Anxiety disorders can develop before you know what is happening.
It’s not unusual for people to think they are feeling stressed out, and that the uncomfortable feelings will pass once whatever they are dealing with is over. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out that way. Once a medical professional has diagnosed some type of anxiety or panic disorder, discovering how to manage anxiety attacks and the overall condition while working toward a cure is a must.
Here are some of the approaches that help many people.
How to Manage Anxiety Attacks: Identify What Causes Anxiety
There can be many reasons why you are experiencing anxiety and occasional panic attacks. In order to determine why this is happening, you need to undergo a complete battery of tests. Your doctor will order blood work and other exams to determine if there are any health issues contributing to your condition.
For example, the anxiety you feel may have to do with the development of a thyroid issue. Whether your thyroid activity is now too high or too low, a racing mind and panic attacks are possible. In like manner, you may have a hormonal or chemical imbalance that must be corrected. Never underestimate the importance of determining if a physical issue is the root cause of your condition.
If so, the path to reclaiming your life will be easy to map out.
Move Toward Wellness
Finding out what’s causing the panic attacks and the constant racing mind is great, but you still have to get by until the healing is complete. Employing different strategies will make it easier to manage the condition instead of allowing the anxiety to manage you.
Medication is often a front-line method of easing the discomfort of everything from Generalized Anxiety Disorder to Social Anxiety Disorder and beyond. The purpose of the medication is to slow your racing mind and allow you to feel somewhat closer to normal. It may take some trial and error to find the right medicine and dosage. This will mean working closely with your doctor to identify how much and when you should take medication.
Keep in mind that anti-anxiety medication is not a cure. It does not correct the underlying issue.
See it as a coping tool only and not a long-term solution.
Therapy is another key element in your recovery. While there are a number of therapeutic approaches available to patients with anxiety and panic disorders, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the most effective. CBT delves into the connection between thoughts, the feelings they trigger, and the behavior patterns that result from those thoughts and feelings. For many people with anxiety, CBT makes it possible to recognize thoughts that fuel the mind racing, consciously alter the feelings that result, and help to produce a different outward course of action.
For example, it’s not unusual for people with anxiety disorders to notice that certain places or situations trigger panic attacks. While medication can help calm the mind in those situations. CBT is used to alter the perception of those situations and places. With time, the patient is conditioned to respond differently when the flight or fight instinct begins to kick in. As the different response becomes the more common approach, the anxiety isn’t fed, and the patient begins to reclaim places that had become too fearful to endure.
Keep in mind there is no one-size-fits-all cure for anxiety and panic disorders. You cannot pop a pill and make it all go away. Seek help from medical professionals, identify the underlying causes, and work to correct them. In the interim, make use of medication and therapy to manage your anxiety. Doing so will stop your world from becoming any smaller, and aid you in the fight to reclaim what the anxiety has already began to take away from you.
Vantage Point Recovery is a lifestyle management and recovery center in Thousand Oaks. We provide mental health treatment, addiction treatment, and therapy. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or visit our blog for mental health helpful tips.
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