Anxiety Therapy: Now more accessible than ever

In today’s stressful and high-paced society, anxiety therapy has increased in popularity. According to a recent World Mental Health Survey Initiative (WMH) that is currently being accumulated, in a survey of 27 countries; anxiety disorders are the most common in all but one studied country. Please see Toronto family therapy & mediation.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), anxiety disorders are the most common illness in the United States. Each year, anxiety affects 18.1% or 40 million Americans, aged 18 and over. Anxiety can make daily life, including completing tasks and going places, quite difficult. They include deep and constant worries, chronic stress, panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, and even irrational phobias. Fortunately, anxiety is highly treatable, for example, studies showed that hobbies can help reduce your stress levels. We recommend incorporating it with professional help.

Finding the perfect anxiety therapist is now easier than ever, with various locations available in all major North American cities. Do not hesitate to call one today.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are numerous and include specific phobias, panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, selective mutism, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and separation anxiety disorder.

In the United States, GAD affects 3.1% or 6.8 million adults, panic disorder affects 2.7% or 6 million adults, social anxiety disorder affects 6.8% or 15 million adults, specific phobias affect 8.7% or 19 million adults, and OCD affects 1.0% or 2.2 million adults.

Signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders include excessive or irrational fears, difficulty managing daily tasks, anxious thoughts, beliefs, and predictions, excessive physical reactions, as well as avoidance of situations and activities.

They are often caused by various factors, such as genetics, personality, life events, and brain chemistry.

Those suffering from anxiety disorder are also likely to be suffering from depression as well.

Types of Anxiety Therapy

Various types of anxiety therapy are available, including relaxation training, meditation, biofeedback, and stress management. In addition, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is believed to be the most effective form of treatment for anxiety disorders.

• Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps those suffering with anxiety control their feelings, stop bothersome thoughts, and conquer fears. In particular, CBT looks at the way one sees the world and themselves and addresses these negative patterns and distortions. CBT believes that negative thoughts, not external events, affect the way one feels. Changing one’s perception of the situation can be very helpful. Steps include identifying one’s negative thoughts, challenging these negative thoughts, and replacing them with realistic thoughts.

• Biofeedback Therapy helps one control stress and anxiety by learning to use and control signals from one’s own body. These machines are often better at identifying one’s levels of anxiety than doctors. They are also used for controlling pain. Several types of biofeedback machines exist, including Electromyogram (EMG), which measures muscle tension; Temperature Biofeedback, which measures temperature; and Galvanic skin response (GSH) or Electrodermal Response (EDR), which measures sweat.

• Meditation for anxiety is a long-term approach, and is made up of various types. One popular example is mindfulness, which means paying attention to the present moment, focusing on one’s breath, and bringing attention to one’s body. In particular, mindfulness can help one sit with one’s feelings without analyzing or suppressing them.

• Relaxation Training are perfect for regulating the fight or flight response or stress reactions. It can lower one’s heart rate, decrease negative thoughts, reduce bodily tension, and boost self-esteem, among other benefits. Relaxation training includes deep breathing exercises, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, and yoga and meditation. You can practice using your breathing using breathwrk.com app.

• During Stress Management, anxiety therapists will help one cope with, or lessen, daily life’s physical and mental stresses. They will help one identify specific stress triggers, and address them with various tools for stress management.

Choosing the Perfect Anxiety Therapist

Choosing an anxiety therapist can be overwhelming at first. However, several steps can be taken to make the process simpler.

Consulting Google reviews and sites, such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB), can be beneficial. However, word of mouth reviews are often best. Today, many individuals are often quite open about attending therapy and often, friends and family can recommend the perfect therapist.

In addition, reading therapists’ brochures, websites, and testimonials is often helpful as well. Finally, most anxiety therapists offer consultations, so do not hesitate to call one today.

One important note to consider; for therapy to be beneficial one must be comfortable with their anxiety therapist.  Make sure that the therapist displays professionalism, works with one to establish goals, empowers one, customizes an approach for one’s situation, and encourages one to share feelings about therapy.

In addition, the therapist should have good credentials. Some examples include Psychiatrists (M.D.), Clinical Social Workers (M.S.W.), Marriage and Family Therapist, Clinical or Counselling Psychologist (Ph.D., Psy.D., Ed.D.), Limited Licensed Psychologist (M.A., L.L.P.), and Addictions Professional (CAC).

Anxiety therapy is now more accessible than ever, with various therapists available all over North America.

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