Cognitive-behavioral Therapy’s Application to Managing Anxiety
Excessive anxiety is troublesome. For many, it can be an immobilizing experience. Anxiousness can be associated with social avoidance and withdrawal, can be a factor in relationship difficulties, can create painful symptoms, and trigger a need to rehash issues related to our past and future. Anxiety triggers the “fight or flight” response, ramping up our sympathetic nervous system.
The most successful treatment approach to dealing with anxiety is through the application of Cognitive therapy since anxiety is a reaction to our thinking, beliefs and underlying assumptions about life. It is usually not our primary anxiousness that creates our distress. It is our secondary thoughts and feelings – the “anxiety about our anxiety” that intensifies our symptoms.
Almost everyone experiences anxiety, but not everyone catastrophizes about it. Let’s say you are taking a midterm exam in college. There are several ways you might respond when you open the test booklet and note that there are numerous questions that you are not prepared to answer. First, you might respond by saying, “wow, none of these answers look familiar. I don’t remember studying for us- I’m going to flunk this test. If I fail it, there goes my grade for the semester. Wait until my parents find out, they will kill me!” Or and alternative, rational response might be, “Gee, I don’t understand these first three questions – that’s okay, I’ll just take some deep breaths, relax and work on the questions that I am familiar with. Then I’ll go back and tackle the ones I couldn’t answer before.”
An individual’s manner of self-talk determines the level of anxiety. When we “awfulize” about anxiety, it tends to intensify it. When we respond rationally to our anxiety, that diminishes its effect. Rationally responding to anxious thoughts is critical to minimizing its effect.
Many people tend to believe that their panic or general anxiety “appear out of the blue.” They may feel confused and perplexed by the sudden emergence of their feelings. Cognitive therapists view anxious feelings as a byproduct of faulty thinking. There is no mystery to it. Teaching others to respond rationally to self-defeating talk is the primary goal of therapy.
Individuals who experience panic attacks are usually troubled by symptoms such as racing heart, sweating, dread of dying, hyperventilating and a need to escape social situations. Helping individuals to manage panic attacks takes understanding and patience. Assisting people to realize that their panic is time-limited is important. Since panic tends to take on a life of its own, it is important to address the secondary symptoms or the “panic over the panic.” When people panic, they tend to magnify their symptoms through self-defeating thinking, perpetuating the attack. Teaching people to relax into their panic is necessary.
The following are some guidelines for those who experience anxiety and panic:
Anxiety is time-limited. It is comforting to know that it always diminishes in its impact over time.
Don’t fight with your anxiety. It only makes things worse. Lean into your anxiety, embrace it, and it will subside.
Schedule a “worry time.” Go into a quiet room, relax and try to expose yourself to your anxieties. Try to bring on your symptoms and you will find that it is difficult to do.
If you have a tendency to panic, create an exit strategy. Plan a way to remove yourself from anxious situations to bring relief.
Refocus your attention away from your anxiety. For example, when people experience panic attacks that involve a racing heart, I might encourage them to do jumping jacks to demonstrate that there is nothing physically causing their symptoms. This strategy actually lightens the situation and their symptoms.
If you are anxious, chunk things down into smaller parts. People tend to feel overwhelmed when they look at the entire picture. Rather than clean the entire house, pick a few specific tasks such as shredding a few unnecessary documents.
Stay in the present. Don’t rehash your history or anticipate your future. Worrying about your future or history serves no useful purpose. You can’t control it anyway. Cognitive therapy emphasizes replacing self-defeating thinking with more rational ways are responding to stressors. Identifying goals of therapy, approaching them in a practical manner, and providing homework assignments are significant ingredients to addressing anxiety.
By: James P Krehbiel (Free Download Anxiety Treatment eBook)
About the Author:
James P. Krehbiel is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Nationally Certified Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist. His first book, Stepping Out of the Bubble is available at www.booklocker.com. He specializes in working with children and adults experiencing anxiety and depressive disorders. He is the Shrink Rap columnist for TheImproper.com, an upscale news and entertainment resource located in NYC. He has published numerous counseling-related articles, most available via Google searches. He can be reached at jkboardroomsuites@yahoo.com.
Anciety and Panic Attacks – Treatment with Hypnotherapy to Cure Panic Attacks
Hypnotherapy has been used as a treatment for different types of physical and mental conditions for a long time now. It has been more than thousand of years now that this therapy is utilized throughout a variety of cultures. In the mid 20th century, modernized version of it was introduced as a medical technique. This was supported by both American as well as British medical Association.
When it comes to panic attacks, there are several ways hypnotherapy can work. In fact, the therapy has been proved helpful in several cases of panic attacks and individuals have been extremely happy with the performance and its effects.
It is sad but true that about one third of American population has already suffered form a panic attack at least once at same point of time in their life. There are several reasons for this. One of the main reasons remains ignorance about the disease, symptoms and treatment options.
One of the most effective options is hypnotherapy. It will help a person to cope up with panic attacks very efficiently. The treatment is fast and does not leave a negative impact on the patient. The technique helps the person to experience relaxation in a positive and quick pace.
Hypnotherapy has been extremely successful in teaching panic attack sufferer a brand new way to think as well as behave. There are a lot of breathing exercises and visualizations included in the technique in order to make the sufferer fearless.
The latest accepted technique of hypnotherapy for curing panic attacks is known as hypo- analysis or Analytical Hypnotherapy. This herapy is extremely focused as well as intensive type of talk therapy that helps a patient to be in a safe as well as secure environment. Thereafter it makes the patient travel through the process of identifying as well as underlying cause of patients phobia, anxiety or panic attacks. The process is carried out via using hypnosis.
Once the ulterior cause of panic or anxiety is identified and minimized, all symptoms associated to it would reduce dramatically.
The process of treatment that utilizes this therapy can take a long time and may also be heavier on your pocket. However, the process is extremely effective and facilitates the patient to undergo a self analyzation as well as understand the actual source of fear and anxiety.
A lot of studies have reported success of hypnotherapy in curing panic attacks. Many researches have even suggested effectiveness in helping patients get rid of panic attack.
Experts recommend to try some sessions of hypnotherapy to experience its effectiveness. This will help you get a feel of whether it gives you any impact on your sense of anxiety and well being.
Panic attacks can be quite uncomfortable, abnormal, scary and even stop you from carrying out your daily life activities.
Turning to hypnotherapy will surely help you achieve your goals. It will provide you a life that’s free of any kind of panic or anxiety attack.
By: Bertil Hjert (Download Natural Treatment for Anxiety Now!)
About the Author:
Download your free eBook “Stop Panic Attacks and Deal with Your Anxious Thoughts” here: FREE REPORT STOP PANIC ATTACKS
- From Bertil Hjert – The author of the Panic Goodbye Program. Read more about my brand new course at: PANIC GOODBYE PROGRAM or visit my blog: PANIC GOODBYE BLOG
Recognizing Hidden Anxiety Symptoms
With the way of the world – overworked citizens attempting to make money, advance careers, and still juggle family and personal relationships – stress is unavoidable. And for some, feelings of anxiety become part of their everyday existence. Anxiety – often referred to as fear or panic – happens to all of us at one time or another. It is the body’s way of identifying danger and protecting us in its wake.
We are programmed in these situations to have what is known as a fight or flight response during which the body releases adrenalin to help us do whatever it is we need to do to protect ourselves. But sufferers of anxiety experience this heightened sensitivity severely and often. It is when anxiety becomes persistent and interferes with daily activities that most people turn to treatment. But in order to identify overall anxiety – rather than just an isolated reaction to an isolated incident – it is necessary to understand anxiety symptoms.
Anxiety can crop up in several ways. While some people report experiencing anxiety in response to particular situations, others report an overall sense of anxiety throughout the day in response to nothing in particular. In either case, however, anxiety symptoms are the same.
The flow of adrenalin experienced in the body’s fight or flight response, manifests itself in a number of physical ways. Heart rate accelerates resulting in palpitations, sweating, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. In fact, many people feel as if they are suffocating and can not catch their breath. This can be enormously frightening and can only serve to exacerbate symptoms.
Other physical symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, dry mouth, inability to swallow, headache, shaking, trembling, and frequent *********.
But there are psychological anxiety symptoms that sufferers experience as well. Anxiety sufferers may feel ongoing heightened sensitivity or feelings of worry and unease, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and insomnia. Many people feel as if they are “going crazy” and have difficulty separating reality from the imaginary.
Once a pattern of anxiety symptoms is identified it is best to meet with doctors who can also help you determine what specific situations may provoke your anxiety. At this time, a treatment plan may be implemented to help the patient manage the feelings of anxiety and lesson anxiety symptoms. Such treatments may include cognitive-behavioral therapy, holistic remedies, lifestyle modifications, and even medication.
The type of treatment that may be used to combat anxiety symptoms will largely depend on the type of anxiety being experienced. General anxiety disorder refers to an overall feeling of heightened anxiety and can often not be traced to any specific provocation. Panic disorder refers to sudden and often severe anxiety attacks that take place in response to a particular situation or stressor.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder – or OCD – is anxiety that manifests itself in compulsive behaviors; sufferers often have to complete certain rituals in order to maintain internal order. Phobias also fall under the umbrella of anxiety disorders and refer to severe and irrational fear associated with particular places, situations, or objects; often the fear is so great that sufferers will avoid the source of anxiety altogether. Anxiety symptoms vary greatly according to the type of anxiety being experienced.
By: M. Xavier (Free Download Anxiety Treatment eBook)
About the Author:
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