How a Psychiatrist Can Help Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorders are a common mental illness that many live with, but they can be difficult to control on your own. Luckily, treatments are available to help people overcome their anxiety and live a healthy lifestyle. A psychiatrist, a doctor specializing in mental health, can offer anxiety disorder treatment in various therapy styles, but only after performing a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation.

Understanding anxiety disorder treatments

Different types of anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorders are a group of mental illnesses characterized by feelings of dread, panic, and continuous or prolonged bouts of anxiety. However, depending on the type of anxiety disorder, it can appear in a person’s life in several ways. They can also cause physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness, weight gain or loss, and disturbed sleeping patterns.

There are many types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, phobias, panic attacks, and separation anxiety. In order to determine one’s true anxiety disorder, one will need to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, which may take several appointments. After receiving a proper diagnosis, the psychiatrist can begin crafting a treatment plan, which may include various forms of psychotherapy and medication.

Medication

The most common medications a psychiatrist will prescribe are antidepressants and beta-blockers. Antidepressants, namely selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), help relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and irritability. These medications work by increasing the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that send messages between nerve cells in the brain. Antidepressants also increase the amount of serotonin or norepinephrine the body can produce.

Beta-blockers are a group of medicines that work by blocking the action of adrenaline. Psychiatrists use them in treatment plans because they can reduce physical symptoms, such as trembling, sweating, and heart palpitations. They also effectively decrease blood pressure, another common issue for people with anxiety disorder.

Psychotherapy

There are numerous psychotherapy (talk-based) options a psychiatrist will implement. The four most common patients can expect are cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), exposure therapy, and psychodynamic therapy.

CBT focuses on how people’s thoughts influence their emotions and behaviors. With the help of a psychiatrist, patients are encouraged to identify negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to their anxiety and replace them with more positive and realistic ones.

DBT is an archetype of CBT designed to help patients manage their emotions and behaviors that contribute to their specific anxiety disorder. DBT integrates mindfulness practices with conventional CBT techniques, promoting emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills.

Exposure therapy, another archetype of CBT, assists patients in confronting the situations that trigger their anxiety. The therapy helps patients desensitize themselves to specific fears by gradually exposing them to these fears in a controlled environment.

Psychodynamic therapy emphasizes the role of unconscious conflicts and past experiences in shaping personality and psychological disorders. The psychiatrist will help patients explore unresolved conflicts and emotions rooted in their past, which contribute to anxiety disorders.