Anxiety Disorders cause severe distress and disrupt the lives of individuals suffering from them.
The frequency and intensity of anxiety involved in these Disorders is often debilitating. Fortunately, with proper and effective treatment, people suffering from Anxiety Disorders can lead normal, productive, and happy lives.
Many people think of treatment for Anxiety Disorders as being solely medication. While drugs can be effective, their remedy is temporary; they work only as long as you take them. And some medications for Anxiety Disorders are habit-forming and cannot be taken for more than a few months at a time.
But there is an equally effective treatment for Anxiety Disorders that will teach you how to manage and control them for the rest of your life: psychotherapy. Although psychotherapy requires more time to work than a pill, it is the best use of your time you will ever experience.
This article discusses the role of psychotherapy in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders under the following headings:
- Avoidance is at the core of Anxiety Disorders
- Why is it important to seek treatment for Anxiety Disorders?
- Are there effective treatments available for Anxiety Disorders?
- How can a qualified therapist help someone suffering from an Anxiety Disorder?
- How long does psychological treatment take?
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Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety Disorder,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
Medical Health Professionals,
Medications,
Panic Attack,
Panic Disorder,
Social Anxiety Disorder,
Therapy
A study published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine proves that there is a biological cause in the brain for Social Anxiety Disorder. The lead author, Dr. van der Wee, M.D., Ph.D. said,
Our study provides direct evidence for the involvement of the brain’s dopaminergic system in social anxiety disorder in patients who had no prior exposure to medication… It demonstrates that social anxiety has a physical, brain dependent component.
The research involved tracing how serotonin and dopamine act upon the receptors in the brains of people with Social Anxiety Disorder. Serotonin and dopamine are neurotransmitters, or substances responsible for transferring signals from on neuron to another. If the neurotransmitters are out of balance, messages cannot get through the brain properly. This can alter the way the brain reacts to normal social situations, leading to Anxiety.
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Tagged as:
Anxiety,
dopamine,
glucose,
neuroimaging,
neurotransmitter,
oxygen,
serotonin,
Social Anxiety Disorder
A study done at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. states that twenty percent of patients seen by primary care physicians have at least one Anxiety Disorder. Dr. Kurt Kroenke, the lead researcher, is an internationally recognized internist who studies physical symptoms, especially pain, and their links to mental disorders including Anxiety and Depression. He states:
Anxiety often manifests as a physical symptom like pain, fatigue, or inability to sleep, so it is not surprising that one out of five patients who come to a doctor’s office with a physical complaint have anxiety.
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that between ten and twenty percent of the American people age eighteen and older suffer from some sort of Anxiety Disorder, so the twenty percent figure stated in the study rings true.
The study found that Anxiety Disorders among patients was as prevalent as Depression. The researchers were surprised that the prevalence of Anxiety Disorder was much more common than they thought it might be among patients who were visiting a physician for a physical problem or illness. Compared to people without mental illness, people with Anxiety have a worse functional status, more disability days, and more physician visits.
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Tagged as:
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
Anxiety test,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
Indiana University,
Panic Disorder,
primary care physician,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
screening questionnaire,
Social Anxiety Disorder
