It's normal to have anxiety occasionally, but if you suffer with it frequently, then you might have a problem that can be helped with counseling. There are different types of anxiety, such as post traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder. They can all interfere with the quality of your life, sometimes in a major way. Here's how to tell if you have an anxiety disorder and what type of treatments can help.

Symptoms Of An Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety might cause physical distress such as chest pain, sweating, dry mouth, shortness of breath, and nausea. It also causes emotional distress when you can't stop your mind from racing, especially when you try to sleep at night. You may constantly feel nervous and avoid your triggers. For instance, you may isolate yourself to avoid social situations. You might often feel afraid to the point where you panic for no obvious reason. When you have these symptoms often or when they are bad enough to interfere with your ability to sleep, work, or have a social life, it's a good idea to seek counseling so you can improve the quality of your life by learning how to deal with your anxiety.

Exposure Therapy For Treating Anxiety

Your mental health professional has several types of treatment to help with anxiety. The treatments often require your participation rather than being a form of talk therapy. By being actively involved in your treatment, you should see results much sooner. Exposure therapy is one option for treating anxiety. With this treatment, you are slowly exposed to the thing that triggers your symptoms. This is done with the therapist by your side so you are completely safe.

You may be exposed to the actual trigger or you may be led in a visualization process where you imagine a situation where you are exposed. Virtual reality may also be used to simulate a real situation that would normally cause anxiety. The goal is to gradually get used to being in the situation so you lose your fear of it. This type of treatment could help with social anxiety where you are placed in group situations of increasing complexity until you lose your anxiety when you interact with others.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Anxiety

Cognitive behavioral therapy is another useful tool in treating anxiety. The therapist identifies your patterns in thinking and behaving that trigger your anxiety episodes. Once you understand how your habitual thinking is in error and responsible for triggering your symptoms, you can stop your thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts that bring about a different outcome. You'll usually have inner work to do at home between your counseling sessions so you get the quickest results from this type of therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is usually very effective at treating all types of anxiety, but your counselor will treat you based on your individual situation. You might also require medication or hypnosis to obtain relief from your symptoms. Anxiety can impact your life in an unhealthy way, and there is no need to suffer when there are effective treatments available. Whether your symptoms are mild or debilitating, consider seeking help from a counselor who treats anxiety, such as at The A Treatment Center, so your life can improve.