 |
|
CCSU Counseling and Wellness Center |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
Are There Effective Treatments Available for YES! Most cases of anxiety disorder can be treated successfully by appropriately trained health and mental health care professionals. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, research has demonstrated that both "behavioral therapy" and "cognitive therapy" can be highly effective in treating anxiety disorders. Behavioral therapy involves using techniques to reduce or stop the undesired behavior associated with the anxiety. For example, one approach involves training patients in relaxation and deep breathing techniques to counteract the agitation and hyperventilation (rapid, shallow breathing) that accompany certain anxiety disorders. Through cognitive therapy, patients learn to understand how their thought contribute o the symptoms of anxiety disorders, and how to change those thought patterns to reduce the likelihood of occurrence and the intensity of reaction. The patient's increased cognitive awareness is often combined with behavioral techniques to help the individual gradually confront and tolerate fearful situations in a controlled, safe environment. Sometimes medication may be helpful in addition to therapy. In those cases the patient's care may be managed collaboratively by a therapist and a physician, and be monitored on a regular basis.
Short-Term Ways to Handle Stress
1. Relax where you are. Sitting in a comfortable position, place your left hand over your navel and rest your right hand on top of your left. Breathe deeply through your nose, feeling your hands rise as your abdomen fills with air. Still inhaling, count to three and feel your chest expand. hold your breath momentarily, then release it. Repeat four times, but stop if you become light-headed. 2. Take a break. Get some exercise or fresh air, or go somewhere private and yell or cry. 3. Ask yourself whether it's worth being upset over the situation. You can choose to stay calm and ignore it. If the issue is important, confront it directly, talk it our with a sympathetic friend, or write it out in a letter that you don't send.
4. List all the things you think you
need to do right away. Then prioritize the list and only do the top few.
The rest can be first priority tomorrow. |
||||
|