Treatment Anxiety Disorder

Is an anxiety disorder treatable?

It certainly is. The most commonly used treatment method is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and there are several treatment options. In treatment, you will gain a better understanding of the thoughts that make you anxious, the triggers of anxiety and how tow deal with them differently.

How long does treatment take?

An anxiety disorder treatment lasts an average of 7.5 months. The duration of an anxiety disorder varies by person and type of anxiety disorder. Among other things, it depends on whether you seek help quickly and whether you manage to carry out the exercises involved in therapy. If you seek help promptly, recovery will be faster

A number of factors influence how long treatment takes:

• Environmental factors
  For example, an anxiety disorder takes longer when you have a lot on your mind.
• Personality factors
  Emotional stability and age directly affect how long treatment takes.
• Type of anxiety disorder
  Different types of anxiety disorders make you respond differently to treatment. More severe cases may take longer to treat.
• Treatment method
  Different treatment methods each have different time frames.
• Your commitment
  Of course, your proactive willingness to work on treatment and commitment to making changes in lifestyle and thinking patterns is a big part of how long your recovery journey will take.

In some cases, an anxiety disorder is chronic. For this reason, during treatment you will learn to recognize signs that indicate recurring anxiety symptoms in order to prevent relapse.

How is the diagnosis established?

A diagnosis of an anxiety disorder is made based on a number of criteria established in the manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). The psychologist or family doctor helps determine whether your symptoms meet (some) of these criteria, thus determining whether you have an anxiety disorder and which specific anxiety disorder it is.

What kind of treatments are there?

These are the most commonly used treatments anxiety disorder symptoms:

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective forms of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. It helps identify and challenge negative thinking patterns and behaviors that feed anxiety. You learn to behave differently in situations that cause you anxiety. You thus experience for yourself that you do not have to avoid the situation.

2. Exposure Therapy

In exposure therapy, under the guidance of the psychologist, you consciously expose yourself to that which you fear. You “expose” yourself to the fear by putting yourself in the situation that triggers the fear. This form of therapy teaches that you can tolerate your fear and the situation.

3. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT offers you tools to better deal with unpleasant thoughts, difficult emotions and unpleasant sensations in your body. You look during treatment at what you would like to do, but don’t do because of your anxiety. Instead of fighting obstacles or trying to change thoughts, you accept that they are there.

In ACT, you learn to actively take steps toward what you do want, which is to do fun things again despite present anxiety.

4. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

With the help of EMDR, fearful feelings associated with violent events are made less intense. During EMDR treatment, the memory of the traumatic event is recalled, while distracting you at the same time.

Because you are distracted, less brain capacity remains for the simultaneously evoked memory. You therefore experience this memory once with less anxiety. An example of distraction is through hand motions by the psychologist, a moving light or through arithmetic. Under proper therapeutic guidance, this causes the fearful association to diminish.

5. Mindfulness Therapy

Mindfulness teaches you to mindfully feel and notice what is happening in your body.By practicing mindfulness, you learn that your anxiety symptoms are purely a physical reaction to something you fear. A fear that is actually unfounded because there is no real danger.

Mindfulness exercises such as breathing exercises and body scans help you to be present in the moment in a conscious and nonjudgmental way, observing thoughts and feelings without reacting to them directly.

Research shows that learning and continuing to apply mindfulness has a positive effect on reducing anxiety symptoms.

Treatment per each kind of anxiety disorder

Depending on the type of anxiety disorder, a different particular treatment or combination of treatments is used. Learn more about treatment options by type of anxiety disorder:

• Treatment agoraphobia;
• Treatment Compulsive Disorder;
• Treatment Fear of Failure;
• Treatment Panic Disorder;
• Treatment Chronic Worry Disorder;
• Treatment PTSD;
• Treatment Social Phobia;
• Treatment Illness Anxiety Disorder.

What can you do?

The advice below can help treat anxiety effectively:

• Lifestyle changes
  Adopt a healthy lifestyle such as regular exercise, relaxation techniques, a nutritious diet, adequate sleep, and stress management techniques.
• Support from loved ones
  Support from family, friends, and support groups can help in the recovery process. Have your loved ones and partner read up on how loved ones can cope with their partner’s anxiety disorder.
• Have patience and realistic expectations
  Recovery from an anxiety disorder can take time and is often a process of trial and error.

At iPractice, we typically assess the effectiveness and intermediate progress of treatment. This way, we can better anticipate and, if necessary, adjust treatment as needed.

Help for Anxiety Disorders