There is a common belief that if a treatment works, then it works for everybody. We all want answers and when someone says, “Do this! It worked for me!”, we believe we have found THE answer.
But what works for one person may not work for another… especially when it comes to finding proper treatment for your anxiety disorder. It really is very important that you find the treatment that works for YOU… one that suits the severity of your personal issues as well as the various symptoms you may have.
If you’ve looked into treatments at all, then you know that the two main approaches for treating anxiety are medication and therapy. But within those two are a variety of variations.
For example, when it comes to medication some people respond better to SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), a class of medication with long-term results and low risk of addiction. You’ve probably heard of these as brand names Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and Celexa.
Others find these useless and respond better to benzodiazepenes such as Ativan, Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin. The problem with this class of drugs is a high risk of addiction. But many people find relief from careful monitored use of them by medical professionals.
Remember that medication is only a short-term solution. It should always be taken in conjunction with some kind of therapy. It will never “cure” you on its own.
It is only by dedicating yourself to changing your negative thoughts and bad behaviors long-term that you will find true relief. Therapy helps you find the root cause of your anxiety so you can dismantle it.
Depending on the type of anxiety you have, therapy is going to vary as well. If you have OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), then you will likely work with your therapist on “thought-stopping.” This is a technique to help control your obsessive thoughts by identifying them, and then invoking an opposite reaction to the one you usually do.
If social anxiety is your main issue, then exposure therapy is likely to be the solution. Through a gradually increasing series of “exposures” to situations that trigger panic in social situations, you learn how to recognize irrational fears and reduce them through a process called “systemic desensitization.”
And if panic attacks are your central problem, then there are a variety of approaches such as hypnosis, humor training (yes, humor training!), “tapping” (also known as thought field therapy), and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the “gold standard” of modern therapeutic treatments. Unlike traditional psychotherapy… often involving years of delving deeply into childhood issues and accomplishing nothing… CBT focuses on getting you as well as you can be in the shortest amount of time. It also encompasses all the therapeutic processes I mentioned above.
CBT uncovers what triggers your anxious feelings and the associated negative thoughts that enter your mind. It helps you to stop them from occurring in the first place by recognizing them when they arrive. When you learn to manage them, you start to feel more in control and relaxed wherever you go.
Whatever your anxiety issue, the key is to be 100% honest with your doctor or licensed therapist. You may discover that what worked for others may not be the right treatment for you.
Click here to watch a short video about the ROOT CAUSE of all anxiety.
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