Anxiety Treatment

What You Need to Know About Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problem in the United States, affecting about 19% of adults and even 7% of children.

If you’re living with constant anxiety, you know how debilitating it can be for your health. Fortunately, there are anxiety treatment options available for anyone struggling.

Keep reading our page to learn about the different types of anxiety disorders, the different methods of treating those disorders, and where you can get anxiety treatment in Orange County.

Anxiety Self-Test

This is an online screening and not a diagnostic tool. Only a trained medical professional can help determine the best treatment for you.

Situational Anxiety or Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety is a broad term; you could feel anxiety before you get on an airplane or feel anxiety anytime you go out in public. Part of learning how to treat your anxiety is understanding if you’re experiencing situational anxieties or suffering from an anxiety disorder.

If your anxiety affects your day-to-day living, such as your work, school, or relationships, you may have an anxiety disorder.

We’ve made a list below of some common signs that could also indicate that you have an anxiety disorder. If you experience these symptoms often, consider reaching out to us for help.

  • Panic, dread, and fear
  • Sleep troubles
  • Constant fidgeting
  • Heart palpitations
  • Shortness of breath
  • Hyperventilation
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Dry mouth
  • Inability to focus

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Numerous types of anxiety disorders can present themselves through different symptoms. To get the best treatment for your anxiety, you should know what type of anxiety disorder you have and understand the symptoms.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder is exactly what it sounds like. Excessive anxiety over everyday matters for no particular reason.

People who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder are usually full of dread and expecting the worst to happen in any situation. For some people, the anxiety gets so bad that it takes over their lives and negatively affects their performance at work, school, or relationships.

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is when you experience a sudden, overwhelming fear that brings on a panic attack. During a panic attack, you may experience a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, and a sense of doom.

People with panic disorder are more prone to having panic attacks than others and should reach out to a doctor for treatment.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder is when you overanalyze and stress over all of your social interactions. People with social anxiety are usually self-conscious and embarrassed in social situations and are afraid of being judged or mocked.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Separation anxiety occurs when someone experiences severe anxiety when they’re separated from someone close to them. Separation anxiety can happen with anyone, but it’s common for children when they have to leave their parents.

Medication-induced Anxiety Disorder

There are some types of medications and illegal drugs that will trigger anxiety symptoms when they’re used. This can also happen if someone quits their medication or drug cold turkey and goes into withdrawal. These symptoms may go away on their own over time, but depending on the severity, you should consider anxiety treatment.

Phobias

A phobia is an extreme fear of something that you will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid. While everyone has fears, a phobia goes beyond what’s rational and can often interfere with your daily functions.

Agoraphobia

Even though we mentioned phobias already, agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder on its own. Agoraphobia is the fear and avoidance of places or events that may make you feel trapped; these fears usually involve a crowded location, but they can be anywhere in the general public.

Getting a Diagnosis

If you think that you’re suffering from an anxiety disorder, it’s best to get diagnosed by your doctor to find the most effective treatment method. Depending on what type of anxiety disorder you have, you may be better suited for therapy or a specific medication.

When you see a doctor find out if you have an anxiety disorder, you’ll likely be asked a series of questions about your family’s health history, and you may need a psychiatric evaluation as well.

Inpatient Anxiety Treatment

Eden by Enhance provides inpatient treatment for anxiety disorders. Residential or inpatient mental health treatment includes 24/7 care at the facility while staying on site. Psychotherapy, holistic methods, and medication management as needed can help with reducing symptoms of anxiety disorders. 

Therapy as Anxiety Treatment

Therapy is often recommended to help people learn to manage their anxiety disorders. There are different types of therapy, but the one most commonly used for anxiety treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT.

CBT focuses on identifying and changing the destructive thoughts that harm mood and behavior.

Therapy is always a great option for people dealing with an anxiety disorder, but sometimes it isn’t enough. If therapy isn’t right for you, you can talk to your doctor about starting medication or even combining the two to get the most effective treatment possible.

Medication as Anxiety Treatment

As we mentioned above, the most effective treatment for anxiety disorders is medication. Depending on the type of disorder you have, and if you’ve tried any medication before, some medications may be better suited for you than others.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are typically the first medication that doctors will prescribe to treat an anxiety disorder. There are a few antidepressants based on how they treat depression, but the most common types used for anxiety disorders are SSRIs and SNRIs.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are sedatives that are used to suppress strong symptoms of anxiety. These medications are usually used as an additive for anxiety treatments and should not be taken every day because of their potentials for abuse.

Beta-blockers

Beta-blockers are a type of medication used to control your body’s fight-or flight-response. They can treat conditions such as high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and even heart failure.

While the beta-blockers main purpose isn’t for anxiety, some doctors will prescribe them for off-label use because they can sometimes manage anxiety symptoms.

anxiety treatment help

Let Us Help Treat Your Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety can take a toll on your mental health, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Now that you understand anxiety disorders and the different methods of treating them, you’re on the right track to getting help.

Reach out to us to learn about the anxiety treatment options that we offer. Our professional and compassionate support team will provide you with the best mental health care services in Orange County.