The world would assuredly be a better place without anxiety – ask any anxiety disorder sufferer and you would get the same answer. Ever recall those tense moments before an interview or a special date? Those butterflies in the stomach, that necessity to swallow more frequently than ever, that beating heart? You would certainly dislike to go back to them, if you are asked to.

Imagine then the plight of someone who may undergo these symptoms without an apparent cause and with far greater frequency than you do. These are the anxiety disorder sufferers.

This is a morbid disorder, presents as it does to the patient a view of himself as a mental patient. Many patients have tried to hide their ailment, and have suffered more as a result.

News to them – treatment of anxiety is possible.

Now it is up to them to avail themselves of it.

Sleep has been called ‘Tired Nature’s Sweet Restorer’ by some litterateur. And could he have expressed himself better? That the best treatment for anxiety is nothing other than a deep relaxing slumber will be borne out by the fact that most of the drugs used as anxiety attack medication have sedative properties.

However, the paradox here is that most anxiety patients are insomniacs, having great difficulty in sleeping properly. However, there are several possible remedies for that:

•    Massage – slow kneading of muscles helps ease the strain out of them. Removal of lactic acid molecules in the muscle cells is achieved by efficient massaging. Special massaging technique like Acupressure helps improve the flow of energy in the body. So does Acupuncture, that is a slight modification of acupressure for it involves insertion of pinpoints on certain fixed points of the body. Use of Ayurvedic oils and other aromatic oils for massage purposes also helps in relaxing the body and easing the mind into sleep
•    Long warm bath and/or Steam bath treatment – water has the immense capacity to cleanse a body. Enjoy long warm tub or shower baths. Get a steam bath if you can and sweat out the toxins from your system.
•    Exercise – Deep breathing exercises that are a part of Yoga or physical exercises like the Tai Chi serve to an attainment of peace and well-being. Avail yourself of those experiences. Even normal gymming leads to sweating and removal of toxins from the body, leading to better slumber.
•    Diet Control – lessen caffeine from your food. Caffeine is as potent a foe of deep sleep as anything. Take care you are not abusing alcohol or any drug
Overall, learn to relax – listen to music or follow your own favourite hobby. Relaxation is an art and has to be mastered
A psychologist has been referred to disparagingly as a shrink, comparing his activities with an ancient tribal act of ‘shrinking’ the heads of their enemies. For an anxiety disorder sufferer, there can be no better friend than one.

Sometimes our anxieties have petty reasons in our subconscious minds – we are unaware of the thief sitting in the recesses of our brains, instigating the terrifying panic attacks. A session with the psychiatrist, where you talk your heart out and he listens attentively, can several times succeed in pinpointing this elusive cause. Once the reason has been obtained, it would be a short way toward cure.
There have been cases of trained shrinks carrying out hypnosis on the willing patients to try understanding the cause(s) of their anxiety bouts. The psychotherapist also motivates the patient to try curing himself by positive thinking and use of his strong will power. This involvement of the patient in his own treatment has been called Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy.

Sometimes the reasons for the patient’s anxiety may not be petty at all and may be quite in the forefront of his mind – the after effects of a traumatic experience include panic attacks. This has been called as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in medical jargon. The treatment for anxiety in such cases has been nominated as Exposure therapy. The patient is exposed to his phobia-causing agent, under controlled conditions and in the presence of a trained therapist. Presence of fear factor, but absence of danger or death helps stop panic attack in the patients.

In addition to all this, anxiety attack medication is also available in the market. Most of these belong to the Benzodiazepine and Buspirone groups. Another alternative group is the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (SSRI). However, only medication is not advisable in most cases – they are used in conjunction with one or more other curative methods.