A person with generalized anxiety disorder is plagued by worry and obsession that interfere with day-to-day life. The illness may develop in adults or children, and may exist along with mood disorders or other anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to MayoClinic.com, generalized anxiety disorder can often be overcome with therapy and medication.
Desensitization
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a short-term therapy developed in 1987. The treatment, which involves describing anxiety-provoking events while watching a moving light box or the therapist's moving fingers, is based on the idea that these events can become trapped in our brains. Therapist Ross Cohen of Portland, Oregon, states that EMDR uses bilaterial brain stimulation to help release these trapped memories. Dr. Herbert Fensterheim of Cornell University thinks that EMDR is the most important advance in therapy in decades. It may allow anxiety sufferers, particularly those affected by trauma and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, to experience relief quickly.
Rate Your Stress Level
Exposure therapy is a common form of cognitive-behavioral therapy used to treat anxiety disorders. A person being treated with exposure therapy faces the thing that makes them anxious with a therapist present. For example, someone who is afraid of leaving a certain comfort zone may go for a drive with the therapist in the car. As they travel, the therapist asks the patient to rate his anxiety on a scale of one to 10. The goal is to continue rating the stress level until it begins to decrease. This teaches the patient that feelings eventually pass and that they have the power to overcome their fears. Dr. John M. Grohol, author of "What is Exposure Therapy," reports that the therapy is often used in conjunction with self-calming techniques.
Anxiety Medication
Psychiatric medication may prove to be greatly beneficial to people with anxiety disorders. The kind of medication your doctor prescribes will depend on the specific disorder with which you are diagnosed. According to Helpguide.org, anxiety medications include traditional benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Valium as well as newer, non-addictive drugs like antidepressants and beta-blockers. Medication, in conjunction with lifestyle changes, can help people conquer their anxiety disorders. It may be hard to participate in talk therapy if you have trouble leaving the house, driving a car, riding in an elevator or talking to other people. Medication may allow you to do those things so you can develop a therapeutic relationship with a counselor or physician.
