Coaching 4 Health & Wellness

An anxiety disorder can greatly reduce your quality of life, but it is treatable and can be easily managed. Fully understanding this disorder is essential to your success. Research symptoms, medications, natural remedies etc.





Behavioral Therapies




Counseling, particularly a type of counseling called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), has been shown in research to be quite effective at reducing the symptoms of anxiety and helping people live normal lives. Many people get to the point where they have no symptoms at all! Traditional talk-therapy is also a helpful treatment for many. Try one and if it does not work, try another.




For individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a newer treatment called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of trauma related issues. It does not work for everyone, but for some, just one session of EMDR has brought significant relief from symptoms. Check the EMDR website to find a trained and qualified therapist near you



Anxiety Medications




There are quite a number of medications used to treat anxiety disorder. The most popular of these being a class of medicines called Benzodiazepines. These include {{{Xanax, Valium, and AtivalValium, Atival and Xanax. While these medicines do bring some sort of relief, they are accompanied by side effects, some very serious. Side effects can occur because of the medicines ability to greatly affect activity of the brain.



Side effects usually include:

• Headaches


• Diarrhea


• Insomnia


• Irritability


• Loss of appetite


• Change in sex drive/performance


• Mood changes


• Allergic reactions


• Muscle cramps


• Tiredness


• Depression


• Confusion


• Difficulty speaking

Medicine Usage



Make note that not all medications work the same for every individual. Each individual is different and has different levels of tolerance. We all carry around batches of chemicals in our bodies (hormones, neurotransmitters, water, minerals, vitamins, etc). Each of us has different levels of the chemicals, mine are different than yours. Medications are also chemicals. So putting the same amount of chemical in me versus you may cause your chemicals to react to the medications differently than mine.



Anti-anxiety drugs should only be used short term. Long term use can lead to physical or psychological addiction. Whenever you want to quit taking these drugs discuss with your physician and work out a plan to gradually reduce the quantity you take. This should greatly decrease any withdrawal reaction.



Natural Anxiety Remedies



Many people do not care for prescription drugs or the side effects and opt for more natural solutions.



These sometimes include hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, yoga, meditation, exercise and herbal remedies. Always check with your medical doctor before trying any herbal remedies as these may interact with any other medications you are taking.





Next we'll take a look at depression......