behaviour and phobias. Anyone can suffer from them, and they’re not only very unpleasant but debilitating. The good news is that they can definitely be treated.
One of the biggest steps for someone who suffers from anxiety is to talk to their doctor about it. There’s a natural reticence to admitting such a perceived weakness, even though it’s a common problem. Patients generally feel as if they should be able to deal with things alone, that asking for help is admitting that they’re abnormal or crazy. Overcoming this resistance and getting help is essential, so any encouragement from relatives or friends is a real advantage.
Once the problem has been diagnosed, treatment will depend very much on the severity of the case. For everyone, a visit to a psychiatrist for an assessment is pretty much required. This isn’t some kind of weird mental test, though: it’s a chat with a health professional to figure out how bad things are and to come up with ways to handle the anxiety. Chances are that the psychiatrist will have a social worker or someone with a similar background present during the assessment, to provide further options in the choice of treatments.
In cases where the anxiety is mild – that is, it’s hard to handle but the sufferer can still continue with most normal activities – self-help may be suggested as an appropriate form of treatment. This this would involve providing reading materials and perhaps a short course of therapy, either with a counsellor or computer-based. In the UK, this currently means CBT: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The goal is to show the patient where things are going astray and causing them anxiety in ”normal’ situations and, by encouraging changes in their reactions and thought processes, to provide a means of dealing with the problem.
The psychiatrist may also decide that some form of medication would help. They are specialised in this field and have a huge range of products at their disposal, from benzo-diazepines such as Xanax and Lorazepam to other drugs like quetiapine, chlorpromazine, etc. However, many psychiatrists are reluctant to prescribe medication for more than a very short period (or at all), since a lot of the drugs used can be very addictive. They tend to use them to help a patient through the more severe periods of anxiety, giving the CBT or other therapy time to take effect.
Group therapy is another popular form of treatment, though in cases such as social phobia it may not be possible. The basis of this is that the patient can share their experiences with others in a similar situation and draw on the combined strength and encouragement of the group. Such sessions usually include a teaching aspect, where the health professional explains the reasons for the condition and suggests methods of coping.
Finally, in some cases, therapy, counselling or full-blown analysis may be suggested or desired by the patient. This is the most extensive and prolonged form of treatment, but also the most complete: by undergoing psychoanalysis, the patient traces things right back to the source of the problem and, instead of just managing it, comes to terms with it. In understanding lie acceptance and healing.
The key things to remember when dealing with an anxiety disorder of any type are that it can happen to anyone and that it can be successfully treated.
What Is The Right Anxiety Treatment?
Jun 19th
You have been diagnosed with anxiety and you finally have a reason for the things that you have been feeling. You have a reason for the tremors and chest pains even for the hyperventilating that you experience in cases of extreme fear. You have finally been given a real reason for these and you know they are not in your imagination instead you have an actual illness. Now that you know what you are suffering from you can find something to help you. The big question is what is the right anxiety treatment?
Living with anxiety can make life difficult for those that suffer from it since it is accompanied by feelings of uncertainty and fear. The anxiety can be buried within the subconscious and even have a genetic link to it. There are those that wonder what the right anxiety treatment for them is? The time they spend searching can be frustrating to them and slow results can increase the level of frustration. When the right treatment for anxiety is found it can make your life a lot easier and you will notice a drastic improvement in the quality of your life.
Going through life everyday with the feeling of being overwhelmed can cause problems in the way that you function everyday. You never know when you are going to have an attack or what is going to trigger it so you may be overcome by fear even when you are not in the mist of an attack. You will have to educate yourself on the basics of anxiety and the resulting panic attacks to be able to come up with a treatment that is right for you. When you do this you will be able to answer the question, what is the right anxiety treatment?
The individual and the type of anxiety along with the severity of the symptoms will be a determining factor in right anxiety treatment for you. There are medications that come with side affects that can make the anxiety even more unbearable. Personal preference and the amount of support that you have will have an affect on the choice of anxiety treatment as well. It is important to remember that different people will react differently to different treatments when trying to find the right anxiety treatment for someone.
Aromatherapy is a good choice since it is not only relaxing but can be combined with other relaxation techniques such as massage. It can also be used in the privacy and convenience of your own home through the use of candles to produce a calming affect. The ease of the treatment will also be another factor in the right anxiety treatment for you.
Treatments are more effective when you are dedicated to them. If the treatment is not one that you are comfortable with you will not commit to it and it will be virtually ineffective. You have to keep personal preference, beliefs and the amount of support that you have available to you in mind when looking for the right anxiety treatment. The frequency and severity of the attacks will be a factor in the treatment. The way that you react to the treatment will be dependant on metabolism and other factors so they should play a part in your decision as well.
Support groups can help you to learn how to cope with your symptoms. They will give you an outlet to express the way that you feel and they can even help you to identify things that cause you to have anxiety attacks. Once you have found the support and treatment that reduces the amount of anxiety that you feel you will have finally found the right anxiety treatment for you.
What is the right anxiety treatment? The right anxiety treatment is the one that works for you and makes your life more enjoyable. For any anxiety treatment to be affective you have to be dedicated to it and make an active effort.