Anxiety Treatment

It is normal for people to experience occasional anxiety in their lives.

But, those who struggle with anxiety disorders will often experience excessive, intense, and persistent fear and worry about everyday situations. Frequently, people with anxiety disorders will experience repeated episodes of intense anxiety and terror or fear that come on suddenly and reach a peak within minutes. These episodes are known as panic attacks.

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Recognizing the Signs and Patterns of Anxiety Disorders

These feelings of panic and anxiety disrupt an individual’s day-to-day activities. They’re hard to control and are generally not in proportion or agreement with what the actual danger is. These feelings of distress and anxiety can also last for a long period of time.

People tend to avoid situations or places to prevent experiencing these feelings. People may start experiencing symptoms during their childhood or teenage years and continue experiencing them into adulthood.

There are various types of anxiety. Whatever form of anxiety an individual experiences, there are anxiety treatment centers like California Care Recovery that can provide effective treatment to help improve their symptoms and quality of life.

What to Expect: Anxiety Treatment

Psychotherapy and medications are the two primary treatment approaches for anxiety disorders. People often benefit from the two combined. It can take a little experimenting to determine which treatments work best for each person. There are a few evidence-based treatments that help manage symptoms of anxiety.

Psychotherapy

Also called psychological counseling or talk therapy, psychotherapy is a treatment where the person works with a therapist to decrease their symptoms of anxiety. It can also be an effective anxiety treatment.

One of the most effective forms of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Typically, CBT is used as a short-term treatment in which participants are taught specific skills to improve their symptoms and slowly return to the activities they’ve been avoiding due to their anxiety.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is included in CBT, where the person gradually encounters the situation or object that triggers their anxiety to build confidence that they can manage the anxiety symptoms and the situation.

Anxiety disorder treatments can be incredibly effective at helping people manage their anxiety symptoms. People learn how to incorporate healthy coping skills into their daily activities. As a result, they are able to live fuller and healthier lives.

Medications

Healthcare professionals use several types of medications to help ease their patients’ symptoms. The type they prescribe will depend on the type of anxiety disorder the patient is experiencing and if they are also struggling with other physical or mental health problems.

For instance, they may prescribe:

An anti-anxiety medication
Certain antidepressants used to treat anxiety disorders
Other types of medications like benzodiazepines (sedatives), or beta-blockers, in limited circumstances and for short-term relief only

People should consult with their healthcare provider about the risks, benefits, and side effects of medications.

Can Anxiety Harm the Body?

All people experience anxiety from time to time. But chronic anxiety can interfere with a person’s quality of life. While anxiety is often recognized for behavioral and emotional symptoms, it can also take a significant toll on physical health.

Chronic anxiety causes physical stress on the body, particularly impacting the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, nervous, and respiratory systems. In the short term, it can increase heart rate and breathing, concentrating blood flow to the brain in preparation for intense situations — the body’s natural “fight or flight” response.

However, when this response becomes too intense or prolonged, a person may feel lightheaded, nauseous, or mentally overwhelmed. Ongoing or excessive anxiety can damage both mental and physical well-being.

Anyone can develop an anxiety disorder at any stage of life, though they most commonly begin around age 21. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA), women are more likely than men to develop anxiety disorders.

Stressful life events or negative experiences can increase the risk of developing an anxiety disorder. Symptoms may appear immediately or years later. Having a substance use disorder or serious medical condition can also raise the likelihood of experiencing anxiety.

Types of Anxiety

There are several types of anxiety disorders. They include the following.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD is marked by intense worry about day-to-day things, which typically aren’t a source of continuous dread for most other individuals. For instance, an individual may worry that while they are walking to work, another person may knock a heavy object out of the above window accidentally and knock them unconscious. Even though it’s highly unlikely that this event will occur, it is possible and that’s all the individual needs to know to start excessively worrying about it.

In individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, this type of excessive worrying isn’t uncommon. Along with this excessive worrying, they may also experience frequent worrisome, unwanted thoughts or heart palpitations.

Panic Disorder

This type of anxiety disorder is marked by panic attacks which are sudden waves of terror that cause a person to experience difficulty breathing. Their body may convulse as well, and the individual may think they’re dying. Panic attacks typically subside after around 30 minutes, but they can leave the person feeling fatigued and unable to move forward with their day.

While it’s not out of the ordinary for individuals to experience a panic attack once or a couple of times in their lifetime, repeated weekly or monthly attacks are a sign of Panic Disorder.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

This condition develops after an individual experiences or witnesses something traumatic. They can begin experiencing symptoms immediately or their symptoms may be delayed for years. Common PTSD triggers include natural disasters, war, or a physical attack. Episodes of PTSD can also be triggered without warning.

Social Anxiety Disorder

This condition involves an intense fear of social situations — so overwhelming that it can feel paralyzing. Individuals often fear being humiliated, judged, or rejected by others. This severe form of social phobia can lead to isolation, loneliness, and feelings of shame.

Approximately 12.1% of American adults experience this type of anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, over a third of individuals with social anxiety disorder wait years — sometimes more than a decade — before seeking help.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD leads to repeated, unwanted rituals and thoughts that disrupt day-to-day living. For instance, if a person has OCD, they may leave their home worried that they left their oven on. Even after they return home three or four times, it will still not convince them that their oven is, in fact, off.

Certain coping mechanisms of OCD are rituals that will keep something “bad” from occurring. For example, a person will repeatedly wash their hands to prevent disease.

Learn More About Anxiety With California Care

At California Care Recovery, we’re dedicated to helping our patients achieve emotional and mental stability, including support for anxiety disorders. We focus on healing the mind, body, and spirit. Depending on each individual’s needs and the severity of their condition, we offer both mental health residential and outpatient treatment services.

Our comprehensive treatment programs provide the tools, support, and guidance patients need to overcome anxiety and move toward a life of peace and fulfillment.

Contact us to learn more about our Orange County anxiety treatment center and how we can help you on your path to recovery.