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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Treating Anxiety Disorder-Some Alternative Approaches

There are generally accepted approaches in the medical community to treating anxiety and stress issues; however, there are also some alternative or supplemental approaches that may be a big help. Here are a few suggestions.
  Treating anxiety disorder can be challenging for both doctors and patients.

Generally, when a person is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder they enter into a fairly standardized course of therapy. This will include the use of one or more drugs selected from an assortment of medications that have been proven effective in helping people with a specific type of disorder. Additionally, the patient will probably begin a course of one-on-one cognitive therapy sessions with a medical professional. The medication and therapy will hopefully start the patient on the path to curing their anxiety issues.

However, people who experience excessive stress and anxiety often wonder if there may be other treatment alternatives that may be more effective, or at least speed up the process.

Here are some of the approaches that are frequently mentioned by patients and their families:

* Dietary or herbal boosters:
Although many people find they get relief from their panic and anxiety issues by using dietary or herbal boosters, there apparently aren't any acceptable scientific studies or research to support their use. This doesn't mean boosters shouldn't be used. If a patient feels they are beneficial, there probably isn't any harm in using them. That being said, the medical community generally agrees that caffeine and sugar can increase the impact of anxiety and stress on the body and should be avoided by those suffering from these problems. At least check it out and see if reducing the use of caffeine and sugar has positive results.

* Group therapy:
Encounter groups where patients with similar problems meet to discover how each approaches their problems to see if one's coping skills can be of benefit to the others. Just being together with those who are suffering from stress and anxiety can be very helpful because it lets each person see they aren't alone in their struggles. People with anxiety and stress issues tend to distance themselves from others and suffer in silence. So, encounter groups can serve to help these people begin to get re-engaged in their lives. Sometimes such groups will be lead by a doctor or a medical professional so the group can concentrate on learning a specific tool or approach to calming and coping with fears. In other instances, the group will be left on their own to more effectively touch on the cares of the group. Some of the tools used by doctors in group therapy will include instructing students in meditation, breathing and relaxation techniques.

* Yoga and T'ai Chi Chih:
Yoga can be a great tool to help produce a wholesome approach to life and reduce stress and anxiety. While yoga movements can provide some relief there isn't any scientific evidence that it can cure anxiety and stress. If you're not familiar with T'ai Chi Chih, it is a group of moves that promotes a body energy referred to as Chi. Find a T'ai Chi group in your area to see if it might be an effective tool to assist with panic and anxiety. By the way, T'ai Chi Chih has nothing to do with marital arts.

So, while these approaches aren't certified as methods for treating anxiety disorder, they certainly can't hurt and may contribute to one's overall plan for beating panic and anxiety.

About the Author

Blaine Scott comes from a family with a long history of close relatives who have lived through the struggles associated with anxiety and panic attacks. For more information on treating anxiety disorder, visit http://www.panicattacksresolved.com.

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