How to Treat Anxiety Disorder

If someone is experiencing symptoms such as fear, constant panic, panic attacks, insomnia, sleep disturbances, dry mouth, fast heartbeat, indigestion, difficulty in breathing, headaches, excessive perspiration, chest and bodily pain, and uncontrollable obsessive thoughts, it could be possible that the person is suffering from some kind of anxiety disorder as all these are anxiety symptoms.

There are a number of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. which a person can suffer from. Anxiety cures and treatment for all of these are more or less the same i.e. a combination of therapy, medicines and self-care.

Advice on Treating Anxiety Disorder

There are a number of reasons that can lead to anxiety disorders such as stress, imbalances in your brain chemicals, inability to sleep or insomnia, any trauma or accident that you might have faced and illnesses like asthma, hypoglycemia and thyroid problems. In some cases, anxiety is believed to run in families and is hereditary.

Therapy
Once the cause is determined, your doctor will suggest you to opt for a behavioral therapy depending upon the kind of anxiety disorder you have. For example, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps you to focus on both your thoughts as well as behavior and identifies the relation between the two. The therapist will ask you in detail about your life and personal history. At this juncture, the onus lies on you to be totally honest with your therapist so that he can suggest you some effective behavioral and lifestyle changes to get over your anxiety. Another option is exposure therapy in which you will be made to come face to face with your fears in a controlled environment, either in reality or imagination. Facing your fears and learning that they cannot harm you in any way will help you cope with them and gain control over your situation. Besides these, some other psychotherapy for anxiety disorder treatments that may be used are "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy", "Interpersonal Therapy", "Dialectical Behavioral Therapy" and "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing".

Medication
Along with therapy, your doctor may recommend certain medication like antidepressants, tranquilizers, antianxiety drugs and benzodiazepines to overcome the physical symptoms that you might be experiencing. Here, you should consult your doctor and know all the pros, cons, possible side-effects of the medication, before starting the medicinal treatment.

Natural Cures
To treat anxiety disorder naturally, taking a healthy diet and exercising regularly is the key. Your diet should be particularly rich in vitamins for anxiety cure such as vitamin B, C, D and E as well as zinc, calcium and magnesium. So eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables which are rich in these nutrients. As far as exercises are concerned, certain relaxation techniques like undertaking meditation, aerobic exercises and breathing exercises for anxiety can prove to be really effective. Some other treatments for overcoming anxiety naturally that you can consider are massage therapy, aromatherapy, acupressure, hypnosis, color therapy and Reiki.

Some doctors suggest their patients to only rely on therapy, while some suggest a combination of therapy and medication. So, in order to know what suits you, maintain a journal to keep a track on how the therapy as well as medicine is affecting you. Communicate regularly with your doctor and convey him any negative or positive changes in your situation that you might be experiencing due to the medication and therapy. This will help your doctor in arriving at the best possible treatment for your anxiety disorder.