By: Matthew Hick
If you think that living with anxiety is not really a very big deal, then you obviously know little about this extremely debilitating disease that plagues millions of people worldwide. Yes, anxiety is a disease of the human mind that can affect a person’s day-to-day living in ways previously thought unimaginable.
Imagine waking up every single morning, only to feel immediately overwhelmed by negative thoughts of the day ahead. Imagine trying to work on a project at your job, and being so consumed by upsetting, fleeting thoughts that you cannot focus or complete the task at hand. Imagine letting your co-workers and boss down on a daily basis because of this. These are signs and symptoms of an anxiety attack. But what can you do to stop one?
Controlling anxiety attacks:
Anxiety attacks are not easy to control. The good news, however, is that with some medical evaluation, a patient of anxiety attacks can get the problem under control. Especially with extreme cases of anxiety, a doctors visit is necessary. Seeing someone sort of therapist, whether it is a psychologist or psychiatrist, can help diagnose and treat the problem at hand. A doctor can talk to the patient and try to recognize the basis of the problem. He or she can then offer the patient verbal consulting, an anti-anxiety drug prescription – or both.
Going to therapy and speaking directly with a therapist will result in some ideas of how to control the problem. The therapist may be able to coach the patient with deep breathing exercises. Practicing these will help when an anxiety attack is coming on. A therapist can suggest that the patient get into an exercise routine, whether it consists of running, walking, yoga, aerobics, or something else. Exercising can help increase the serotonin in the brain and cause good feelings to occur.
A therapist can also provide a patient experiencing severe anxiety with prescription medication that can control the symptoms. This medication can calm the person down and help control any obsessive or depressing thoughts. More often than not, a therapist will give a patient a combination of anti-anxiety drugs and anti-depressant drugs. In most cases of anxiety, this treatment is able to stabilize the patient. For example, one anti-anxiety drug such Ativan, Lorazepam, Xanax, or Valium can be prescribed with one anti-depressant, such as Lexapro, Effexor, or Zoloft.
Day-to-Day Anxiety:
By sticking to regularly scheduled therapy with a doctor, as well as taking medication and exercising regularly, a patient plagued with anxiety can fight back. A dark world can become clearer and more positive. Medication, especially, can be key to controlling the problem.
In the event that a patient does have an anxiety attack during these times, he or she can follow the relaxation advice that was learned in therapy. He or she can also take any medication prescribed to calm the anxiety attack. Although there is no cure for anxiety, these things can help day-to-day living become more manageable. The sun can shine again through the dark clouds of anxiety.
