Treating Anxiety Disorder

Treating Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorders are conditions that make a person develop so much fear and worries. They cause an individual to have insomnia and other related symptoms. Cognitive-behavioural therapy is the best first-line treatment for this condition. However, whenever therapy does not work, medications are prescribed. This paper focuses on an analysis of anxiety disorder.

The best possible treatment for anxiety disorders would be psychotherapy. The goal of treatment is to help the patient manage their anxiety level related to emotional distress. (Hofmann, et al. 2012). One of the most successful psychotherapy processes is cognitive behavioural therapy. This treatment is very effective and highly recommendable. It teaches patients the skills to manage their anxiety. It also gives them different ways of managing and handling their worries.

Once cognitive behavioural therapy does not work, the patient could be up for medication. The best form of medication for these individual include an antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. (Warner-Schmidt, et al. 2011).  However, before a patient decides on medication, it is always advisable to speak with the doctor, due to their expected side effects. Anxiety disorder is a condition that can be rectified through therapies. However, whenever therapy does not work effectively, then medication kicks in.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor is the most prevalent antidepressant drugs. They have fewer side effects as compared with other drugs. They increase the level of serotonin in the brain regions. Serotonin is a chemical messenger that is tasked with transmitting signals within the brain nerve cells. (Williams, et al. 2013). The drug blocks the absorption of serotonin into neurons, making more serotonin available for the brain cells. This improves the transmission of signals between the nerve cells.

As a medical practitioner, I would not recommend these drugs to anxiety disorder patients. I would try therapy session first. If the therapy session does not work, then I can set up the patient for these drugs, after carrying out the CBC lab test.

Reference

Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive-behavioural therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognitive therapy and research, 36(5), 427-440.

Warner-Schmidt, J. L., Vanover, K. E., Chen, E. Y., Marshall, J. J., & Greengard, P. (2011). Antiinflammatory drugs attenuate antidepressant effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in mice and humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(22), 9262-9267.

Williams, K., Brignell, A., Randall, M., Silove, N., & Hazell, P. (2013). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (8).