For the treatment of anxiety disorders have many different options, from self-help to a specialist medical treatment available. Since diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders are often complicated, it often happens that for various reasons, the first or second attempt at treatment is still not delivering a major improvement. Lose yourself in such cases not be discouraged! Remember that there are different ways to achieve improvement. In case of unsuccessful pre-treatments, it is especially important to tell your doctor or psychiatrist to full as possible pre-processing, so that he can find out the reasons for the failures and make a fresh start. Do you support him and help him in such cases by using all possible to bring previous findings for the first therapy interview. It is also helpful in writing your tale of woe to write down, so that you lose in talking to your doctor and therapists, the "red thread" is not.
Treatment Options
What can I do about anxiety?
- Follow the golden rules fear
- Advice
- Therapy
a) Verhaltens-/Psychotherapie
b) Medication
c) Combinations
Anxiety disorders have not always treated with drugs or with behavioral or psychotherapy. Often provide an appropriate education - as this book - and seemingly minor assistance and encouragement to expose themselves to the fear of situations, the first and best way to improvement dar.
Main aim of all treatment methods is that you learn to get your anxiety under control with various tools, ie to this overcome. Remember that an anxiety disorder, an exaggerated, but at the normal biological response is. It is therefore important to break the described "vicious circle of fear" and to prevent it even more "fear of fear", more prevention and "hang around" comes, which open ultimately to wider social and psychological problems . This is easier said than done. What can you do now exactly?
Golden Rules
There are some rules that you yourself - can apply to cope with your fear - regardless of treatment methods. The leaflet contains the following ten key principles that have proved successful in dealing with anxiety situations. Some people find this as helpful as mnemonics that you always carry with them.
Leaflet "Coping with Fear"
- Anxiety and physical symptoms occurring are increased normal Stress reactions
- Fear reactions are not harmful to health
- They reinforce fear reactions not by frightening fantasies
- Stay in reality, observe and describe the inside, what around you really happens
- Stay in the situation until the anxiety passes
- Watch as the fear diminishes on its own again
- Avoid situations do not worry!
- Expose you to all the situations that scare you
- Be proud of small successes, even the very young!
- Take your time in fear situations
The leaflet reminds them that you are to cope with your anxiety
- Their anticipatory anxiety should diminish as possible in order to lower the threshold for an anxiety reaction;
- Should be aware of the situation and expose long enough;
- Repeatedly make the experience that is not the fear of a catastrophe;
- Observe that the fear arousal is not continually increases and lasts forever, but by itself decreases again (see below).
To cope with the anxiety
- I have to reduce the anticipatory anxiety (eg relaxation, medication)
- I must expose myself aware of the situation and long enough
- I must repeatedly make the experience that the fear is not a catastrophe
- I must observe that the fear arousal does not increase continuously, but again by itself decreases
It is important that you tell yourself over and over that nothing bad can happen to you, even if you feel intense fear in the body reactions. Think of the stress curve discussed above! This means that your fear feelings will last longer and the stronger, the more you try to avoid them and to suppress. In the worst case there will be a brief highlight of fear - but then again a waste. Even the worst anxiety attack you is ultimately completely harmless! The more you face the fear conscious - aware of your feelings while conscious, perhaps even pronounce loudly - to the faster and more sustainable these feelings disappear. If you want to master the fear, then you can not avoid them, you do not run away, but put yourself out of fear! The Sichaussetzen can, if necessary, also be done gradually. This means that you start with lighter situations and then move on to more difficult tasks. This is also in other areas of our lives the most successful way in all situations in which something new is to be learned, including coping with anxiety.
They will certainly make the experience that your self-esteem increases when you go on in this way against your fear.
Additional assistance
When trying to help themselves, it may be necessary to support Additional help use.
- Learning relaxation techniques: To minimize your anxiety and expectation to reduce your overall level of arousal, so that the threshold for decreased anxiety sensations, have proven relaxation techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation or autogenic training. These methods are particularly promising in generalized anxiety and fear when your problem is associated with stressful life stresses. Both methods you can even learn through books and tapes, or taking courses offered by the doctors, psychologists or community colleges.
- Prescription drugs: To reduce the anticipatory anxiety and general arousal level, even the short-term prescribing of drugs has been proven by your family doctor. The prescription should be undertaken only in the short term, so for days to several weeks. The sedative drugs should only be used for relief of anxiety management. If you have the experience that this temporary medical assistance is not sufficient, should be a specific treatment of your anxiety problems with a psychotherapist or a specialist.
- Participation in support groups: In many cities, self-help groups have been formed of interested parties who offer assistance of various kinds. This self-help organizations communicate normally talks with other stakeholders, but also practical help such as Relaxation techniques, help with shopping and telephone support in crisis situations.
- Self-help books: Although there are many books in bookstores, we can recommend from technical considerations, only a few: These are listed at the end of the article. Especially for agoraphobia (agoraphobia), there is a practical self-help booklet that we want to emphasize:
