Anxiety Disorders your life – put it back in order

Much Ado About Nothing – opined Shakespeare.

Too much ado about everything – retorted the twenty-first century Joe.

Let us face it – anxiety has sneaked its way into our lives, under our skins. People of all ages are falling prey to it and the upward trend that the number of patients requiring panic treatment has adopted over the years can cause anxiety to many a person in turn!

Mary, who is in her mid-twenties, discovered that she had become a chronic patient of anxiety. Even normal presentations at her office had begun to cause her head to swim and her mouth to go dry. She observed her hands would shake and palpitations would start even when the reason for it would be nothing at all. Discussing this over with her friends, she realized she actually needed medical help – anxiety disorder treatment at the hands of an expert.
The psychotherapist she consulted advised her to try recognizing the thought that gave her the worrisome butterflies in the stomach. Through concentration and mental effort, she  was able to realize that the fear of making a mistake horrified her, as her boss was wont to correct her most caustically. The embarrassment emanating from such a situation had been unconsciously giving her the jitters. The Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy (CBT) that she had undergone helped her regain her lost confidence.

At the therapist’s suggestion, Mary also joined a Yoga class to help relax her mind.  She reduced caffeine in her diet and regularized her sleep. This incorporation of adequate relaxation in her life made it better and healthier, as relaxation, no doubt, is the best anxiety disorder treatment available.

There are many Marys in the world though their ages and causes of anxiety may differ.

Hamiza, a child of ten, found herself suffering from bouts of insomnia following an escape from a burning building – if at all she slept, she would dream of fire and wake up, disturbed. Even sights of normal fire – like in the kitchen or in the fireplace affected her adversely. Her parents consulted a leading psychotherapist for Hamiza’s panic treatment. She was diagnosed as having Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
The task at hand now was to desensitize the girl regarding her life-impairing phobia. The therapist decided to use the Exposure therapy on her, in which she was made to face her fear in a safe environ. The therapy began by showing her a tiny match – the simplicity with which it was lit and snuffed out, did ease a minuscule portion of her phobia. Over a period of time, a gradation was followed in the exposure therapy – viz., from a match stick to a candle, then on to a hand-held beacon, further to a bonfire and finally to a mini-conflagration scene played on the video.
Initially, Hamiza showed signs of distinct discomfiture. Her response would run the gamut from taciturnity to pure panic. However, the treatment began to show a positive effect in due time. The therapist even used some anxiety disorder medications, like the tested and proved Fluvoxamine, on the child, in combination with counselling and the exposure therapy. In about a year’s time, little Hamiza’s life swung back into normal.

The story of Amos is also not very different. Sixty-year-old Amos was taken to the therapist’s by his son. The son claimed Amos had an obsession about checking the lock on their door at nights. Amos would get up at least five or six times from the bed and check the lock on the main door. A session with the therapist revealed Amos as a patient of Obsessive and Compulsive disorder (OCD) or the Becky-Murphy disorder. A worrier throughout, Amos’s life had earlier not been disrupted by it. However, it was probably his initial tendency that paved the way to his present condition.
The therapist kept Amos in his personal care for several days. A combination of CBT and anxiety disorder medication was used on him. He would be exposed to the situation of having an unlocked door at nights, and prevented from getting up to lock it. This form of Exposure and Ritual Prevention therapy helped him come to terms with his obsessive fear of open doors.  A drug therapy involving judicious dosage of benzodiazepines and fluoxetine helped further in treating Amos’s OCD.

Hence, the good news – anxiety disorder treatment is available and functional, too. All we have to do is to avail it. A little relaxation, some medication and some self-control of one’s behaviour and thoughts – and one’s anxiety is shown the door.