Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety Treatment in Lexington, Richmond & Frankfort KY

Everyone experiences some level of anxiety in their daily lives, and some people are more affected than others. However, some people experience anxiety that is uncontrollable, sometimes unprecedented, and can negatively impact daily activities. Anxiety disorders take many forms, and have different symptoms and causes. Leaving anxiety disorders untreated can lead to unwanted consequences that can impact your job, family, and general happiness.

There are different types of anxiety disorders, and each can impact your life differently. Anxiety can take many forms, including OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders affect 18% of American adults (18+), or 40 million people, each year.

Women are more likely to be affected by anxiety disorders than men.

Hispanic and black individuals are less likely to suffer from anxiety disorders than whites.

Teenagers aged 13-18 are also at risk for anxiety disorders, and 8% of teens surveyed suffered from symptoms of anxiety. However, only 18% of these teenagers receive medical attention for their anxiety.

Anxiety Disorders

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

OCD causes constant thoughts or fears that cause people to obsess over things without reason, including performing routines or repeated actions. Thoughts and fears are considered obsessions, and routines and rituals are deemed compulsions, thus the reason for the name Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Compulsive behaviors might include turning lights on and off a certain number of times, obsessively washing hands to rid them of germs, or repeating certain words.

Panic Disorder

People with panic disorder suffer from feelings of extreme fear or terror that come on without warning, and reoccur frequently. People with panic disorder often suffer from panic attacks, in which they sweat, have chest pain, trouble breathing, heart palpitations, and other symptoms that might feel like a heart attack.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder that develops after a traumatic experience, like rape, war, or death of a loved one. Those that suffer from PTSD have reoccurring thoughts and memories that can trigger the trauma and cause the person anxiety throughout the rest of their life.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, is a condition in which individuals are consumed with worry and self-doubt that interfere with social situations. Those with social anxiety disorder are often worried about what others think of them, and are afraid they will be judged for their behaviors. This often leads to isolation, because individuals would rather stay home than face uncertain situations.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is sort of the catch-all for others prone to anxiety. Though they usually do not have something to trigger the anxiety, it is still consuming and can interfere with their daily activities. Anxiety can be excessive and unrealistic, and can impact school, work, and home life.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Separation Anxiety Disorder affects young children, but also older children and adults, and occurs when an individual has extreme anxiety when separated from a person or place that provides comfort to them. Separation anxiety can result in panic symptoms that can be debilitating just as with other anxiety disorders.

For more information on the specific types of anxiety disorders, Medical News Today has short videos that discuss the symptoms and expectations for each.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety can be caused by many different factors, including stress from work, home, school, relationships, and trauma from abuse, death, or other stressful events. Anxiety can also be caused by medical conditions, including stress from a terminal illness, side effects of medication, or lack of oxygen from medical disorders. Substance abuse can also induce anxiety, including intoxication from illicit drugs or withdrawal from drugs or alcohol.

What Causes Anxiety?

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

Trouble concentrating

Trouble breathing

Irritability

Sleep problems

Chest pain

Chills or hot flashes

Trembling

Shaking

Dizziness

Sweating

Impending depression

Out of control feeling

Nausea

Shortness of breath

Tightness in chest

Heart palpitations

Tiredness

Restlessness

Muscle tension

There are many possible treatments for dealing with anxiety disorders, including psychotherapy and treatment, as well as anti-anxiety medications, including SSRI, SSNRI, benzodiazepines, including some drugs primarily used to treat depression.

Work with your counselor to determine your best path for treatment. A trained medical professional will help you decide what is best for you.

According to NIMH, one form of effective psychotherapy is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), in which the counselor will help the individual suffering from anxiety to change their thinking patterns (cognitive) and the way they react to anxiety (behavioral). CBT will help those with anxiety disorders to break down their cognitive patterns in which the anxiety is overwhelming and controlling, and therefore they will learn to cope with anxious situations.

Do you suffer from anxiety? Take this short quiz to see if you have a problem with anxiety.

Do not use this quiz to substitute a medical opinion. Please contact our office if you think you might be suffering from anxiety in order to get a complete diagnosis and the medical assistance that you need.

It is easy to feel out of control when you suffer from an anxiety disorder. Of course, you should seek medical attention if you feel as though your anxiety is getting in the way of your daily activities, but there are also techniques you can try at home to relieve your worry.

Create a worry period: choose a time and a place for worrying. Do not allow yourself to worry at other times of the day.

Ask yourself if your problem is solvable: if your problem is not something you can change, learn to accept it.

Accept uncertainty: focusing on what-if scenarios will only keep you from enjoying the good currently in your life, and will not prevent bad things from happening to you. Learn to let them go.

Challenge anxious thoughts: retrain your brain to avoid worried thoughts, like overgeneralizations, catastrophizing, labeling, or all-or-nothing thinking.

Be aware of how others affect you: keep a worry diary and spend less time in anxious situation or with people who make it worse.

Practice mindfulness: acknowledge your anxious feelings, let your worries go, and stay focused on the present.

Try relaxation techniques when you are feeling stressed, including breathing meditation for stress relief, progressive muscle relaxation, body scan meditation, mindfulness, visualization meditation, and yoga and tai chi.

Do not let your anxiety control your life! Adverse effects caused by anxiety can negatively impact many different parts of your life, and could cause you to distance family members and friends, lose your job, or could cause other health problems. Stop your anxiety before it attacks your daily activities by getting help today.

See an experienced counselor today for advice on how to control your anxiety. We are trained to help you turn around your negative thoughts and feelings and move forward with your life. See our Counseling Processes for help in understanding counseling and or therapy.

To set up an appointment today, please call us at 859-338-0466 now or contact us!

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Lexington, KY

Darby Creek Location

501 Darby Creek Road

Suite 11

Lexington KY, 40509

Phone: 859-338-0466

Fax: 859-294-0802

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