Cognitive Behaviour Therapy For Anxiety

Today’s article is one that I am particularly invested in, having completed a Christian Counselling Diploma recently. While there are many ways to treat anxiety, one of the most effective ways is with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, or CBT. This article first looks at anxiety as a whole before going into more detail about CBT.

Anxiety disorders affect millions of people around the world. These include obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and a wide range of other phobias that might be social or specific in nature. People who are being controlled by them often don’t realise that they don’t need to. There are treatments out there that can help.

The first step, which some people might feel stigmatised, is with a diagnosis. This is often done by noting down the symptoms associated with anxiety disorders. Getting into detail is beyond the scope of this short article, so go to a healthcare professional to get this done. They will ask you about your symptoms and go through a thorough examination.

After that, they will go through the treatment options. One of this is known as psychotherapy. This is an umbrella term which pretty much means that you will chat with a psychiatrist about your issue. This can be broken down into specific sub-category. The one we will talk about more is called CBT, and this involves replacing old behaviour with new ones.

For completeness, there are other “talk-therapies” too. For example, psychodynamic therapy helps identify the underlying causes of your condition so that you can understand how to better control your life. Of course, the other option is medication. This works by blocking certain overactive inhibitors in the brain that may be causing your anxiety disorder.

Medication is also good because they can potentially treat the symptoms that you find unbearable. In general, you should make sure that a medication works for you and your body before accepting it. One thing to note: there are side effects to some medications that may hurt your body. Other non-traditional forms of treatment include meditation, yoga, acupuncture and hypnosis.

Now onto the topic of CBT. This, in short, refers to a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioural therapy. With cognitive therapy, a person learns to understand and change their thoughts and beliefs. With behavioural therapy, a person learns to change specific actions. Combining these two therapies have proven to be effective.

Now, we have to be honest. CBT does not work for everybody. There are two pre-requisites that can predict how well CBT will work for you. Firstly, one needs to be motivated. People who are resistant to change will not put in the effort for this to work. Secondly, it has to be administered by a specialist. Otherwise, it might not work well.

And so we urge you to consider as a form of treatment for your anxiety disorders, even if nothing else has helped you. When you seek treatment, you put yourself on the right track for actually feeling better. Seeing a doctor and learning about all of your treatment options is the first step towards overcoming your anxiety disorder and regaining control of your life once again.

Good resources for you: