The type of anxiety treatment would depend on three things – the individual, the type of disorder, and the severity of the disorder. In addition to using natural herbs to help prevent issues of anxiety and bring symptoms under control, sometimes proper anxiety treatment involves the person being under the care of a doctor. After all, in serious cases, deep depression can cause a person to become suicidal so this is nothing to play with.
The goal in seeking anxiety treatment is first to find a reputable doctor that specializes in various disorders and get a proper diagnosis. From there, patient and doctor can consult and look at various treatment options available, choosing the one that would be the safest and most effective option but with no or few side effects. Obviously, the person struggling with anxiety would not want medication that would only create a new problem.
Keep in mind that often, doctors will try different types of therapies before prescribing medication but many use therapies in connection with medication for the best results. Some of the options that are commonly used for treating anxiety include the following.
Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
While these therapies can be used for treating anxiety individually, often doctors recommend the two therapies be combined for more effective and longer lasting results. The goal of this treatment is to help patients regain control over the reactions associated with stress and anxiety. With this, the sense of being helpless and overwhelming fear is eliminated.
These therapies are based on the concept that if a person can identify triggers or thoughts that create anxiety, then appropriate techniques could be used to bring the stress and anxiety under control. In addition to helping someone out of an attack, cognitive and behavioral therapies can also prevent future attacks.
For these therapies to work, the exact type of anxiety disorder would be treated rather than treating individual symptoms. Usually, the patient would be prescribed an antidepressant such as Prozac or Zoloft while going through therapy.
Medications
To treat the different types of anxiety disorders, doctors commonly prescribe medication. The exact type of medication and dosage would depend on the anxiety disorder being treated. In addition to medications listed below, cognitive and behavioral therapies are often recommended.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – In addition to therapies such as cognitive, behavior, stress management, and interpersonal, medication used for this disorder includes tricyclic antidepressants, buspirone, and benzodiazepines. In severe cases, doctors may also prescribe an antipsychotic medication.
• Phobias – Treatment for the different types of phobias would also include therapies, such as cognitive, behavioral, preventative, and even hypnosis. For medication, the more popular choices are beta blockers, benzodiazepines, MAOIs, and SSRIs.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – This disorder causes a person to behave in an obsessive and compulsive way, which is seen in ritualistic actions. Cognitive and behavioral therapies usually work well but often, clomipramine, SSRIs, MAO inhibitors, and in some cases, antipsychotics are used.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – People living with this anxiety disorder often see extremes, which means treatment should be quick and highly effective. Because this anxiety disorder relates to the person seeing or experiencing a major trauma, deep depression is common so getting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder under control is priority. Along with cognitive and behavior therapies, SSRIs such as paroxetine and sertraline are preferred, along with a sleep aide.