How and When to Treat Your Anxiety
Over the last few months, we’ve been exploring all of the questions that surround anxiety. If you missed our previous blogs on this subject, you can find them here:
https://wellnesspsychologicalservices.com/blog/
In the previous blogs, we discussed what anxiety is and why people have it. In this blog, we will go over four questions to help you better understand how and when to seek professional help to treat it.
When should I seek treatment for anxiety?
First of all, it’s important to know that it’s never too early to ask for help. While anxiety may not seem like that big of a deal at first, the longer it goes untreated, the worse it can become. What can begin as small feelings of anxiety, worry or panic, over time, can become debilitating. In addition to the feelings associated with anxiety, it can take a physical toll on your body that, left untreated, can lead to health problems.
If you find yourself in a pattern of constant worry, especially surrounding situations that didn’t use to cause you stress, it could be a sign that your anxiety is escalating. Or, if your worry is leading you to often overthink worst case scenarios about situations that could just as likely have a positive or benign outcome, you could have an anxiety disorder. In these cases, sometimes the person experiencing anxiety can find it hard to see any situation positively, and instead fixates on all the negative things that can happen.
Another sign it could be time to seek treatment is if you notice your worry taking a physical toll on your body, especially over a prolonged period of time. Constant worry often makes it hard for a person to relax or sleep, leading to exhaustion and irritability. Another physical way anxiety can present itself is with chronic headaches or muscle aches, and loss of appetite. All of these symptoms can be physical signs that your body is reacting to the anxiety you’re feeling it an unhealthy way.
How do I find help and treatment for anxiety?
There are many different things that can help with anxiety. Therapy and counseling are always helpful when you are experiencing anxiety to help you assess what the genesis of the anxiety is and what might help most given your particular circumstances and history. Another way to find treatment for your anxiety is to talk to your primary care physician. Or, if you have a trusted friend or family member who has been diagnosed with anxiety, they will likely have personal recommendations that will help. There are now countless online resources
There are many ways to treat anxiety. Meditation and exercise are both great ways to refocus anxious energy, and a method that many people find helpful in curbing their anxious thoughts.
Dietary and habit changes can also go a long way in eliminating anxiety. Stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, can exacerbate anxious feelings, and make a person feel more panicky and less in control. Choosing a healthy diet is also important. Skipping meals or consuming too much junk food can wreak havoc on your blood sugar, making you more jittery, irritable, and even more anxious.
And while this might not be an easy thing to do, getting good rest whenever you can can help you combat anxiety in a healthy way. While it may feel like there’s little you can do when anxious thoughts keep you awake at night, going to bed earlier when you can, or even just laying in bed and practicing mindfulness and deep breathing techniques, can help your body catch up on much needed rest.
Therapy can also play a very important, much needed role in treating anxiety. Having a trained professional to help you process your thoughts and feelings, as well as teaching you and helping you implement healthy coping strategies, is vital to finding a way to live with and treat your anxiety.
How do I decide what kind of anxiety therapy is for me?
There are a few different types of therapy that can help with anxiety. Below, we have provided blogs written by our psychologists that can help you learn more about each time and help you determine which one might be right for you.
DBT Therapy
https://wellnesspsychologicalservices.com/dialectical-behavior-therapy-by-dr-jonathan-huffman/
EMDR Therapy
ERP Therapy
https://wellnesspsychologicalservices.com/exposure-and-response-prevention-erp-for-ocd-2/
CPT Therapy
https://wellnesspsychologicalservices.com/cognitive-processing-therapy-cpt-by-dr-arroyo-carrion/
We’ve also included a helpful article on how do choose the therapist that’s right for you!
https://wellnesspsychologicalservices.com/how-to-find-the-right-therapist/
When should I consider medication for anxiety?
Often times, the things we’ve gone over in this article are enough to treat and help a patient overcome anxiety. If these things are not enough, it may be time to talk to your therapist and primary care physician about whether medication is worth considering. If you are implementing all of these things, and are under the care of a therapist, and you still find yourself having frequent anxiety attacks, are continuing to feel the physical symptoms of anxiety, or you’re finding that your anxiety is interfering with your work and/or your personal relationships, it’s time to have a conversation about medication with your trusted healthcare providers. There are also other factors they may take into consideration such as family history of anxiety and how acute or chronic, that is longstanding the issues have been for you.
BEGIN ANXIETY THERAPY IN ST PETERSBURG, FL
Being, nervous, or apprehensive about starting therapy is normal and especially if you do experience anxiety that can be a part of it. Our team of local psychologists, counselors and marriage and family therapists are available in our Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL offices to help get you started. You can start your therapy journey by following these simple steps:
- Contact Wellness Psychological Services
- Meet with a caring therapist
- Start getting the support and strategies to help with your anxiety that you deserve!
OTHER SERVICES OFFERED WITH WELLNESS PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
Wellness Psychological Services is proud to offer both in-person and online therapy for the residents of Florida. We also offer couples counseling, divorce discernment counseling, support through a divorce, and mediation for couples.
Other services offered include anxiety treatment, trauma therapy, depression counseling, OCD treatment, stress management, and testing and evaluation services for individuals as well! Additionally, we are happy to offer eating disorder treatment, PCIT therapy, DBT, child therapy, therapy for professionals, and health psychology. Feel free to learn more by visiting our blog page or FAQ today!