What is anxiety disorder?
Fear, worry, and anxiety are natural emotions that help us recognize, cope with, and survive unknown, difficult, or dangerous situations. As we encounter a stressful or frightening situation, feelings of anxiety and fear increase and then they naturally subside as the situation resolves.
Anxiety disorder is a persistent mental health problem, when feelings of anxiety and panic become persistent, even in the absence of a physical threat or problem. For individuals with anxiety disorder, worry, anxiety, and panic can continue to grow stronger over time. And for many people, anxiety disorder can be truly debilitating.
Anxiety disorder is as unique as we are. In theory, anxiety disorder can be grouped into several distinct types. It is important to note, however, that in practice, anxiety disorders are rarely this distinct, often overlapping and evolving over time.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): When excessive worry or anxiety manifests most days over a six-month period or longer, usually about routine, everyday events
Social Anxiety Disorder: generalized and intense fear of social situations, including interacting with groups or performing in front of an audience
Agoraphobia: intense fear of being outside, including crowds, public transportation, open spaces, and closed but unfamiliar spaces
Separation Anxiety Disorder: intense fear of being alone or separated from an important person in your life
Phobia-related Disorder: intense fear or aversion to specific objects or situations, eliciting a reaction that is unproportional to the real danger that the object or situation presents
Panic Disorder: recurrent and frequent panic attacks that come on unexpectedly or in response to a specific trigger
What are the Treatment Options for Anxiety Disorder?
Because anxiety disorder goes beyond normal feelings of worry in response to a specific situation, most people with anxiety disorder require the help of a mental health professional. Depending on the specific type of anxiety disorder and each patient’s unique medical and psychological issues, treatment for anxiety disorder usually involves therapy, medications, or a combination of both together. Lifestyle changes may also play a critical role in enabling treatment to be successful.
Therapy
Psychotherapy, talk therapy, group counseling, and other types of therapy play an important role in treatment for anxiety disorders. For instance, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with a licensed therapist can help discover psychological triggers at the root of the anxiety, identify negative thinking that helps anxiety persist, and develop coping mechanisms for handling challenging situations successfully. Self-soothing techniques such as neuro-linguistic programming can also play a role in therapy by promoting relaxation and stress reduction.
Medication
For many patients, specific medications can play a role in treating anxiety, either as a long-term treatment option or as a temporary solution enabling therapy to have an impact. In some cases, both therapy and medication together will be appropriate. The most common type of medication are antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). However, benzodiazepines such as Xanax and beta blockers may also be effective, depending on the type of anxiety.
Preventative Activities
Anxiety is a deep-seated mental health concern that is difficult—if not impossible—to treat without professional intervention. However, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help minimize the symptoms of anxiety and more importantly, enable therapy and other treatments to be more effective.
Health lifestyle changes recommended by your therapist or doctor may include:
Avoiding alcohol, marijuana or cannabis, and recreational drugs
Maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet
Avoiding caffeine such as tea, soda, coffee, and even chocolate
Getting plenty of sleep through regular sleeping habits
Engaging in regular exercise such as a daily walk or yoga class
Managing stress through mediation and other stress-management techniques
It’s also important to check with your doctor before using any over-the-counter (OTC) remedies or herbal supplements, especially if you are taking any medications. In some cases, these substances can actually make your anxiety worse.
NEED HELP?
Collaborative Therapeutic Services (CTS) wants to help. We offer a variety of counselling and therapy services, hours, and service providers with diverse specializations. We offer evening & weekend appointments in office or by TeleHealth conferencing.
Have questions? Contact Us Here or Call 813-951-7346. Located in Tampa, Florida. Ask us about our new NEUROLEASE™ TREATMENT THERAPY - A cutting edge treatment for releasing toxic emotions.