Learn More About Treat Anxiety While Working From At Home
Medications and Complementary Therapies to Treat Anxiety
Everyone worries and feels fearful at times, but those who suffer from anxiety have a difficult managing their reactions. Psychotherapy and medication like beta blockers that help control blood pressure, and benzodiazepines can help.
Self-help strategies can also help ease symptoms. Exercise, for instance helps reduce stress and relaxes your body.
Medication
If lifestyle changes or psychotherapy don't help your anxiety medications could be a viable option. Anxiety medications can help reduce fear signals and the body's fight or flight response. Antidepressants, the most popular medication used to treat anxiety are antidepressants. They work by increasing levels of certain neurotransmitters which affect mood. SSRIs like citalopram (citalopram), escitalopram (escitalopram), sertraline (prozac) and citalopram (escitalopram) are usually the first medications prescribed. SNRIs like venlafaxine, duloxetine and tricyclic antidepressants like Tofranil (imipramine), Elavil, or Pamelor are also effective in treating anxiety.
The benzodiazepines can also be used to treat anxiety. They are quick-acting, and can be helpful in the short-term. However, they are addictive. Benzodiazepines are commonly used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
Only licensed health specialists can prescribe medication to treat anxiety. These doctors include psychiatrists, psychologists, primary care physicians and OBGYNs. They also need to undergo special training to prescribe medication.
Some people use alternative therapies, like exercise, to ease anxiety. They can also find methods to relax and relieve stress, including deep breathing and mindfulness meditation. Biofeedback can be another beneficial technique, in which a therapist monitors your brain-wave patterns on an electroencephalograph and teaches you how to control them at will.
In addition, natural supplements like 5-HTP or melatonin may aid in relieving anxiety. However, you should always consult your physician prior to taking any supplement to treat anxiety or for any other reason. Supplements together with a comprehensive treatment plan that includes psychotherapy and lifestyle modifications can maximize the effectiveness of your treatment.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most studied and empirically validated psychotherapeutic methods for treating anxiety disorders. It focuses on the maladaptive thoughts or behaviors that lead to anxiety. Although a variety of individual CBT protocols have been developed for different anxiety disorders, they all share certain common treatment goals and techniques.
The first step in CBT is to identify dysfunctional thought patterns that contribute to anxiety. During sessions, the patients learn to recognize these negative beliefs and challenge. The therapist can also help patients identify and alter behavior patterns that hinder them from doing so. The therapist might ask patients to keep "thought journals" or diaries in between sessions, and to apply the strategies for behavioural change they have learned in everyday life.
Eventually, the final goal is to help patients to become their own therapists by helping them understand their current patterns of thinking and behavior. This will enable them to dismiss unfounded fears, ease their anxiety and other negative emotions and become more resilient.
CBT techniques involve the identification and correction of the way that the patient thinks which include overgeneralizing catastrophizing, overgeneralizing, or minimizing positive events. The therapist also assists the patient develop strategies to cope to deal with anxiety-inducing situations. These techniques can be utilized to treat all types of anxiety disorders. Often, they are incorporated into a comprehensive approach to mental health called "cognitive-behavioral therapy".
Exposure therapy is an additional component of CBT. Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient's anxious object or situation. This can be done by creating a mental picture or confronting the object or scenario in real life. A person suffering from PTSD who is afraid of a specific location, could be urged by their physician to visit the location where they were assaulted. A person with social anxiety disorder who fears speaking in public might be urged to give a speech in front of the group.
Some studies have shown that combining CBT with pharmaceutical therapy can improve outcomes. However, the results aren't conclusive, and more research is needed. In general, combining medications with CBT is more effective than any one by itself. Combinations of benzodiazepines with CBT have been shown to be particularly efficacious in those suffering from panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.
Exposure therapy
One of the most effective ways to treat anxiety is exposure therapy, which lets you face the things that scare you in a secure environment with a therapy. It may sound like a daunting process, but it can help you learn that your fears are unfounded and that you are able to accept the discomfort caused by your triggers. It can also boost your confidence to face life's challenges.
There are many kinds of exposure therapies, including virtual reality, imaginal therapy and systematic desensitization. If you're scared to speak in public, your therapist could advise you to practice with a buddy or imagine yourself giving the speech. Then, you can gradually confront the situation in real life with the help of your counselor's assistance. During each session, your therapist will check to determine if you're experiencing anxiety or panic and adjust the level of exposure as needed.
During the session, the therapist teaches you to relax, cope with your emotions and then introduces you to triggers that can make you feel scared. This can include techniques like meditation, breathing with rhythm and guided imagery. They can also teach strategies to avoid engaging the behaviors that cause anxiety, like avoiding elevators. Exposure therapy is usually conducted over a series of weekly sessions, and some individuals require more than two or three sessions to overcome their fears.
The first step is to identify the thing or event that causes anxiety, such as flying on a plane, or being in a crowd of strangers. health anxiety treatment can help you choose an exposure therapy method that is suited to your personality and needs. This might involve using an order to determine the order in which exposures are given or a series of relaxation exercises prior to starting.
In vivo exposure therapy is confronting the thing or situation you're fearful of. This could be as simple as crossing a bridge or having someone else touch your arm. This method is often employed to treat posttraumatic stress disorder as well as specific fears.
It can be difficult to fit in vivo exposure therapy between appointments. Therefore, it is important to find a therapist that specializes in this form of cognitive therapy for behavioral disorders. You can search for an experienced specialist by searching your local psychology association or mental health network. It's recommended to review reviews and ask your friends or family members for recommendations.
Complementary therapies
Complementary therapies cover a wide variety of treatments for health that are not considered to be part of Western medicine. They can reduce anxiety by teaching relaxation techniques and promoting healthy lifestyles. These treatments could include acupuncture, herbal medicine yoga, meditation, music therapy, and massage. They can also help relieve depression-related symptoms by reducing levels of stress hormones within your body.
Recent research has shown that mindfulness-based programs lead to moderate improvements in anxiety-related symptoms. This approach uses different techniques of meditation to improve mindfulness or the ability of staying in the present moment and let go of negative thoughts and feelings. This type of meditation can be done by almost anyone, and it does not require special equipment or any special training. People who have physical limitations may not be able participate in meditation that requires moving.
Other therapies that can ease anxiety include breathing exercise and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) biofeedback, self-hypnosis and hypnosis. These techniques teach you to manage anxiety by focusing on relaxing muscles breathing techniques, relaxing breathing, and visual imagery. They can be used at home, or in a therapy setting. These techniques are often used in conjunction with other types of therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy.
Regular exercise and eating balanced meals are two more ways to reduce anxiety. Regular exercise can reduce your blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels which is an important hormone that causes anxiety. A healthy diet can make you feel more relaxed which can lessen your anxiety.
Cognitive behavior therapy is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety. It helps you recognize and challenge negative thoughts that can cause anxiety. Your therapist will instruct you how to assess your fears and determine the probability that they'll actually happen. You can apply strategies such as looking at your fears in relation to previous experiences, taking into consideration the pros and cons of a situation and determining if it is realistic to worry about something that might occur.
Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese technique, can be used to relieve stress. It is based upon an assessment of deficiencies or excesses in your energy (called Qi) that are located in specific meridians. For example, a deficiency in the spleen or kidney meridians can trigger anxiety. Acupuncture studies have suggested that it can help alleviate anxiety symptoms when combined with psychotherapy or other CAM techniques.
