Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety is extremely common—rather like the common cold or the flu. It is a combination of fear plus negative thinking. Everyone experiences anxiety and although it can be very painful, a small amount may be quite motivating. This is deceptive because higher levels of frequent anxiety can stop us in our tracks and lead to depression. In essence, a little gives a push and a lot is immobilizing. Good psychotherapy for anxiety tackles both the emotion and the thinking patterns. “Thinking Traps” need to be addressed by learning to change how we think. We also need to gain confidence in our ability to tolerate the emotion of fear. “Fear of fear” is sometimes at the heart of the problem. I advocate using mindfulness in order to slow down reactions and increases awareness of our choices as to how to respond. In a sense mindfulness can help us learn “how to think” as is explained in this video. Stress and anxiety often go together. Dr. Mike Evans explains techniques for managing stress here. They are very similar to the cognitive behavioral techniques used in anxiety treatment.