Know Your Anxiety Therapy Options
If anxiety is affecting your life to the point where you can’t do normal day to day activities, you should consider getting some anxiety therapy. Anxiety therapies differ but here is some information about some of your choices.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to Treat Anxiety
One common anxiety therapy is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This therapy is a psychotherapy used to treat anxiety that bases its principles in the idea that a person’s thoughts are the reason for his anxiety, not anything that is going on outside of himself. Cognitive-behavioral therapy only lasts for a short period. It usually works quickly so the person gets immediate results.
CBT works by changing a person’s behavior and his thoughts that are contributing to his anxiety or depression. It can be used to treat simple fears like arachnophobia, which is the fear of spiders. CBT helps people figure out that there is no real danger from the spiders they encounter in everyday life.
CBT is also used for treating people who suffer from panic attacks. This anxiety therapy works by dealing with the fears that people have that their attacks to occur. CBT helps people learn to stay calm in an anxious situation by teaching relaxation techniques like meditation and teaching people to use positive thoughts to remain calm.
Medication and Anxiety Therapy
Some people need more than anxiety therapy to feel better so doctors often prescribe medication to help them. There are a few different types of medicines used. Antidepressants are often used for anxiety since there is a connection between anxiety problems and depression. Often, if a person gets help for his depression, it reduces the anxiety problems that he has.
Drugs known as beta blockers are normally used for high blood pressure and heart issues but they can help treat anxiety by relieving some of the symptoms of the condition including shaking, sweating and the pounding heart that often occur.
Doctors sometimes recommend some of the medications that have been developed especially to deal with anxiety problems. One of these is BuSpar, which is effective for treating GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). It is often taken every day, and patients will begin to feel better in about two weeks of being on this medicine. Benzodiazepines can help with anxiety attacks when they occur. It is only used during an actual anxiety attack and is not known to have any serious side effects.
You should always consult your doctor about an anxiety therapy. Only your doctor can tell you what medications and in what doses will help relieve your anxiety symptoms. It is not recommended that you stop taking any anxiety medication once symptoms go away without discussing it with your doctor first.
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