Online therapy for anxiety disorders

Research has shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective form of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorders, and phobias among other conditions.

CBT addresses negative thought patterns and distortions in the way we look at the world and ourselves. The premise of CBT is that our thoughts affect how we feel and subsequently behave. So, the goal of CBT is to help people identify and understand their negative thinking and ineffective behavior patterns and teach them how to replace unhelpful thoughts with more realistic thoughts and effective actions and coping mechanisms.

The therapist may suggest three types of anxiety treatment:

Psychotherapy involves working with a therapist to reduce your anxiety symptoms. Psychological therapies, including CBT, can help you adjust the way you react to stressful life events and triggers.

Medication can support treatment rather than be a full solution to anxiety disorders. Several types of medications are used to treat generalized anxiety disorder, including antidepressants, beta-blockers, and benzodiazepines.

Self-management can help in addressing anxious feelings, and it often involves relaxation techniques, mindfulness, breathing techniques, an active lifestyle, and effective time management.

Clinical tests and research show that therapy is the most effective treatment for many anxiety disorders. Medication can help people manage the physical symptoms of anxiety and increase their quality of life, but it’s seen as a short-term measure and not a solution.

Research studies have shown that psychological therapies, such as for example, CBT and exposure therapy, are much more effective than medications in managing anxiety disorders in the long term. The reason is that, unlike medication, therapy gives people the tools to manage the anxiety themselves, now and in the future.

Occasional anxiety is OK. For example, you may worry when faced with a problem at work, before meeting someone new, before making an important decision, or starting a new job. Anxiety can be a helpful emotion at times because it can tell you that you need to be cautious or leave a threatening situation.

But excessive anxiety becomes a problem – a source of suffering and distraction that makes it hard to fully enjoy life. It is often a symptom of an anxiety disorder. It’s a mental illness that causes constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. You may perceive threats that don’t exist or experience an exaggerated reaction to a threat. If your anxiety is long-lasting and interferes with your daily life, you may need treatment to overcome it.

Everyone’s experience of anxiety is different, so it’s hard to tell exactly what causes anxiety problems. It’s likely that a combination of factors, including genetics and underlying health issues, play a role. It’s also clear that some events, emotions, or experiences may cause symptoms of anxiety or may make them worse.

The stimuli that cause anxiety disorder in adults can be different for each person, but many triggers are common among people with these conditions. Some common anxiety triggers include being in social situations, taking certain medications, not getting enough sleep, experiencing financial troubles, a build-up of stress, major life transitions, being in conflict, etc.

Living with anxiety is never easy, but there are ways to fight your anxiety that you can incorporate into your daily life:

• Control your breathing. Stand up, pull your shoulders back, put your feet evenly and widely apart, and open your chest. Then breathe deeply and slowly.
• Remind yourself that you’re safe. Ask yourself, “Is there a real danger, or am I actually safe and worrying about something that’s no threat to me right now?” Thinking this way can ground you in the moment so you feel less anxious.

The 3-3-3 rule is a mindfulness technique that can be used to cope with anxiety. It focuses on tuning into your senses to bring you back into the present moment.

This technique can temporarily relieve anxious thoughts and feelings. You need to look around your current environment and name 3 things you see, identify 3 sounds you hear, and move or touch 3 things, such as parts of your body or external objects. Such activity will distract you from your worries and refocus you on the here and now.

High-functioning anxiety is a term that refers to people who experience anxiety but still can effectively manage the demands of day-to-day life. High-functioning anxiety is not recognized as a mental health diagnosis by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which provides diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. Therefore, there is a distinct lack of research in the area.

Common symptoms may include excessive worrying, fear, irritability, palpitations, sweaty hands, etc. Calmerry offers a free test you can take to get a better understanding of your symptoms. But you need to see a licensed therapist for a mental health evaluation to get a clinical diagnosis and determine whether you can benefit from anxiety therapy.

Keep track of triggers and patterns. Start a journal and write down specific moments that cause you to overthink or worry. Then, you’ll be able to develop a strategy for situations that can possibly lead to overthinking.

View your negative thoughts objectively and question them. Look at the evidence of the situations to see if your thoughts are logical, reasonable, or helpful. And even if they are true, will they matter in a month, a year, or ten years?

Try mindfulness techniques. You can limit overthinking if you learn to live in the present moment. When you’re living in the here and now, you are stuck in thoughts about yesterday and tomorrow.