Anxiety disorders could get the best of people. This is a medical condition that needs the expertise of anxiety doctors. They can help a patient overcome emotional distress and manage anxiousness in particular events. It’s important to attend treatments as early as the signs occur to ensure a better outcome. If you are searching for a doctor near you, be sure that they are licensed and skilled as well.
How Does It Work?
The output will depend on how honest are you with your doctor. It’s important to remember that anxiety doctors are trained to interpret everything you say, as well as the symptoms that you have. To make sure that the treatment is effective, you will need to put your trust in your doctor. Be open and honest during your conversation and try not to sugarcoat anything, because to tell you the truth, they’ll know.
In addition to this, check if you are comfortable with your doctor, if not, it’s not illegal to find another one where you can be much more confident sharing your personal thoughts and experiences.
The treatment will only be effective if you and your doctor work in hand all throughout the process. Anxiety orders can easily be treated and managed as long as patients are honest with their anxiety doctors.
Consulting Doctors For Anxiety
The symptoms of anxiety are somehow different for every person. So before you conclude that you have an anxiety disorder, it’s important to consult several doctors first.
Initially, if you feel that something is not quite right with you, you will visit a primary care physician.
Regular Doctors
Your regular doctor will try to determine the cause of your symptoms by conducting a complete physical examination. This is the first step in determining the probable health condition that you have. Anxiety symptoms could also be due to the following:
- hormonal imbalance
- side effects of medications
- illnesses
- other health conditions
If your diagnosis shows that you are physically healthy, the doctor will recommend you to another specialist, specifically, a doctor for mental health conditions. Most of the time, anxiety disorders are accompanied by other conditions like depression. So expect your next doctor to ask several questions.
Psychologists
If the symptoms are mild and manageable, you will most likely be referred to a psychologist. The common treatment done by these professionals is called talk therapy or counseling. Counseling is performed in order to determine the root cause of the anxiety (typically a trauma or abuse).
Traumatic experiences and getting abused have a huge impact on an individual’s behavior. You might be given prescriptions depending on the severity of your case. However, not all psychologists are permitted to give prescriptions.
Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists are anxiety doctors that can perform both psychotherapy and medication. They have extensive training in diagnosing mental illnesses and providing treatments as well.
What To Tell Your Doctor
Your doctor will need personal information to design the right treatment for you. Here are some of the few things that you will need to prepare for:
- When your symptoms began, how it affects your everyday life, and how severe are they.
- The major stressors of your life, traumatic experiences (if there’s any), and if you’ve ever been abused.
- Inform your doctor if you have diagnosed with mental and health conditions.
- If you are currently taking any medications, list down the medicines that you take and how often you take them.
Additionally, you will also need to inform your doctor if you frequently consume the following:
- alcohol
- caffeine
- drugs
- sugar
- tobacco
Types Of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders have different classifications which are as follows:
- GAD or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This type of anxiety occurs even in the most unexpected times. Some people with GAD experience chronic anxiety, extreme worriedness or stress for no particular reason.
- OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD is a kind of mental illness that causes unwanted thoughts in repetitions or obsessions. When it attacks, the individual is urged to do something many times over. Some people with OCD even experience compulsions and obsessions at the same time.
- Panic Disorder. Panic disorder is another kind of anxiety disorder that comes with extreme fear along with physical symptoms like pain in the chest, difficulty breathing, palpitations, dizziness, and abdominal distress.
- PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD could develop if the person was exposed to something traumatic or terrifying, mostly life-threatening. These events could leave severe trauma to the person and things that relate to the event often triggers their fear. People who came from war usually experience PTSD after coming home.
- Social Anxiety. Social anxiety is the fear of being in a small or big group of people in social situations. This particular type of anxiety can be limited to certain fears such as speaking, eating, or drinking in front of other people.
How To Overcome Anxiety
Apart from your regular visits to your doctor, here are some of the few things that you may consider to overcome anxiety:
Meditate or take yoga classes. Choose activities that would calm you down such as getting a massage or getting pampered in the salon.- Eat healthy meals and exercise regularly. Physical health is just as important as your mind so be sure to take care of it too.
- Limit excessive alcohol consumption.
- If possible, stop smoking.
- Get enough sleep and rest.
- If attacks are happening, take a deep breath.
- Surround yourself with positive people.
