If Anxiety Controls Your Life, Medication Isn't The Only Way to Get Help

Sep 11, 2019

Anxiety is something we all experience at some points in life, but for some, it can feel out of control in the way we experience it. When anxiety has such a firm grip on what you can accomplish from day to day, sometimes medication can only temporarily alleviate your symptoms. This is where cognitive behavioral therapy steps in to help you see long-lasting progress in the struggle with anxiety.

What is CBT?

Cognitive behavioral therapy, otherwise known as CBT, is a skill-building psychotherapy that teaches patients how to better cope with their emotions and cognitive processing. CBT can be used to treat patients diagnosed with a wide variety of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, or even substance abuse issues. CBT works to change a person's attitude or how they think to better deal with life's stressors. CBT changes the person's perception by focusing on their thoughts, self-image, and beliefs, to identify their more deeply rooted issues.

How does CBT help?

CBT is usually practiced through mindfulness, grounding techniques, and repetitions like breathing slowly and deeply. Teaching the patient how to take a step back from their emotions and headspace to better address a problem allows them to react in a more productive way.

In a case such as anxiety, it is hard to medicate consistently without relying on "as needed" medications (which can end up becoming highly addicting for the patient seeking treatment). With anxiety, most symptoms are an overreaction to situational occurrences, like going to the grocery store and paying for the items, or a job interview. Depending on the severity of a person's anxiety, it can feel as though they are unable to escape and could trigger a much more physical reaction like a panic attack. In an instance where they felt uneasy and anxiety onsetting, medication could be used to treat their symptoms, however, medication is not always available. The incredible thing about CBT is that once a person learns and proactively uses the CBT skills, they will always have those skills at their disposal. Rather than using a pill to temporarily ease the anxiety, that same patient could use their grounding skills to take a few minutes to control their breathing pattern and effectively remove themselves from the stressful situation that is causing such an intense reaction. Using those skills to take a step back and gather their composure gives them a second chance to evaluate the situation and address their response, and potentially move forward with ease.