Someone suffering from generalized anxiety disorder is paralyzed by worry and obsessive thoughts that interfere with day-to-day life. Generalized anxiety disorder may develop in childhood or adulthood, and may exist along with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or other mood disorders. According to MayoClinic.com, generalized anxiety disorder sufferers can often improve substantially with the right therapy and psychiatric medication. There are numerous treatment options, with behavioral therapies and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors being two of the most frequently used.
Step 1
Try yoga to help calm your mind while exercising your body. If you have limited movement ability, meditation can be beneficial for slowing your thoughts and relieving tension.
Step 2
Find a therapist trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which may also be advertised as exposure therapy. CBT introduces the source of the anxiety into the patient's life in controlled doses with the therapist present, making it particularly useful for those suffering from phobias.
Step 3
Talk to a psychiatrist about taking anti-anxiety medication. Psych meds have a number of side effects and should be given careful consideration, but can make the difference between being able to go outside and staying indoors.
Step 4
Try EMDR therapy. According to Dr. Herbert Fensterheim of Cornell University, EMDR--eye movement desensitization and reprocessing--is the most important advance in psychotherapy in decades. The treatment, which involves describing the events that make you anxious while watching a moving light box, is based on the idea that traumatic experiences can become physically trapped in our brains, and bilateral brain stimulation can effectively release them.
Step 5
Use your anxiety as a motivating factor to change your life. Ask yourself what it is you need in order to be calm and happy, and do whatever you have to do to get it. Never lose sight of the life you could have, the one you want and deserve.
