Treating anxiety disorders with cognitive therapy can help patients, often helping to limit or eliminate the necessity for drugs.

Anxiety disorders are considered the most common mental illnesses in the United States, with more than 19 million people affected in the adult population. There are several different kinds of disorders that fall under the general category of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder is usually characterized by a constant worry that something bad is going to happen, along with consistent worrying about money, health, or other issues.

Obsessive compulsive disorder has to do with persistent unwanted thoughts and the use of routines or rituals to try to get rid of those thoughts.

Panic disorder comes from sudden, intense fear or panic in a situation, which often causes people to avoid going out or interacting with people because of a fear of the next attack.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is triggered by a traumatic event and features panic and physical symptoms when the person is reminded of the bad event.

Social phobia is a fear of interacting with people, beyond what’s considered normal shyness.

Treating anxiety disorders with cognitive therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy can be very helpful. Anti-anxiety medications may or may not be used along with therapy to help the patient work through the anxiety.

Treating Anxiety with Cognitive Therapy.

Cognitive therapy deals with helping a person understand and control his or her thoughts associated with the anxiety disorder.

Treating anxiety disorders with cognitive therapy might begin by talking about what happens during a panic attack and understanding how negative thoughts can bring about more panic.

For instance, a patient might start thinking that a particular pain means he or she has cancer, which means they are going to die, and so on, and very rapidly the negative thoughts spiral into an anxiety attack.

Once it is established that thoughts cause the reactions, treating anxiety disorders with cognitive therapy can continue to train the patient to stop the cycle of negativity and panic by teaching them to think different thoughts.

Even saying something as simple as:

“I’m going to be alright” or “The picture in my head is not rational” can help stop an anxiety attack in its tracks.

Cognitive therapy has proven to be very effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) starts like cognitive therapy but adds a behavioral element to further reinforce positive responses.

The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy is to identify negative thoughts, develop more flexible ideas and use new cognitive and behavioral responses to change the neural pathways in the brain prevent anxiety. Scientific studies have  shown the brain is actually very adaptable, the term is neural plasticity, and new positive pathways can be achieved to bring about a more positive frame of mind which is a really exciting medical breakthrough. Norman Doidge’s , The Brain That Changes Itself is amazing  reading and encouraging for what we can achieve for ourselves.

Relaxation and deep-breathing techniques, for instance, might be part of a cognitive behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders in addition to the training to change a patient’s thinking.

The Difference Is…

The cognitive therapy serves as a foundation to change the way patients think, while behavioral and emotional therapy builds on that to change the way patients act and feel about their actions and the world around them.

Cognitive behavioral therapy seems to be the most effective treatment for anxiety disorders because it addresses not only the negative thoughts but also the emotions and behaviors that go with them. Changing all of these things makes a person less anxious and prone to panic attacks. It’s also important to have both mechanisms in play because sometimes you can’t stop the spiraling negative thoughts, but you may be able to use a deep breathing or relaxation technique to stop a panic attack from occurring.

The key to treating anxiety disorders with cognitive therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy is that the patient be willing to work hand to address the problem. It’s also important to see a therapist who is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy if possible. Talk to the therapist about your treatment plan and what it will include so you will know what to expect. Be patient, work hard, and your anxiety disorder can be a thing of the past.
more on treating anxiety disorders with cognitive therapy in our anxiety information page

Read more on Safe Natural Treatments for Anxiety here!