Is it possible to treat anxiety?
Yes of course!
There are many treatment options available for people with anxiety.
It is important to distinguish between the effective ones and the non-functional ones and have a basic understanding of them.
Anxiety treatments can be divided into several areas:
- Drug treatment (drugs)
- Psychotherapy
- Other treatments
- Change in lifestyle
Treating anxiety is a process.
Change is possible, often relatively quickly (after a few or a dozen sessions of psychotherapy) but it depends on the type of your problem.
However, you need commitment, determination and the will to overcome your problems.
Medicine and pharmacological treatment of anxiety
Remember to take medication only when necessary. The ultimate goal is to recover to the extent that we can function without medication.
Treatment of anxiety disorders with pharmacology is generally safe and highly effective. In the group of anxiolytic drugs, there are drugs that are used in short-term and long-term treatment.
The choice depends on the severity of symptoms, general health, type of medication taken at that time and individual circumstances. There are many scientific studies confirming the effectiveness of TMS therapy in the treatment of anxiety. This is an alternative to the other methods discussed in this article.
It sometimes takes time and patience to find a drug that is perfectly suited to your needs.
The main types of medications used to treat anxiety disorders are:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),
- serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs),
- Tricyclic antidepressants (TLPDs),
- Benzodiazepines,
- MAO inhibitors,
- Azapirones – buspirone.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
Serotonin is a compound classified as a tissue hormone. It is also an important neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, which means that it carries signals between nerve cells.
After transmitting the signal, the neurotransmitters are captured with the help of special proteins, which allows them to be reused. However, uptake causes a decrease in the amount of neurotransmitters between neurons. It has been found that the higher the concentration of serotonin between nerve cells, the better the mood.
SSRIs block the serotonin uptake mechanism, which allows the neuron to use this neurotransmitter immediately. Examples of SSRIs include citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, and sertraline. Although these drugs belong to the same group of preparations, their action is slightly different.
Behavioral and cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders
Behavioral therapy, as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy, are one of the most effective forms of psychotherapy in general, and in treating anxiety disorders in particular.
In behavioral therapy, each behavior, and thus also a disorder, is treated as a certain pattern of behavior.
The aim of therapy, therefore, is to reduce or completely eliminate undesirable patterns, and to develop in their place appropriate behaviors, that is, those that work better and enable a more complete functioning in society. An equally important goal of therapy is to maintain these changes also after the end of therapy.
According to the theoretical foundations of therapy, the environment is the cause of most human behavior. It can shape behaviors that are both desirable and those that can be classified as a disorder.
Implozyvan therapy (immersion)
In turn, immersion therapy (also known as implosive therapy) involves direct exposure of the patient to the stimulus of the greatest force, but it is impossible to avoid it. The conviction that direct contact with a stimulus is not really dangerous allows you to control your anxiety.
Counter-conditioning (desentitization)
Counterconditioning is getting the anxiety stimulus to be associated in a different way than originally. This is called desensitization or desensitization.
To do this, a list of fears is compiled and work begins with whatever causes the weakest response. This therapy is combined with relaxation – in the situation of such developed calm, the patient imagines what causes slight anxiety. This exercise is repeated so many times until the feeling of fear diminishes and continues until the next fears are neutralized.
This method is similar to extinction therapy, but what makes them different is the fact that desensitization aims to extinguish the fear, and extinguishing it to the maximum of experiencing fear to help extinguish it.
