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Dealing With Severe Anxiety Disorder Anxiety symptoms can affect daily life. It is essential to seek treatment and relief. Traumas, such as physical or emotional abuse, or neglect, can lead to an increase in your anxiety. So do certain life circumstances like chronic health issues and stress. Counseling (also known as psychotherapy) helps you to change negative thoughts that trigger anxiety and stress. The most commonly used kind of psychotherapy to combat anxiety is cognitive behavior therapy. Medicines The use of medication can be a successful method of reducing symptoms for a variety of people. This is in addition to therapy and lifestyle changes. However, there is no one-size-fits-all drug that is suitable for all people, so it's vital to determine which one is best for you. Your MDVIP provider will talk to you about your anxiety symptoms, your health history and goals to determine the most effective treatment options for you. Benzodiazepines are quick to target the Gamma aminobutyric (GABA) acid within your brain. They help calm your brain's overexcited and promote tranquility. They are typically prescribed for short-term usage, for instance, when a panic attack or other overwhelming anxiety occurs. Examples include Xanax, Klonopin and Valium. Antidepressants are prescribed to treat depression and anxiety disorders. 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 all kinds, but most commonly GAD, PDA, and SAD. Another type of antidepressant may be prescribed to treat anxiety, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibits (SSRIs). They are prescribed for mild to moderate anxiety disorders and have shown to be effective using controlled, randomized tests. There may be a need for a stronger medication to treat a severe anxiety disorder. This could be an SSRI or a tricyclic. These drugs are for patients that have not had a response to other treatments. Patients should be monitored closely for side effects such as sedation or depression. If you aren't able to find relief with an 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 extremely effective in reducing the symptoms of SAD. The most common examples are quetiapine and agomelatine. It's important to keep in mind that a medication isn't a cure and should be administered under a physician's supervision. Always discuss the advantages and risks of any medication, as well as the potential adverse effects. When you first visit, it's also important to inquire about follow-up visits and appointment times. Anxiety can become worse over time, and regular check-ins with your provider are crucial to managing anxiety symptoms over the long term. Counseling Talk therapy (or psychotherapy) is an important component of treatment for anxiety disorders. A trained therapist can teach you ways to change unhealthy thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that are contributing to your symptoms. Different types of psychotherapy are available, including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). This approach has been well studied and is considered to be the most effective method for treating anxiety disorders. Your therapist could recommend alternative treatments, such as exposure therapy or a mindfulness-based approach called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Cognitive therapy is a way to examine the negative thought patterns that can cause anxiety. It teaches you how to overcome these negative thoughts and replace them by more realistic, positive thoughts. The majority of these thoughts are learned from childhood experiences and may be difficult to break on your own. If your symptoms are severe, they may affect your daily life, making it difficult to work or engage in social activities. Your therapist will determine the frequency of your anxiety symptoms, and how long they last and how intense they are. They will also search for other mental health problems that could be causing your symptoms, including depression or substance use disorders. Talk therapy sessions are generally conducted face-to-face with a mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Your counselor will be able to observe your facial expressions, body language and other signs to understand how you react to specific situations. This can help them determine if your symptoms may be caused by a specific cause that is ongoing, like a stressor or traumatic event. Anxiety can affect anyone. The right diagnosis will aid in reducing your symptoms and improve the quality of your life. Remember that overcoming anxiety disorders requires time and commitment, but the effort is worth it in the end. Creating a strong support network and implementing healthy lifestyle practices and practicing relaxation techniques are all valuable components of your treatment strategy. The more you practice these skills and the more effective they will become. Exposure Therapy If you are suffering from a fear or phobia that you are suffering from, you may connect certain situations or objects with negative consequences. To break this association and stop avoiding situations that trigger anxiety, your mental health professional could employ exposure therapy. This method involves exposure to anxiety-inducing items or situations for a predetermined period of time, in a safe environment. In time, this will help you realize that the feared thing or circumstance isn't really dangerous and that you can deal with it. Your therapist will begin with the items or situations that don't trigger high levels of anxiety. Then, they'll gradually progress to more difficult ones. This is referred to as “graded-exposure.” In the first session for instance, if the therapist suspects that you're scared of snakes, they'll show you pictures of snakes. In subsequent sessions, you will be asked to examine a photo of a venomous snake in glass before interacting with the real snake. Some people find this kind of exposure uncomfortable, and so the therapist will employ interoceptive (or tactile) exposure. This involves deliberately triggering physical sensations such as shaking or pounding heart and educating the patient that these sensations, although uncomfortable, are not harmful. It is important to collaborate with a professional who has experience and training in this kind of therapy. In the absence of this, you'll be abstaining from things that trigger your anxiety, and this could actually make your symptoms worse. Your therapist will instead help you confront the anxiety and fears that hinder you from living your life to the fullest. Your therapist may also employ cognitive behavioral therapy to tackle the underlying beliefs that fuel your anxiety. For example, if you believe that your anxiety is a sign of weakness, they'll help you identify and challenge these assumptions. In addition your therapist will teach you breathing techniques and relaxation techniques, as well as other strategies to manage the negative impact of these thoughts. They will also teach you about the physiology and triggers of the fight or flight response in anxiety disorders. Mindfulness Mindfulness is a contemplative practice dating back thousands of years that promotes an openness to all experiences, even unpleasant ones. It is not a religion or secular system of belief and is accessible to anyone. While mindfulness is often attributed to Buddhism however, a number of leading practitioners point out that the practice has its roots in ancient contemplative traditions. Research has shown that mindfulness meditation can boost mood and self-regulation, as well in the ability to detect and react to patterns that are not in sync with our brains. It has been proven that mindfulness meditation can change the brain's structure and function, which is involved in processing emotion. These changes are correlated with lower activity in the Default Mode Network, which is involved in the aetiology of anxiety. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction are the two most common secular mindfulness programs. These types of clinical interventions typically involve eight weekly classes that run approximately two to three hours each. Recent research has focused more on shorter, less intensive mindfulness classes. These shorter interventions can also be taught by a certified psychotherapist without the help of an instructor of meditation or a group leader. These studies have found that short mindfulness exercises can have a positive effect on ruminative thoughts. In particular, short mindfulness classes can reduce arousal and cut down on the time spent thinking about thoughts of ruminative thought. This research supports the notion that mindfulness training can help in treating GAD. Mindfulness has been proven to decrease depression, boost happiness and mood in addition to its direct effect on emotional reaction. This is due to the effects of mindfulness on negative thinking patterns, and the reduction of symptoms like the shaming and rumination. A small study conducted at the University of Waterloo found that 10 minutes of meditation could help disrupt the ruminative thought patterns that cause anxiety. In the study, 82 anxious participants were asked to complete a computer-based task where they were constantly interrupted. Half of them were able to listen for 10 minutes to a meditation audio while the other half listened an audio book. The results of the study revealed that those who listen to the mindfulness audio had significantly lower anxiety levels than those in the two other groups. This suggests that mindfulness-based training can be used to treat GAD, but further research is required to identify the specific techniques that work. Future studies should examine the effects mindfulness-based training and other psychotherapeutic treatments.