There are different types of therapies for anxiety disorders. These therapeutic techniques have progressively developed over time, from initial psychoanalytic methods to modern cognitive-behavioral therapies.
If you are struggling with different anxiety disorders, undergoing therapy is an excellent option for treating your symptoms within a short period.
The goal of the various therapies for anxiety is to help you understand how to conquer your fears. You will also learn to cope with anxiety triggers and calm your emotional responses.
The following are the most common forms of therapies for anxiety practiced in rehabs or mental facilities across America.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This therapy has proved to be highly effective for different anxieties such as social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias.
The basis of CBT is to help manage anxiety by examining your negative thoughts and perceptions to detect anxious misconceptions. Depending on this basis, what you think about circumstances is more crucial in defining your feelings than what takes place during those conditions. In other words, your thoughts determine how you feel.
One of the factors that worsen anxiety disorders is continuous negative thoughts. Therefore, CBT works by correcting illogical negative thoughts by replacing them with more optimistic and authentic perceptions. A professional therapist can perform this procedure well since the therapist can identify your irrational feelings, which is impossible by yourself.
The therapist usually asks relevant questions regarding your anxious moments to help you recognize their triggers. Eventually, you will apply the coping skills that you learn in CBT to deal with panic, fear, and worry, all of which relate to anxiety.
Exposure Therapy
This therapy is usually a constituent of CBT or utilized along with it. The premise behind exposure therapy is that when you avoid conditions that cause anxiety, your fear will become stronger.
During the exposure therapy, your therapist will ask you to imagine doing something you fear. Also, the therapist can ask you to approach what you fear and do it in reality. The technique involving this therapy is known as "systematic desensitization." In this technique, you will start with the least anxiety-triggering action to the most challenging ones.
Generally, exposure therapies for anxiety focus on following a series of anxiety-triggering approaches. Also, you will learn how to stimulate relaxation, form a list of feared circumstances, and function through the list gradually. The gradual process of interchanging approaches of what you fear with relaxation pairs the two in your mind while making it easy for you to do what you fear the next time.
Psychoanalytic Therapy
Psychoanalytic therapy involves investigating your past occurrences to establish how they influence your present anxious conditions. During this therapy, your therapist will assist in identifying and processing your current anxiety experiences to control and reduce the symptoms.
More types of therapies for anxieties that will help you cope with its symptoms include:
- Dialectical behavioral therapy
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Interpersonal therapy
- Family therapy
- Bibliotherapy
Final Thoughts on Therapies for Anxiety
Treatments for anxiety involve multiple techniques used to address its attacks and triggers. The best option before you decide on benefiting from any therapies for anxiety is to allow a qualified therapist to examine your symptoms first to determine the best course of action.
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