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What types of professionals treat anxiety disorders?

There are many professionals that are trained to treat people suffering from anxiety disorders. Some are more specialized than others, and have more specific training. Others are able to treat a broader range of problems. Some are more easily accessible, due to location and affordability. The key is to find what works best for you in your unique situation. There isn’t one solution for all.

One way to start is with your school counselor or your family doctor. These are individuals that you likely already know and trust. They may be familiar with your situation and your medical history. They would be able to note any significant changes and be aware of any underlying concerns. They are trained to recognize the basic symptoms of mental health disorders and if they are not qualified to offer you treatment, they can often times refer you to someone who can.

A family doctor is able to run blood tests, and complete a physical exam to rule out any additional medical conditions that may be contributing to your mental wellbeing. If your condition is minor, or temporary, they may be able to offer you treatment, such as a prescription for medication.

A psychiatrist is medical doctor who is able to prescribe medication, that specializes in mental health. They are able to do blood tests, and a physical exam and offer treatment as it relates to your mental health. They can be more expensive than other types of mental health professionals and may not offer other forms of treatment that you may wish to try.

Psychologists, therapists and counselors are trained mental health professionals, but not medical doctors. They do not prescribe medication. They offer talk therapy through individual or group sessions. Each professional has their own areas of focus and usually specializes in different types of treatment.

Some factors to consider when selecting a mental health professional are:

    1. Cost: Different professionals charge different rates. The cost can vary by the education and experience of the professional, and by the type of treatment. For example, group therapy is usually less expensive than individual therapy sessions. The cost of the professional’s time is shared all the group members rather than by just the individual. Online counseling is becoming more and more popular and it is typically much less expensive than in office counseling.
    2. Convenience: It is important to select a course of treatment that works with your lifestyle. Your success is dependent upon your ability to stay committed to your treatment plan, and show up for your appointments. If your life is very busy, or you live somewhere remote, one option to consider is online therapy. With online therapy you are able to connect with your counselor from your computer or mobile device, rather than having to go into a physical office for your scheduled sessions.
    3. Comfort: Talking about your emotions and mental health is very personal. If you are not comfortable with your counselor, you will not be as open, and your progress will be limited. It is important to find the right fit for your individual needs. There is more to a great mental health professional that just their credentials, or success rate. Talk to them, ask questions, and make sure they are a good match for you personally. Do you want to speak with someone of your own gender? Does their age, or religious background make a difference to you? What matters is connecting with the right professional that will help you overcome your challenges and find your path to happiness.
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The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.

What Causes Anxiety Disorders?

There isn’t one specific cause of anxiety disorders. They are not an illness like the flu which is caused by a virus, or a broken bone caused by an accident.  They are a caused by a complex set of individual circumstances that include genetic and environmental factors.  Each person that suffers with an anxiety disorder has a unique story of how that came to be a reality for them.  Each story is unique, but when looked at as a large group, patterns and similarities emerge.

Research indicates that there is a strong genetic component that may contribute to anxiety disorders. Scientists have not isolated a specific gene that makes a person predisposed to an anxiety disorder.  If you have a family member with an anxiety disorder, you are more like to also be at risk of developing one at some point in your life.  Your family history is no guarantee one way or the other, but it can put you more or less at risk.  Life experiences can trigger a genetic tendency towards anxiety.  If you don’t experience these triggering events, you may avoid this challenge in your life.

Our environment and the experience we grow up with shape our mental processes and in some cases, set us up for developing an anxiety disorder.  Children who grow up in an abusive or neglectful home can be at risk for an anxiety disorder.  Their life experience has taught them to always be on guard, and that it is not safe to trust.  Individuals who experience homelessness, are refugees, live through war, or are victims of violence are also at risk.  Individuals who do not have a strong support system are more at risk than those that do.

While having a difficult childhood, or experiencing severe trauma may place a person at risk for developing one or more anxiety disorders, it does not guarantee that they will.  Some individuals are able to process these negative events and maintain good mental health and a positive outlook on life.  Receiving appropriate counseling after these negative experiences can help prevent a severe disorder from developing.

In many cases it is a combination of a genetic predisposition towards mental health issues and negative life experiences that lead a person to develop an anxiety disorder.  It is usually not one thing, but a list of several contributing factors, that finally tip the scale and send the individual into an anxiety disorder.  The good news is that with professional help recovery and happiness is possible.  There are many effective treatment options and many caring mental health professionals available.

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.

Coping Strategies for Living with an Anxiety Disorder

Coping Strategies for Living with an Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety can be a nightmare for some to deal with, especially people who have to deal with it every day of their lives. Chronic anxiety, living with it every day, can be torturous, but it is treatable. Reaching out for help would be the first step to getting this under control. While you are going through the process of therapy to treat your specific anxiety disorder, here are some ways to try to manage the day to day, when the anxiety disorder seems out of control.

Break things down in to what you can do for your body, what you can do for your mind, and what actions you can take to help yourself out that day. Looking at what you can do for your body, adopting some healthy lifestyle traits will go a long way towards alleviating anxiety and improving your mood as well.

Tips to help your body (to get rid of anxiety disorder) includes:

  • Limit or cut out alcohol and caffeine from your diet
  • Try to get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night
  • Eat regularly, and eat well-balanced meals
  • Set up regular exercise, for at least thirty minutes a day
  • Take frequent breaks from what you are doing

These may not seem like much, but anxiety can be intensified when you are, tired, stressed, or intoxicated. By doing this you will take care of your health and lower your anxiety disorder.

Caring for your mind to lower anxiety is a little more complicated. A lot of work can and should be done in talk therapy to help manage these conditions, but here are some tips to help alleviate some anxiety when it happens:

  • Ask yourself if this is something worth getting upset over
  • Ask yourself if this is something that will matter a year from now
  • Learn to accept what you cannot control instead of letting it consume you
  • Learn what you can and cannot control
  • Develop a strong sense of humor
  • Meditation and keeping yourself focused on the present

These are simple steps that may actually take a lot of practice but will go a very long way in the quest to rid yourself of anxiety.

Now, taking action is another thing that will help, especially when it is action aimed at fighting anxiety disorder, both being proactive and reactive. These can include:

  • Slow, deep breathing or some thoughtful breathing technique
  • Learning distraction techniques, like listening to music, reading, or talking to friends when you are upset
  • Set goals for yourself every day, ones that are attainable
  • Learn what triggers your anxiety and avoid it until you are strong enough to manage it

Coping skills to combat daily anxiety disorder are a necessary tool in living with it. There are things to do that will overall help lower anxiety, as well as things to do in the moment when the anxiety is getting bad. These will help in conjunction with any medication and talk therapy you are doing to eliminate chronic anxiety from your life.

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.

How Common are Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety disorders are a diverse group of  similar psychological disorders. Anxiety disorders have the common elements of unusually high levels of fear accompanied by anxiety and behavioral abnormalities. The Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders in its fifth edition (denoted as DSM-5) is the most recent publication which provides the definition and statistics regarding psychological disorders. The DSM-5 considers generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder, phobias and substance-induced anxiety to belong to the spectrum of anxiety disorders (Emedicine.medscape.com, 2018).

Anxiety disorders have high prevalence among all the psychiatric and mental health disorders. Anxiety disorders often occur in conjunction with another major psychiatric ailment, depression. Worldwide, the prevalence of depression was expected to be three hundred million as of year 2015. Anxiety and depression often co-exist so there is an overlapping prevalence of both the disorders. Similar prevalence of various anxiety disorders also exists.  Anxiety disorders pose a huge burden of disease with respect to disability. Anxiety disorders are ranked as the sixth largest contributor to worldwide disability standing at 3.4 percent contribution to global disability. Anxiety disorders resulted in a sum of 24.6 million years lost to disability in 2015 alone (Apps.who.int, 2018).

Do you know how common is anxiety? As per 2015 estimates, 3.6 percent of the people of the world suffer from one or the other form of an anxiety disorder. There are a total of two hundred and sixty four million people living in the world who suffer from anxiety. Anxiety and depression both have higher prevalence in the female population compared to the male population with 4.6 percent of females suffering from these disorders compared to 3.6% of the males. Females have nearly double the prevalence than males. When age groups are compared for prevalence, no significant differences exist between the different age-groups except for the elderly, who show a relatively lower prevalence. (Apps.who.int, 2018) How common is anxiety? Now, this question does not carry any importance. How to find a solution, this is important.

Although yearly data and statistical figures have their own importance, lifetime-prevalence is considered to be the most significant statistical figure in understanding the impact of the disease. The twelve months prevalence figures merely suggest the number of people having an anxiety disorder currently. The probability of people acquiring an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives is predicted on the basis of past life-time prevalence statistics.

The following expresses the probability of an individual acquiring an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives:

Any of the anxiety disorders 28.8%
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) 5.7%
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 1.6%
Panic disorder (PD) 4.7%
Social phobia 12.1%
Specific (other) phobia 12.5%

 

References

Apps.who.int. (2018). [Online] Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/254610/WHO-MSD-MER-2017.2-eng.pdf;jsessionid=73BCB4A79B8729A7D4218C2125BEFA2A?sequence=1 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2018].

Emedicine.medscape.com. (2018). Anxiety Disorders: Background, Anatomy, Pathophysiology. [online] Available at: https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/286227-overview?pa=gF4MN9UD9tp%2Bo3F%2BizsZ9QwHkb2HRa%2FehEUmZABPnN%2BcxowQo3c%2B3CWCa%2F8KMQWh6p6oWviy8uflye2V0IfCGtRNZ1wOcAGVEOAmcrMialo%3D [Accessed 26 Mar. 2018].

 

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.