Anxiety Disorders— Causes, Treatments, Risks and Recovery
Treating anxiety is based on the application of a set of psychotherapy and drug administration techniques, aimed at reducing the alertness that occurs in the patient and to help him in adapting to the environment and circumstances that surround him, as well as to prevent the appearance of episodes of anxiety attacks.
What are the main causes of anxiety?
The causes of anxiety disorder are not clearly defined. Anxiety and stress themselves is a state of mind that can be considered normal on certain occasions as a method of adaptation of the individual to a circumstance. It is something derived from our evolutionary process whose objective is to preserve the interests of the individual and the species.
Only when that state supposes the individual a decrease in its social role and quality of life it can be considered a pathology. Its development is determined by the vital, hereditary, and social circumstances that surround the patient.
How is the treatment for anxiety?
The treatment of anxiety is divided into two possible interventions that can be used separately or together:
Pharmacological treatment: basically two categories of treatments are used. Those intended to prevent anxiety episodes, and thereby regulate the patient's mood, for which selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are usually used. ). Or those pharmacological treatments aimed at controlling acute episodes of anxiety (anxiety crisis) for which drugs from the benzodiazepine group are usually used.
Psychological treatment: it is based on the development of a communication relationship between the expert personnel who cares for the patient (doctor or psychologist), whose purpose is to help him modify behaviors and behaviors in order to promote personal development methods.
These serve to help the patient learn to handle the situations and circumstances that lead to anxiety symptoms, developing a positive personality. Within this type of treatment, the method of choice par excellence is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which is based on the interrelation of thoughts, actions, and feelings.
Why is it done?
The goal of Los Angeles Anxiety Treatment is to decrease symptomatology presented by the patient and the interference that this disorder exerts on their quality of life.
Risks of Anxiety Treatment
The risk of treatment for anxiety is fundamentally based on the possible side effects that may occur with taking the drugs used in each case.
It is important to note that although benzodiazepines have a faster effect and are initially used regularly, they can produce an effect of tolerance to their effect and dependence on taking them. So it is preferable, if necessary, to treat other types of drugs and stop benzodiazepines as rescue drugs in episodes of anxiety crisis and at the beginning of treatment.
How is recovery from anxiety treatment
Recovery is based not so much on the effects of treatment but on the disease itself. Some side effects that may occur in the taking of a drug are temporary and the patient can get used to the first weeks to its effects and disappear (feeling nervous, nausea, drowsiness, etc).
Results
Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy have shown better results when used in combination than individually.
The effect of drug treatment (with SSRI and SNRI drugs) requires an interval of 4 to 8 weeks to begin to notice changes in the patient's mood. Pure anxiolytic drugs (benzodiazepines)have a faster effect and are commonly used at the start of treatment and in seizures.
The effects of drugs and psychotherapy are progressively evaluated in the different medical and psychological check-up appointments. Psychotherapeutic treatment usually has more long-term effects, since the patient must learn a different way of coping with the circumstances that can trigger the anxiety situation. Pharmacological treatment can be modified, adjusting doses, combining drugs, etc. according to the situation and evolution of the patient.
