Unveiling the Types of Therapy for Anxiety Disorder

That you are dealing with anxiety does not mean you are faulty; in fact, almost all humans deal with a form of anxiety. When you can clearly identify that you are dealing with anxiety issues, the right step is to seek ways to address the anxiety, as this will help reduce your worries and overcome your fears. 

There are many treatment procedures many have advised over the years; in truth, not all have been as effective as therapy. Are you wondering which will work well for you? Or which therapy to choose? Here are some of the types of therapy for anxiety disorder you can explore. 

Types of Therapy for Anxiety Disorder

There are several types of therapy for anxiety disorder, but below are some of the best options you have. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety

When you talk about therapy for anxiety disorder, cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the first options that will come to mind. You need not wonder why this option is the most popular one, it boils down to its effectiveness when it comes to handling issues like anxiety disorder, fears, panic disorder, etc.

The working process often involves identifying the distortion and negative pattern in the affected individual when it comes to how he relates to his environment and himself. There are two essential features of this procedure. 

1. Cognitive behavior: this procedure carefully observes the effect of reasonings or negative thoughts on anxiety. 
2. Behavior therapy: this procedure critically observes how one reacts in the face of circumstances that often activate anxiety. 

CBT focuses on individual thoughts rather than external events when it comes to how humans feel about a certain situation. As such, your anxiety is not influenced by the sort of condition you are presently battling with, rather, what you think of the situation is the major player. 

Cognitive-behavioral therapy rightly believes that humans respond differently to situations. One can be excited or happy about a certain event, this same event can yield a neutral feeling in an individual, on the other hand, one can become anxious or sad about this same event or condition. How you react to each situation is what CBT interacts with, not the event itself. 

The fuel to anxiety disorder in most is negative thinking. CBT helps identify these negative beliefs and thoughts and helps you change your line of thoughts. 

Exposure Therapy for Anxiety

Comfort is not a word you use politely when dealing with anxiety. You should always seek ways to get rid of anxiety. Some individuals often feel totally avoiding situations that can lead to anxiety is one way to get rid of anxiety. So, what do they often do? Let’s take some example;

1. When scared of height, they often opt for a longer alternative route to their destination instead of crossing a tall bridge. 
2. When they hate public speaking, they might probably not attend events where they might be expected to speak. 

While these methods will help at the moment, the end result isn’t always good. Such a procedure only empowers their problems rather than solve them. 

This is where exposure therapy comes into play. As suggested by the name, this therapy procedure directly exposes you to the fears and situations that cause your anxiety. 

When one is exposed to this therapy, you gradually start to gain control over the situations and events that cause anxiety. There are two ways to undergo exposure therapy. 

The therapist may require you to think of an event or object that gives birth to your anxiety, or he may expose you to real events that will require you to confront such situations. Experts use this procedure alone, or sometimes it can be conducted as part of cognitive-behavioral therapy. 

The systematic desensitization technique is often used when introducing you to these events. You are expected to relax and then list triggers for your anxiety, you are then exposed to these triggers, while you receive help on handling them. 

Complementary Therapies for Anxiety Disorder

The goal of a complementary therapy is to help you improve the result of other therapies you are undergoing by significantly reducing your stress level, with an eye on emotional stability. This therapy makes use of several tools, which include;

1. Exercise: one of the oldest and effective ways to get rid of stress is exercise. This therapy procedure will expose you to sufficient minutes of exercise daily or weekly, depending on your capacity. 
2. Relaxation Technique: there are several relaxation techniques like mindfulness meditation and muscle relaxation. You need to regularly practice this to get the full result. 
3. Biofeedback: this procedure makes use of certain sensors that measure physiological functions like the heart rate, muscle tension, breathing, amongst others. This procedure makes use of tools that will help you better understand your anxiety and deal with it effectively. 
4. Hypnosis: This is often combined with CBT for dealing with your anxiety. The therapeutic technique is used when you are in a state of deep relaxation, this will help you face your fears better and overcome your struggles. 

These are complementary therapies that will work well in addressing your anxiety disorder. 

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy

If you are dealing with anxiety, another effective therapy you can explore is dialectical behavior therapy that is as effective as the CBT. The effectiveness of this therapy procedure in dealing with personality disorder has led to the introduction of the procedure in dealing with other serious conditions like anxiety. 

With DBT, you can easily focus on the positive aspect of life, build a positive outlook, and change how you interact with events. The process involves accepting your anxieties and taking active steps to resolve them. 

Some will call it, love yourself just the way you are, yet you will need to seek ways to improve. With DBT, there are four essential skills you will come to learn;

1. Mindfulness: it is very important to learn mindfulness, as it will help you live in the moment and help you identify each though as they flash through your mind. 
2. Distress tolerance: this skill will help you effectively manage your anxiety in the face of distressing situations. 
3. Emotional regulation: a regulator makes control easier for you. Emotional regulation will help you stay in control of situations that makes you anxious. 
4. Interpersonal effectiveness: we all have our needs, we have what we desire, we have goals. This skill will help you identify what you need and reject anything short of that. 

Taking any of these types of therapy for handling your anxiety disorder will be of great help going forward. You can get in contact with us to help you identify the best therapy procedure that will work best for you. Anxiety shouldn’t ruin your life; take actions now to address it and live a better life thereafter.