Anxiety

syMPTOMS

Anxiety disorders reflect disorders that share a general feature of excessive fear (i.e. emotional response to perceived or real threat) and/or anxiety (i.e. anticipation of future threat) and demonstrate behavioral and functional disturbances as a result. Panic attacks are a feature that can occur in the context of many anxiety disorders and reflect a type of fear response. - Abigail Powers Lott, PhD, and Anaïs Stenson, PhD

Other symptoms of anxiety disorders may include but are not limited to:

• Persistent, excessive worry about losing major attachment figures (or something harmful happening to them)

• Persistent and excessive worry that something traumatic will lead to separation from a major attachment figure (e.g., being kidnapped)

• Persistent reluctance or refusal to go to school or other places because of fear of separation\

• Persistent or excessive fear or reluctance to be alone or without major attachment figures at home or in other settings

• Persistent reluctance or refusal to go to sleep without being near a near a major attachment figure (or to sleep away from home)

• Repeated nightmares involving separation

• Repeated complaints of physical symptoms (e.g. headaches, stomachaches, vomiting) when separated from major attachment figures (or separation is anticipated)

causes and risks

Treatment Options

There are many highly effective treatment options available for anxiety and anxiety-related disorders. These treatments can be broadly categorized as: 1) Psychotherapy; 2) Medications; and 3) Complementary and Alternative Therapies. Patients diagnosed with anxiety can benefit from one or a combination of these various therapies. Discussions of emerging therapies and types of care providers are also included.

Evidence-Based Therapies

Counseling

Counseling is a form of talk therapy in which a mental healthcare provider helps patients develop strategies and coping skills to address specific issues like stress management or interpersonal problems. Counseling is generally designed to be a short-term therapy.

Psychotherapy

There are many types of psychotherapies used to treat anxiety. Unlike counseling,psychotherapy is more long-term and targets a broader range of issues such as patterns of behavior. The patient's particular anxiety diagnosis and personal preference guides what therapies would be best suited to treat them. The ultimate goal with any type of psychotherapy, is to help the patient regulate their emotions, manage stress, understand patterns in behavior that affect their interpersonal relationships. Evidenced-based therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) are some of the most effective at treating anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a short-term treatment designed to help patients identify inaccurate and negative thinking in situations that cause anxiety like panic attacks. CBT can be used in one-on-one therapy or in a group therapy session with people facing similar problems. CBT primarily focuses on the ongoing problems in a patient's life and helps them develop new ways of processing their feelings, thoughts and behaviors to develop more effective ways of coping with their life. In patients who suffer from PTSD, CBT can take on a trauma-focused approach, where the goal is to process and reframe the traumatic experience that lead to the symptoms. On average, the length of treatment is around 10-15 weekly one-hour sessions depending on the type and severity of symptoms.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)

Prolonged exposure therapy is a specific type of CBT used to treat PTSD and phobias. The goal of this therapy is to help patients overcome the overwhelming disstress they experience when reminded of past traumas or in confronting their fears. With the guidance of a licensed therapist, the patient is carefully reintroduced to the trauma memories or reminders. During the exposure, the therapist guides the patient to use coping techniques such as mindfulnessor relaxation therapy/imagery. The goal of this therapy is to help patients realize that trauma-related memories (or phobias) are no longer dangerous and do not need to be avoided. This type of treatment usually lasts 8-16 weekly sessions.

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

EMDR is a psychotherapy that alleviates the distress and emotional disturbances that are elicited from the memories of traumatic events. It is primarily administered to treat PTSD, and is very similar to exposure therapy. This therapy helps patients to process the trauma so that they can heal. During the therapy, patients pay attention to a back and forth movement or sound while recounting their traumatic memories. Patients continue these sessions until the memory becomes less distressing. EMDR sessions typically last 50-90 minutes and are administered weekly for 1-3 months, although many patients report experiencing a reduction of symptoms after a few sessions of EMDR. 

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

DBT uses a skills-based approach to help patients regulate their emotions. It is a prefered treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder, but call also be effective for anxiety disorders such as PTSD. This treatment teaches patients how to develop skills for how to regulate their emotions, stress-management, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. It was developed to be employed in either one-on-one therapy sessions or group sessions. This type of therapy is typically long-term and patients are usually in treatment for a year or more. 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT is a type of CBT that encourages patients to again in positive behaviors even in the presence of negative thoughts and behaviors. The goal is to improve daily functioning despire having the disorder. It is particularly useful for treatment-resistant Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression. The length of treatment varies depending on the severity of symptoms.

Family Therapy

Family Therapy is a type of group therapy that includes the patient's family to help them improve communication and develop better skills for solving conflicts. This therapy is useful if the family is contributing to the patient's anxiety. During this short-term therapy, the patient's family learns how not to make the anxiety symptoms worse and to better understand the patient. The length of treatment varies depending on the severity of symptoms.

Medications

Medications are sometimes used in conjunction with psychotherapy. The most commonly prescribed medications are generally safe, although some do have side effects to consider. The specific type of medication administered to patients will be determined by their providers based on the patient's specific symptoms and other factors like general health.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are medications used to treat symptoms of depression but can also used to treat anxiety symptoms as well. In particular, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are the primary class of antidepressant used to treat anxiety. SSRIs commonly used to treat anxiety are escitalopram (Lexapro) and paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva). SNRI medications used to treat anxiety include duloxetine (Cymbalta), venlafaxine (Effexor XR).

Buspirone

Buspirone is a drug indicated for the treatment of anxiety. This drug has high efficacy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and is particularly effective at reducing the cognitive and interpersonal problems associated with anxiety. Unlike benzodiazepines, buspirone does not have a sedative effect or interact with alcohol. Most importantly there is a very low risk of developing a dependence on buspirone. Its side effects are minimal but can include dizziness, nervousness, and headaches. BuSpar and Vanspar are brand names associated with buspirone.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are sedatives indicated for anxiety, epilepsy, alcohol withdrawal and muscle spasms. Benzodiazepines demonstrate short-term effectiveness in the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and can help with sleep disturbances. A doctor may prescribe these drugs for a limited period of time to relieve acute symptoms of anxiety. However, long-term use of these medications is discouraged because they have a strong sedative effect and can be habit forming. In addition, taking benzodiazepines while also engaging in psychotherapy such as PE can reduce the effectiveness of the exposuere therapy,. Some well-known brand names are Librium, Xanax, Valium, and Ativan.

Beta Blockers

Beta Blockers, also known as beta-adrenergic blocking agents, work by blocking the neurotransmitter epinephrine (adrenaline). Blocking adrenaline slows down and reduces the force of heart muscle contraction resulting in decreased blood pressure. Beta blockers also increase the diameter of blood vessels resulting in increased blood flow. Historically, beta blockers have been prescribed to treat the somatic symptoms of anxiety (heart rate and tremors) but they are not very effective at treating the generalized anxiety, panic attacks or phobias. Lopressor and Inderal are some of the brand names with which you might be familiar.

Complementary and Alternative Therapies

Complementary and Alternative Therapies can be used in conjunction with conventional therapies to reduce the symptoms of anxiety. There is a growing interest in these types of alternative therapies, since they are non-invasive and can be useful to patients. They are typically not intended to replace conventional therapies but rather can be an adjunct therapy that can improve the overall quality of life of patients.

Stress Management

A collection of activities focused in which an individual consciously produces the relaxation response in their body. This response consists of slower breathing, resulting in lower blood pressure and overall feeling of well-being. These activities include: progressive relaxation, guided imagery, biofeedback, and self-hypnosis and deep-breathing exercises.

Meditation

A mind and body practice in which individuals are instructed to be mindful of thoughts, feelings and sensations in non-judgmental way. It has been shown to be useful in reducing the symptoms of psychological stress in patients with anxiety.

Yoga

A mindfulness practice that combines meditation, physical postures, breathing exercises and a distinct philosophy. It has been shown to be useful in reducing some symptoms of anxietyand depression.

Yvonne Ogbonmwan, PhD