Dealing With Severe Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety symptoms can affect daily life. It is important to get treatment and relief.
Trauma, including emotional or physical abuse as well as neglect, can increase the risk of anxiety. So do certain life circumstances such as chronic health conditions and stress.
Counseling (also called psychotherapy) helps you to change negative thoughts that trigger distressing feelings. The most popular kind of psychotherapy to combat anxiety is cognitive behavior therapy.
Medicines
For many people medications can be an effective option to reduce symptoms, along with therapy and lifestyle adjustments. There is no one medication that is suitable for every person. It is important to determine the best medication for you. Your MDVIP provider can talk with you about your anxiety-related symptoms, health background and goals to determine the most effective treatment options for you.
Benzodiazepines are quick to target the Gamma aminobutyric (GABA) acid in your brain. They help to calm down your overexcited brain and promote tranquility. They are typically prescribed for short-term use, such as in the event of a panic attack or other overwhelming anxiety episode. The most common examples are Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam) and Valium (diazepam).
Antidepressants help combat depression, but are often employed to treat anxiety disorders as well. They work by regulating the levels of chemicals in your brain--or neurotransmitters--like serotonin and norepinephrine. These drugs are used to treat anxiety disorders of various kinds, but most often GAD, PDA, and SAD.
Another form of antidepressant is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may also be prescribed for anxiety. These are generally prescribed for moderate to mild anxiety disorders and have been proven to be effective in random controlled studies.
There may be a need for an additional medication to treat severe anxiety disorder. It could be an SSRI or a tricyclic. These medications are only for patients that have not been able to respond to other treatments. Patients should be monitored closely for adverse reactions such as depression or sedation.
If you can't find relief from a SSRI or an SNRI, your doctor might consider adding a monoamine oxidase A inhibitor. They are usually prescribed when other treatments have failed. They can be very effective in relieving the symptoms of SAD. Common examples are quetiapine and agomelatine.
Be aware that a medication is not a cure. It must be taken only under the supervision of a medical professional. Always discuss with your doctor about the dangers and benefits of each medication. This includes possible negative side effects. It is important to inquire with your doctor about scheduling and follow-up appointments prior to your first visit. Regular check-ins are crucial to manage anxiety symptoms in the long run.
Counseling
Talk therapy (or psychotherapy) is a crucial part of treatment for anxiety disorders. A trained therapist will teach you how to alter negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that cause your symptoms.
A variety of psychotherapy methods are available, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This approach has been thoroughly studied and is the most effective method for treating anxiety disorders. Your therapist could suggest additional treatments such as mindfulness-based acceptance and commitment therapy, or exposure therapy.
Cognitive therapy focuses on the negative thought patterns that can cause anxiety. It teaches you to confront these thoughts and replace them with more realistic, positive ones. These patterns of thinking are usually developed through childhood experiences and can be difficult to change on your own.
If your symptoms are severe, they could interfere with your daily life and make it difficult to do your job or participate in social activities. Your therapist will determine how often you have anxiety symptoms, as well as how long they last and how severe they are. They will also look for any other mental disorders that could be contributing to the symptoms, including depression or addiction disorders.
Talk therapy sessions are usually held face-to-face with a qualified mental health professional such as psychiatrist or psychologist. Your therapist will observe your facial expressions and body language to better discern your reactions to specific situations. This will help determine if the symptoms you are experiencing are due to one specific trigger, like stress that persists or traumatic experiences.
Anxiety can be a problem for any person. Making the right diagnosis and beginning the right treatment plan will ease your symptoms and increase your living quality. Remember that overcoming an anxiety disorder requires time and commitment, but it is worth the effort in the long run. The treatment plan you have for anxiety should include a robust network of support, healthy lifestyle habits, and relaxation techniques. The more you use these techniques and the more effective they will become.
Exposure Therapy
If you suffer from an anxiety or fear, you may connect certain situations or things with negative consequences. A mental health professional could employ exposure therapy to break the relationship and stop avoiding things that cause anxiety. This method involves exposure to anxiety-inducing items or situations for a set period of time, in a safe environment. Over time, you will realize that the incident or object isn't dangerous and you can cope.
Your therapist will begin with situations or items that don't trigger high levels of anxiety. Then, they'll gradually advance to more challenging ones. This is referred to as "graded-exposure." For instance, if scared of snakes, your therapist will begin by showing you pictures of snakes during your first session. In subsequent sessions, they will have you look at the image of a snake behind glass and then touch a snake. Some people find this kind of exposure uncomfortable, which is why the therapist will employ interoceptive (or tactile) exposure. This is the process of deliberately triggering physical sensations that are experienced during anxiety, such as a pounding heart or shaking and educating you that while these feelings are uncomfortable, they're not harmful.
It's important to work with an expert in mental health who is experienced and trained in the use of this therapy. You could end up avoiding things that trigger anxiety, which can cause you to experience more symptoms. Your therapist will instead assist you face the anxieties and fears that prevent you from living life to the fullest.
Your therapist may also use cognitive behavioral therapy to address the root of the belief that is causing your anxiety. For example, if you believe that your anxiety is an indicator of weakness, they will help you to identify and challenge these beliefs. Your therapist will also instruct you on breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as other coping strategies to lessen the negative effects these beliefs can have on your life. They will also educate you on the physiology of the fight-or-flight reaction and how it is inappropriately activated in anxiety disorders.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a contemplative practice dating back thousands of years that encourages an openness to any experience, even the unpleasant ones. It isn't a religious or secular belief system and can be practiced by anyone. Though mindfulness is often tied to Buddhism but many of the most prominent practitioners claim that the technique has roots in ancient contemplative traditions.
Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation can improve self-regulation, mood and ability to recognize the patterns of thinking that are not optimal and reacting. It has been proven that mindfulness meditation has the ability to alter the brain's structure and function, which is that are involved in processing emotions. These changes are linked to an increase in activity in the Default Mode Network which is associated with anxiety's aetiology.
The most common secular mindfulness programs include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). These types of clinical interventions typically involve eight sessions per week, which last between two and three hours. Recent research has focused on shorter, less intensive mindfulness training. These short-term interventions can be taught by a certified psychotherapist without the aid of an instructor of meditation or a group leader.
The latest research has found that short mindfulness-based exercises can immediately affect thoughts that ruminate. Short mindfulness sessions can decrease the level of arousal and reduce the time spent in ruminative thought processes. This research supports the notion that mindfulness training can help in treating GAD.
Mindfulness has been proven to reduce depression, increase happiness and mood in addition to having a direct impact on emotional reaction. This is due in part to the positive effects of mindfulness on negative thinking patterns and the reduction of symptoms such as the shaming and rumination.
A small study carried out at the University of Waterloo suggests that 10 minutes of mindfulness can help to disrupt the ruminative thinking patterns which contribute to anxiety. In the study, 82 participants who suffered from anxiety were asked to work on an online task that was regularly interrupted with interruptions. Half of the participants spent 10 minutes listening to a meditation audio while the other half listened an audio book.
The study results showed that participants in the mindfulness audio group had significantly lower levels of anxiety than those in the other groups. This suggests that mindfulness training can be used to treat GAD however further research is needed to determine the specific techniques that work. Future studies should evaluate the effects of mindfulness-based training and other psychotherapeutic treatments.